FT.com wrote an interesting story the other day of a German advertising company whose employees had set up their own company within a company. The thrust of the article is that this sort of thing is peculiar to China and foreigners had better beware. I have received no fewer than three emails from people sending… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2009
How To Avoid Getting Kidnapped In China. Plan In Advance Or Go Home.
Posted in China BusinessThe other day, in a post entitled, “China Hostage Situation. Now IS A Good Time To Pay Your Debts,” I wrote about some U.S. executives who were being held hostage in China over nonpayment of a business debt. Their US based company had gone bankrupt and when they went over to China to explain all… Continue Reading
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Can You Say China Relevant?
Posted in Legal NewsI was talking with Kevin O’Keefe the other day about law blogs. Kevin is the founder of LexBlog, which dominates the market for setting law firms up on blogs. Despite originally being from Wisconsin (he now lives in Seattle), Kevin knows more about law blogging than any guy alive. Despite the recession, his business is… Continue Reading
Suing Chinese Drywall Manufacturers. Why All The Bother?
Posted in Legal NewsSomeone just emailed me an article on Chinese Drywall, with the question, “why do you think these lawyers are spending so much to serve the Chinese defendants.” My short answer is that I have no clue. I will backtrack a bit first. The article is entitled, “Chinese-Made Drywall: A Multi-Defendant, Multi-Claim, Multi-District Litigation Has Litigators… Continue Reading
China Hostage Situation. Now IS A Good Time To Pay Your Debts.
Posted in China BusinessJust got an email from a regular and very much trusted reader. The email (with all identifiers removed) is as follows: Consumer product company had a rep office – staffed with people with US passports. Company had financial problems and needed to file for bankruptcy. The company sent one of their executives to China to… Continue Reading
What’s Happening With China Legal? Read Asia Legal Blog To Find Out.
Posted in Recommended ReadingWhen I worked in BigLaw, I, along with most of the other associates at my mega-firm, could hardly wait for the next issue of American Lawyer Magazine to hit our law firm’s library. That magazine did a pretty decent job keeping us informed of what was going on in the legal world, and even within… Continue Reading
China Joint Ventures. Find Me A Good One….
Posted in Recommended ReadingExcellent article by Tina Wang up on Forbes.com. The article is entitled “KKR’s Concrete Lessons In China” and it is subtitled, “A KKR-led group bought into a Chinese tycoon’s cement business. Over a year later, who’s in charge?” It is on a KKR cement industry joint venture in China and like so many stories on… Continue Reading
China’s Rio Tinto Arrests. Everyone Just Move Along….
Posted in Legal NewsBy Steve Dickinson The recent detentions of four Rio Tinto executives has caused much concern. However, the situation has been misunderstood by most in the West because of a failure to understand the legal background. The Rio Tinto employees are accused of conducting industrial espionage. Specifically, they are accused of bribery and theft of trade… Continue Reading
Enforcing Contracts In China. Way, Way Better Than You Think.
Posted in Legal NewsBy Steve Dickinson At a recent meeting of foreign businesspersons in Qingdao, I sat next to a very unhappy man who loudly stated: “Chinese contracts are not worth the paper they are written on.” I told him: “Your statement is not true. As a matter of fact, the Chinese courts do very well at enforcing… Continue Reading
Owe Money To A Chinese Company? No Need To Pay.
Posted in China BusinessIf you owe money to a Chinese company for product and you cannot pay all of your creditors, skip out on the Chinese company. Near as I can tell, there is nearly a 100% chance they will never sue you to recover. I am NOT advocating not paying your debt, but I am saying that… Continue Reading
Exporting To China 101
Posted in Recommended ReadingA client recently sent me a blogpost and asked me if I “thought it made sense.” The post is entitled “Organizing Your Export Trial Run,” and, yes I do. Not only does it make sense, but it also has a slew of very helpful links. So if you are in the business of exporting to… Continue Reading
Hey Sucker, We’ve Got Your China Trademark And You Are Goin’ Down.
Posted in Legal NewsOver the last six months or so, my firm’s work for Chinese companies going international has zoomed, and with that, my knowledge of how Chinese companies “handle” foreign companies has zoomed as well. One of the things I have learned is that Chinese companies understand the value of trademarks — YOUR trademark. Let me explain…. Continue Reading
Sex! Drugs! Prostitution! China And The US By The Numbers.
Posted in Recommended ReadingThe Aimee Barnes Blog just did a post, entitled, “Sex, Drugs, Weapons and Cash: China vs United States,” comparing the United States and China on all sorts of numbers/statistics relating mostly to sex, drugs, crime and health. It makes for fascinating reading, particularly, if (like me) you are the kind of person who remembers off… Continue Reading
Cultural Norms As Law Enforcement Mechanism. Why Demand Letters Still Work In China.
Posted in Legal NewsWikipedia defines a demand letter as a “letter stating a legal claim (usually drafted by a lawyer) which makes a demand for restitution or performance of some obligation, owing to the recipients’ alleged breach of contract, or for a legal wrong.” Typically, these letters conclude with the lawyer threatening to sue or the non-lawyer letter… Continue Reading
The China Liability Wall. What I Meant To Say….
Posted in Legal NewsAn East Coast lawyer contacted me the other day seeking help for his client in writing an outsourcing contract with its Chinese manufacturer. We talked for maybe 10 minutes regarding these contracts and then he told me he had called me because of what I had to say about always requiring the Chinese manufacturer to… Continue Reading
China OEM Agreements. Why Ours Are In Chinese. Flat Out.
Posted in Legal NewsHad a nice conversation with a potential client last week. Company has a great new product it wants made in China. Like many companies starting out in China, this one is in the process of shopping for its China lawyers and my firm was one of four suggested to it by its regular corporate counsel…. Continue Reading
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