"World's Leading Law Firm" Explodes in Scandal! "Managing Partner" Absconds with 900 Million

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Author | Shi Dalang & Cat Brother

Source | Shi Dalang & Da Mao Finance Pro

Can law firms also collapse?

These days, social media is buzzing with news that Mei Mourong, founder of Yingke Law Firm, has turned himself in after a collapse, “Old Mei used lawyer fees for financing and even provided guarantees,” involving approximately 4 billion yuan.

On social media, people say, “This is a sure thing,” but Yingke Law Firm officials say, “Don’t believe rumors or spread rumors.”

Then, Yingke replaced its new director and studied the firm’s articles of association, “emphasizing risk management.”

On March 11, Yingke posted an announcement on its official website that Old Mei had resigned, “The incident was caused by issues with his family’s company,” unrelated to Yingke. Meanwhile, his name no longer appears on the firm’s legal team webpage.

Most people may not be familiar with Yingke. It has 128 law offices in China, with 25,200 employees, including 19,400 lawyers, making it the largest law firm by lawyer count worldwide.

Old Mei started practicing law in 1996. He is not from a formal law background, graduated from Tsinghua University’s Department of Automotive Engineering, and began as a real estate lawyer. He pioneered the “lawyer agency for home purchases” business and has been promoting scale development at Yingke.

Besides lawyers, he also invested in real estate, tourism, and new energy vehicles, such as the Xiangrong Qingneng automobile he invested in, which aims to produce hydrogen fuel smart cars. In 2021, he also collaborated with a leasing company to support 10 billion yuan for smart commercial vehicle applications.

However, in February, he divested his shares and transferred them to his family.

The company involved this time is Shanghai Yingke. Tianyancha shows its controlling shareholder is Beijing Yingke Global, founded by Old Mei, who is also the actual controller of the Mei family.

Using lawyer fees for financing is quite novel. The biggest loss should be to Yingke’s lawyers, but insiders say, Old Mei’s involved funds are not 4 billion, only 1 billion, and the company used Yingke’s name to lend credibility, likely also leveraging Yingke’s reputation secretly.

As for where the money came from, where it went, who the victims are, and whether the law firm’s funds were involved? These are still black boxes.

It’s estimated that, in the future, the law firm will also need to defend its rights.

However, Old Mei is not the first law firm director to collapse.

In December last year, Lawyer Wang Zhi, with 17 years of practice, ran off overseas with the money.

It is reported that he took 900 million yuan, affecting over 400 victims, with an average of over 2 million each. The reason he could embezzle so much is mainly because Wang’s targeting was very precise, focusing on middle-aged and elderly people who are somewhat educated but lack legal knowledge and need legal services.

Moreover, he spent “over a decade sharpening his sword.”

In 2013, Qunyi Law Firm was established. By 2014, the firm was doing legal education in communities, covering inheritance, property disputes, marriage and family issues, involving various legal problems in everyday life.

At that time, Wang proposed free “family legal consulting.”

What does that mean?

It means that elderly people could lend money to the law firm to do “litigation preservation services,” with the firm paying an annual interest rate of 12%. They would also assign a lawyer to serve as a dedicated family legal advisor.

Legal consultations are usually expensive, but now not only are they free, but there’s also high interest to earn.

Later, the activities shifted from community talks to hotel seminars. For every 100,000 yuan invested, participants could enter a lottery; for over 400,000 yuan, they could even go overseas.

What if they lost money?

That’s what the elderly are most concerned about.

Wang assured them, “The Law Association has insurance that can pay up to 400 million yuan annually,” which basically eased their worries. Whether it’s true or not, they didn’t care.

The entire law firm mainly relied on the marketing department, which depended on the elderly investors.

On one side, lawyers are desperately poor; on the other, salespeople doing financial management make 30,000 yuan a month.

Over ten years, they raised more than 900 million yuan, with many wanting to exit, but ultimately, Wang and the salespeople used high-value gifts to keep them.

In December 2025, Wang Zhi disappeared. Before fleeing, he left a message: “I’ve run away. Good luck to you all.”

Before leaving, Wang also took a final 13.5 million yuan.

The entire law firm became a pig-butchering scam.

Law firms are supposed to be a good business model.

Lawyers must accept assignments in the name of the law firm, with salaried lawyers, case sources from the firm, earning wages and commissions. Most lawyers are “affiliated,” sharing office rent, and need to pay for their own case sources and assistants. The law firm earns management fees or shares, ensuring steady income.

Most of the money can be distributed, with no heavy asset investment.

In reality, different law firms have different development strategies. For example, top-tier firms focus on elite specialization and monetization, while Old Mei pursued scale, believing that more lawyers mean more management fees or shares, similar to real estate rent collection.

Lawyers find cases, sign contracts, and charge fees. The fees are pooled in the firm and redistributed to lawyers. High-end transactions like major lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and financing can charge millions or tens of millions per case, creating significant cash flow.

The more lawyers, the more abundant the cash flow.

At this point, the “boss” of the law firm has significant control over the cash, but the risks are also high.

Last year, Liu Yixing of Randy Law Firm said, “A few people controlling hundreds of billions of yuan in China’s legal industry would be a disaster.”

Although a law firm may have hundreds or thousands of partners, only two or three truly hold the power or financial control. A large firm with a thousand lawyers might have annual cash flow of tens or hundreds of billions.

“If they embezzle or aim to embezzle or seize funds, it’s no different from illegal fundraising.”

What if their original intention in founding the law firm was illegal fundraising?

Like Wang Zhi.

Knowing the law but engaging in illegal activities is like playing with fire. Their damage is significant, and with both turning themselves in and fleeing, how can the public still trust lawyers?

Author’s note: Personal opinions only, for reference.