China -- Not Just For Americans Anymore

The title is, of course (you did realize it, right?), a joke.  But the point is we Americans sometimes fail to realize the global forces affecting us affect more than just us.      

La Gaceta De Los Negocios ("The Journal of Business"), oftentimes referred to as "Spain's Wall Street Journal," just did a big story on Nadja Vietz of my firm. The article is here and its English translation is here.  So, without even a hint of bias or subjectivity, I am making Nadja the subject of this "Good People" post.

Nadja's legal background reads like a travelogue.  She has law degrees from Germany and from France, and she is licensed to practice law in Spain and in Germany and she will be sitting for the Washington State Bar Exam this summer (how many people do you know who have passed three country's bar exams?). 

Nadja joined Harris & Moure in 2005, after moving here with her Spanish husband who works at Microsoft.  Nadja is fluent in Spanish, German, and English, and nearly fluent in French.  Nadja also speaks some Russian. 

Upon first joining Harris & Moure, Nadja mostly worked on European matters for U.S. companies and on U.S. matters for mostly Latin American companies.  Increasingly, however, Nadja has also been working with other firm lawyers to assist Spanish, German, and Latin American companies with their Chinese law matters.  Nadja is currently working with Steve to help a Spanish manufacturer revise its Chinese OEM contracts, helping a Latin American electronics manufacturer form a joint venture with a Chinese company (yes, joint ventures do still occasionally make sense), and assisting a Mexican company with its Chinese trademark and IP matters.

Nadja recently co-wrote, with Steve, an in-depth article (in German) on Chinese limited liability companies entitled "The New Law about Limited Liability Companies of the People's Republic of China", that was published in one of Germany's most respected legal journals, the GmbHRundschau/LLC Review (Germany), March 15, 2006.  Nadja previously wrote an article for that same publication's January 1, 2003, issue, on "The new LLC in Spain" and she previously wrote an article, entitled, "Distributor or Commercial Agent for German companies in Spain - Legal Characteristics and Practical Indications," for MessTac Automation, another German publication.  A number of German Chambers of Commerce have invited Nadja to Germany this summer to speak on China.      

Nadja's knowledge of Spanish and German law, coupled with her exceptional language skills have allowed Harris & Moure to continue expanding its China practice beyond the English speaking world.  We will be running this post in Spanish as well.

UPDATE: Nadja passed the Washington State bar exam on her very first try, making her (I believe) the only lawyer in the world licensed to practice law in three different countries with three different languages (German, Spanish, and English).