Exporting American Lawyers To China
Author: David Carnes

A few decades ago there was hardly any such field as
international law - only domestic law representing clients with
funny sounding names. Although that situation has changed, the
globe is not yet as borderless as the media would have us
believe it is. Nevertheless, US lawyers are heading to China in
increasing numbers to practice "cutting edge" foreign investment
law, and many of these adventurers are fresh out of law school.
Conventional wisdom has it that heading overseas straight out
of law school will ruin your career back home should you ever
want to relocate stateside.

I beg to differ. I know of a young man who graduated from law
school in the mid-nineties with a high GPA, fluency in Mandarin
Chinese, and experience as a Summer Associate in the Beijing
office of a major international law firm. He had caught the
"Asia bug" and returned so fast that his diploma had to be
mailed to him across the Pacific. Around the turn of the
millennium he returned to the US to test out the theory that
"you can't go home again". With only a few months of effort he
was able to land a premium position as a delivery driver for
Pizza Hut, making a full dollar an hour above minimum wage
(plus tips!).

Let's get serious. Before you take a leap across the Pacific,
take a look in the mirror and ask yourself this question: "Am I
an 'international Lawyer', or am I an 'International lawyer'?"
(note the differences in capitalization). What's Plan B in case
practicing law in China falls through? Will you be practicing
law in the United States, or will you be teaching English in
China? What excites you about China law - China, or law?

Because when all is said and done, an office is an office
whether it's in Beijing, New York, or London. And like it or
not, the inside of an office is where the average lawyer spends
most of his/her waking hours. Likewise, legal work is legal
work; there's not any exciting difference between systems of
business law whether you're consulting with clients and
drafting documents in Mandarin Chinese, English, or
Serbo-Croatian.

Then there's the Prestige Factor. It's very stylish these days
for medium and large sized law firms to prattle on and on about
"our China Office" - and what's more, a China office allows for
the issuance of impressive-looking bilingual business cards.
It's become such a potent status symbol that many firms (I
strongly suspect) are holding on to money-losing offices in
China just so they can keep Beijing on the list of cities where
their firm has offices. Medium sized law firms in particular
like to set up China offices to prove to their clients their
status as Big Time International Players – sort of like the
teenager who won't shave off his peach fuzz because it "proves
I'm a man".

Better to forget about the prestige factor involved in
practicing international law overseas. Holding a prestigious
job is like marrying a fashion model – it's cool at first, but
hey, law is a jealous mistress - after a couple of months the
magic wears off and you're going to have to live with her day
after day, for better or for worse.

Anyway, "our China Office" really means "our China Rep Office".
Keep in mind that in China, representative offices may not
engage in profit-generating activities. So how do US law firms
get away with it? To be sure, a few of them are mostly engaged
in the Western legal side of sophisticated cross-border
transactions (and thus not generally in the market for new
graduates), but the rest are practicing Chinese law illegally.
They get away with this in Beijing and Hong Kong (not so often
in Shanghai) because the Chinese authorities turn their heads,
ignoring the wounded howls of jilted (and well-qualified)
Chinese lawyers. The reality is that many foreign investors
still feel more comfortable retaining US lawyers even though
top Chinese lawyers are far better able to understand legal and
linguistic nuances that American lawyers are likely to overlook.


In other words, US lawyers are tolerated by the Chinese
authorities because they help attract foreign investment. When
the English language ability of Chinese lawyers improves enough
to inspire greater confidence among foreign investors, the
Chinese government may start rolling up the welcome mat under
the feet of American lawyers. And it won't even take a new law
to throw them out – only enforcement of existing law. Imagine
the spectacle of former China investment lawyers returning to
the US wearing sandwich boards reading "Will Litigate for
Food". Don't get caught in mid-career all dressed up with no
place to go.

The god news is, there is a loophole: China allows legal
advisors who are not admitted to the local bar association to
work in certain jobs that would require bar membership in the
US. Included among such positions is corporate counsel – at
their best, 9 to 5 jobs that come with six-figure incomes. In
case six figures isn't enough for you, these positions often
provide opportunities for greater wealth as the company grows –
stock options, for example.

Forget the international law firms doing the big sexy deals. If
you are dead-set on China law, then grind out 2-4 years of
business law experience in the US, and look for a job in the
legal department of the China office of a Western
multinational.


About The Author: David A. Carnes is a California attorney
currently working as a legal advisor for California Industrial
City (Zhengzhou) Development Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, China. His
website is http://www.chinacompanystartupguide.com.