The Chinese Legal Profession
The Practice
September/October 2016
Big Law is rising in China. Despite the short history of its legal profession, China is now home to some of the largest firms in the global legal services market.
September/October 2016
The Rise of Big Law in China
Why and how did some Chinese law firms grow into Big Law with a global presence in a decade? Our research documents a critical period in the rise of Big Law in China in which corporate law firms experienced both rapid structural differentiation and intense market competition in the context of globalization.
Charting a New Path
While the American legal market was reeling from the effects of the economic crisis, China and its legal profession were beginning to identify new areas of opportunity. Rapid economic growth in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, as well as the expanding influence of Chinese businesses in global developing markets, signaled new opportunities for Chinese lawyers to work outside of the once hegemonic Anglo-American legal system.
Foreign Firms in China
To understand the position of international law firms in mainland China, one has to first appreciate the relative infancy of the modern Chinese legal profession. While there is no question that China now has a robust and growing community of lawyers one of the most distinctive markings of this community is its relative youth. The Chinese government now often takes a protective stance toward its lawyers.
Revenues Up for Chinese Firms; Cracking Down on Rights Lawyers
A hostility toward rights lawyers is troubling to many observers, particularly those who view the profession as integral to the development of Chinese rule of law. Teng Biao, a Chinese lawyer and prominent activist, has decried the current crackdown, describing it as “the worst human rights crackdown since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.”
Turning the Tables
To better understand this aspect of the Chinese legal profession—and its implications for U.S. firms working overseas—The Practice spoke with Mark Wu, an assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School, the former director for intellectual property at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and a leading scholar on China and international trade law.
The Chinese Legal Profession
in the Age of Globalization
Fengming Liu is general counsel and vice president for government affairs and policy for GE (Greater China & Mongolia). Liu recently sat down with David B. Wilkins, faculty director of the Center on the Legal Profession, for a one-on-one conversation on the evolution of the Chinese legal profession.
