Dehe 20th Anniversary | Cheng Yaozu: Sixteen Years of Devotion, True Merit Through Steadfast Practice
Twenty years is a measure of time, and it is also the chapter of growth written by countless Dehe people together.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of DHHT Law Firm, a special series of Dehe 20-Year Personal Interviews has been launched. From the perspectives of individual real-life figures, we look back on Dehe's development journey and envision its future.
After sixteen years with Dehe, Cheng Yaozhu seldom raises his voice, yet he always delivers tangible results: his neatly written meeting minutes became a district-wide model; he consistently integrates Party building with legal practice; and he wins disputes in commercial cases purely through solid evidence and rigorous logic.
In this issue, we meet this low-key fellow traveler.
Lawyer Cheng Yaozhu currently serves as Director of the Supervisory Committee of DHHT Shanghai Office and Senior Partner. He was the first Secretary of the Firm’s Party Branch and later Secretary of the General Party Branch, long engaged in Party building and internal organizational development. With 18 years of practice focusing on commercial litigation and dispute resolution, he holds securities and futures practice qualifications, and acts as an off-campus postgraduate supervisor for the Master of Law programme at China University of Geosciences (Beijing).
01 From Jiaotong University to Dehe: Sixteen Years of Commitment
Cheng Yaozhu spent one month cramming for the bar exam, working through past exam questions one by one and memorizing legal provisions line by line.
When the results came out, only two out of more than forty students in the class passed on the first attempt — and he was one of them.
“I have never been much of a talker since childhood.” This does not mean he lacks expressive skills; he simply prefers to spend his time listening, analysing and reasoning.
His entry into law happened almost by chance. In 2003, he enrolled at Kairong Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, to pursue his master’s degree. Just two months after starting school, he sat for the national judicial examination.
“I knew nothing about it at the time, so I resolved to prepare wholeheartedly.”
He spent an entire month grinding through past papers and memorizing statutes. Out of over forty classmates, only two passed at the first sitting, and he was among the two.
“That experience taught me: if you commit fully to a task, you will always reap results.”
This became his lifelong principle: no blind pursuit of shortcuts, no craving for superficial fanfare. Your efforts always bear fruit where you invest your time.
After graduation, he formally embarked on his legal career. In his early years, he worked alongside Lawyer Jiang Chun on numerous cases, accumulating practical experience case by case. Outside work, they often played basketball together, where he met Lawyer Zhang Hengtong.
Basketball has long bonded Dehe’s lawyers. Recalling these two basketball partners who later became founding partners of DHHT, Cheng still has vivid memories. Jiang Chun played a steady game, good at controlling the tempo; Zhang Hengtong was more aggressive, always driving forward to break through. Their contrasting styles complemented each other perfectly on the court.
As for his own role, he jokes self-deprecatingly: “I just grab rebounds and do all the gritty work.”
This lighthearted remark captures his character. Rather than stepping into the spotlight, he devotes himself to the unseen groundwork that decides the final outcome: thorough preparation, strict attention to detail, and stepping up to take responsibility when the team needs him. He joined Dehe officially in 2010. Over the past sixteen years, as the firm grew from a 30-person team to a nationwide platform of nearly 1,000 professionals, and as the Party organization expanded from a Party Branch to a General Branch and then a Party Committee, he has always been present every step of the way.
“I am neither a bystander nor merely a beneficiary. I am a fellow traveler.”
02 Party Building: Starting with a Notebook of Meeting Minutes
He jotted down every word neatly and carefully at every meeting, training session and exchange. Several thick notebooks of records piled up over the years.
In 2016, DHHT set up its Party Branch, and Cheng Yaozhu was elected its first Secretary.
“To be honest, I had no prior experience when I took up the post.”
There were no ready-made precedents or templates to follow, so he adopted the most down-to-earth yet effective approach: learn earnestly and record everything meticulously.
He wrote out every meeting, training and discussion in neat handwriting, filling several thick notebooks over the years.
By chance, an official from the Xuhui District Bureau of Justice flipped through one notebook and praised repeatedly: “Your rigorous attitude is exemplary.”
These meeting minutes were later promoted as official models across the whole district.
