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On April 26, 2026, the highly anticipated results of the 2025 “National Bankruptcy Classic Case” selection were officially announced. The case “Joint Bankruptcy Liquidation of Tomorrow Holding Co., Ltd. and 677 Affiliated Enterprises,” jointly handled and submitted by the Shanghai Bankruptcy Tribunal, Huida Asset Custody Co., Ltd., Shanghai Hui Ye Law Firm, and Shanghai Huacheng Law Firm, garnered 32 high votes in the first review round to be directly selected, ranking second among the ten classic cases. This fully demonstrates the case’s benchmark value and milestone significance in the field of bankruptcy law practice. 

Authoritative Selection: Top-Tier Standards in Domestic Bankruptcy Law Annual Awards

This selection was jointly organized by seven leading institutions: the Editorial Department of Tribune of Political Science and Law, the Editorial Department of Law Application, the Editorial Department of Chinese Applied Jurisprudence, the Editorial Department of China Trial, the Case Law Research Association of the China Law Society, PKULaw, and the Bankruptcy Law and Enterprise Restructuring Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law. It represents the highest standard of annual awards in the domestic bankruptcy law field.

A total of 164 cases were submitted by various applicants nationwide. The judging committee consisted of 53 experts, including representatives from the organizing units and bankruptcy law scholars with associate professor rank or higher. After three rounds of voting and strictly following the majority vote rule, only ten cases were awarded the title of “Classic Case.” This case received 32 votes in the first round, directly securing the honor with absolute majority support, fully reflecting the industry’s high recognition of its comprehensive value.

Unprecedented: China’s Largest and Most Complex Consolidated Bankruptcy Case of a Private Capital Group

This case is China’s largest and most complex consolidated bankruptcy case of a private capital group to date. The 677 affiliated enterprises span multiple industries and are distributed across more than ten provinces and cities. The ownership structures of assets are intricately intertwined, with severe confusion of legal personality. The bankruptcy liquidation faced unprecedented and formidable challenges.Tomorrow Holding Co., Ltd., established in 1999, was controlled by its de facto controller,  Mr. Xiao, forming the “Tomorrow Series” encompassing over 1,600 companies, illegally absorbing public funds and triggering financial risks. Severe personality mixing existed among a large number of enterprises within the group. In 2024, the Supreme People’s Court designated the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court to have centralized jurisdiction over the consolidated bankruptcy cases of non-financial enterprises in the “Tomorrow Series.” In 2025, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court approved the applications for substantive consolidated bankruptcy liquidation of 677 affiliated enterprises in three batches. After the administrator team completed the arduous tasks of asset inventory, creditor meetings, and property distribution within nine months, the court concluded the bankruptcy proceedings in December 2025.

This case closely linked financial risk resolution with criminal enforcement work, innovatively applied substantive consolidation rules and bankruptcy service trust tools, and relied on the government-court collaboration mechanism to efficiently pool assets, ensuring equitable creditor compensation. It has set a judicial benchmark for the bankruptcy of mega-enterprise groups and the prevention and resolution of major financial risks.

Landmark Achievement: Prevention and Resolution of Major Financial Risks, Work Results of Shanghai Bankruptcy Tribunal Highly Affirmed by the Supreme People’s Court

While being selected as a 2025 “National Bankruptcy Classic Case,” this case also stands as a landmark achievement of the Shanghai Bankruptcy Tribunal in serving and supporting high-quality development.

On February 24, 2026, the Supreme People’s Court held a press conference on “The Situation of People’s Courts’ Civil and Commercial Adjudication in Serving and Ensuring High-Quality Economic and Social Development” and released the Annual Report on Civil and Commercial Adjudication of People’s Courts (2025). The report repeatedly mentioned the solid and effective work results of the Shanghai Bankruptcy Tribunal, explicitly stating that “the Shanghai Bankruptcy Tribunal lawfully concluded the bankruptcy liquidation case involving 677 enterprises of the Tomorrow Series,” highlighting it as a prominent example of bankruptcy adjudication upholding the overall national security concept, resolving key area risks, and serving and ensuring the construction of a financial powerhouse. This inclusion in the annual report signifies that the case’s innovative exploration and positive achievements at the judicial practice level have received high recognition from the Supreme People’s Court.

Professional Excellence: Hui Ye Bankruptcy Team Deeply Involved, Demonstrating Strength and Advantages in the Bankruptcy Field

Hui Ye Law Firm is a member of the joint administrator appointed by the court. Since the Supreme People’s Court designated the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court to have centralized jurisdiction over the consolidated bankruptcy cases of non-financial enterprises in the “Tomorrow Series” in 2024, the Hui Ye bankruptcy team has worked closely with the liquidation team and other member institutions, deeply participating in all aspects of the case.

After being appointed by the court, Hui Ye Law Firm assembled an elite team covering various professional directions to handle the case, with Longbing DING, a management committee member and senior partner of Hui Ye Law Firm, serving as the overall team leader. Key team members included partners and lawyers such as Sujun ZHANG, Xiaojun WANG, Jie YANG, Daigao JIANG, Siyu LIU, Jingyi WU, Yingting CHEN, Liu LIU, Biao FANG, Xiaowei SU, Qihua TAO, Wenjian JIANG, Qian LI, Yang WANG, and Yiqing WANG. Team members divided labor, cooperated closely, and fully leveraged Hui Ye’s comprehensive professional advantages in areas such as bankruptcy liquidation, substantive consolidation, asset disposal, financial risk mitigation, and government-court coordination, providing solid legal support to ensure the efficient, fair, and stable progress of the case.

Hui Ye Law Firm was among the first group of bankruptcy administrators designated by the Shanghai High People’s Court and has consistently been on the list of first-tier administrators. Additionally, Hui Ye and its relevant offices possess bankruptcy administrator qualifications in several provinces and cities, with deep professional expertise and extensive practical experience in the field of bankruptcy and debt restructuring. Hui Ye has repeatedly won the China Business Law Awards for in Bankruptcy & Restructuring and has been consecutively ranked in the bankruptcy and restructuring categories by international authoritative legal rating agencies such as The Legal 500 and ALB.

Striving for Excellence: Deeply Cultivating the Bankruptcy Field, Continuously Contributing Professional Strength to High-Quality Development

Hui Ye Law Firm is a leading national comprehensive law firm known for its commercial legal services, and now has 44 offices worldwide. In recent years, Hui Ye has been ranked by ALB as one of the top 30 Asia-Pacific law firms and among the top 15 largest law firms in China. Its practice areas have been listed in top law firm and lawyer annual rankings by Chambers, ALB, Asialaw, Benchmark, China Business Law Journal, LEGALBAND, and The Legal 500.

Bankruptcy, liquidation, and restructuring are among Hui Ye’s core areas of strength. Since 2007, Hui Ye has been among the first batch of bankruptcy administrators in Shanghai. Over the past two decades, it has handled numerous significant and influential bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization cases, many of which have been recognized as national or provincial-level model cases, earning widespread praise and acclaim from clients and the industry.

"Beyond excellence, striving for eminence" is not merely a slogan but a professional conviction ingrained in every member of Hui Ye. Looking back, we are worthy of our era; looking ahead, we are more aware of our mission. In the future, the Hui Ye bankruptcy team will continue to build on its legacy, based in Shanghai and serving clients across the country, providing higher professional standards, stronger team collaboration, and wiser solutions. We will open smooth exit channels for market entities, ignite hope for rebirth for distressed enterprises, and continuously contribute Hui Ye’s strength to bankruptcy law practice, the optimization of the business environment, and the service and assurance of high-quality economic and social development.

Excellence never stops; we are always on the journey.