The notebooks were celebrated not only for tidy handwriting. They recorded the very beginning of Dehe’s Party building work and embodied his core work ethic: learn when you lack knowledge, act when you lack experience, and deliver concrete outcomes for every assignment.
In Cheng’s view, Party building must not remain a formality; it needs to align with the practical development of the legal profession. He then launched Party-building joint activities and policy lectures to identify corporate demands, linking Party building closely with legal service delivery.
“Party building is not an extra chore. It is a vital channel for the firm to connect with enterprises, build mutual trust and develop a steady stream of client matters.”
From handwritten meeting records to continuous exploration of Party building initiatives, he has stuck firmly to one principle: avoid spectacular fanfare, and do every single task with rigorous care.
03 True Persuasion Never Depends on Volume of Voice
Genuine persuasion does not rely on the force of delivery, but on solid evidence, rigorous logic, and empathy for the position of judges and litigants.
How does a reserved person build an 18-year career in a profession built on verbal advocacy?
Cheng Yaozhu’s answer lies not in speeches, but in the cases he has won.
One case involved a demolition compensation dispute. His client, a sublessor, sued the primary lessor for a share of government compensation. At first instance, because the compensation breakdown was not itemized in writing, the court dismissed all claims on the ground of insufficient evidence.
On appeal, Cheng led his team to comb through volumes of comparable precedents, repeatedly reconstruct the compensation calculation logic, and revise written submissions draft after draft. They traced the origin of every numerical figure, verified the legal basis for every compensation item, and assessed the possible rulings under every judicial path, item by item.
Eventually, the appellate court adopted their arguments and upheld all claims in full.
“For lawyers, success rarely hinges on how loudly you argue. It hinges on how deeply you analyse and how meticulously you prepare.”
To Cheng, persuasive advocacy does not come from forceful rhetoric. It comes from solid evidence, airtight logic, and full understanding of the position of both judges and parties.
From handling diverse cases early in his career to focusing his practice on commercial dispute resolution, he has formed his own work philosophy: no craving for public attention; dig deep into issues and refine every detail.
“A lawyer’s job is more than proving you are right. You must convince others that your solution is reasonable and acceptable. Professional expertise, logical reasoning and human empathy are all indispensable.”
04 Honesty, Sincerity, Kindness: His Unchanged Core over Sixteen Years
A lawyer’s worth is not measured by sharp rhetoric, but by the willingness to deliver fully on every case and honour every trust placed in you.
Toward the end of the interview, we asked him to pick three words to describe himself. After long consideration, he gave six characters: honesty, sincerity, kindness.
Honesty means no cutthroat competition, keeping promises and standing accountable.Sincerity means no pretence, no hidden agendas and no perfunctoriness when dealing with clients, colleagues and cases.Kindness is not weakness. It means staying mindful of others’ predicaments within the boundaries of legal rules.
Throughout his career, he has always regarded managing client expectations as core legal work: “The greatest accountability to a client is not promising everything. It is clearly stating what can be achieved, what cannot, what merits pursuit and what ought to be abandoned.”
Sixteen years ago, he questioned whether a quiet man could thrive as a lawyer. Today he has found his answer: a lawyer’s value does not lie in cutting words, but in committing fully to every case and bearing the weight of every client’s trust.
“Dehe has taught me far more than lawyering. It has taught me to be a person with warmth.”
Looking ahead to Dehe’s next two decades, his message is concise: “Bigger, stronger, better, longer-lasting.”
To young legal practitioners, his advice remains plain: “Start with small tasks and take things steady. True professional growth grows out of every trivial matter you treat with total earnestness.”
05 Sixteen Years of Partnership, Growing Together with Dehe
Twenty years mark a timeline for Dehe, a shared growth story written by countless fellow travelers.
For Cheng Yaozhu, sixteen of those twenty years have become an inseparable part of his professional life.
From stacks of immaculate meeting minutes to the evolution of the Party Branch, General Party Branch and Party Committee; from a small team of 30-plus lawyers to a nationwide platform of nearly 1,000 colleagues, he has always participated, borne witness and grown alongside the firm as a fellow traveler.
His personal journey stands as one lawyer’s career path, and also a genuine slice of Dehe’s two decades of development. All those ordinary moments of dedication, perseverance and accountability combine to fuel the firm’s continuous forward progress.
