China Esquire

Sorry for the last minute notice on this one, but I wanted to encourage those in the Bay Area who might be interested to attend. The State Bar of California International Law Section is hosting “Careers in International Law” tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) at 12:30 pm at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. More information after the jump.

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I was speaking to a friend a few months back, and he wants to shift into human rights law in China. I looked at him with a certain tinge of sadness in my eyes, and could only ask him one question, “You do know what you’re getting into right? It’s a hard life. It’s hard… and you may be asking for persecution, trouble, and a lot of pain and suffering from your own government.” There was nothing else I could say. And when he responded in the affirmative resolutely, I could only stare a little and say, “Okay.” And it’s ironic that since then, I feel like I’ve only seen a slew of articles talking about the troubles of human rights attorneys.

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TechSoup Global (“TSG”), where I work, is actually looking to add a Staff Attorney (Volunteer/Fellow) later this year.  Above the Law and other news outlets have been covering the news (e.g., here, here, and here) about large law firms like Skadden, Morgan Lewis, Latham & Watkins, Weil Gotshal, Orrick, White & Case, and Mayer Brown (and more!) deferring start dates and offering stipends of $60,000 to $75,000 to volunteer at a public interest first.   When the economy gives you lemons, make lemonade.  So TSG is looking at add 1-2 Staff Attorney Fellows among those who have been offered deferral stipends.

Our selling point: how many non-profit orgs can offer you a chance to work on cutting edge international legal issues, in-house counsel corporate style experience, and a good environment in a sustainable, socially-minded enterprise business model?  We’d like to think we’re the only one.  More details after the jump.

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Seems like the International Law Section of the California bar is busy this year.  (it sure wasn’t last year as I recall)  On March 24,  its co-hosting a program with the L.A. County Bar Association International Law Section called “Careers in International Law” at Loyola Law School. (919 S. Albany St. , Los Angeles, CA)

No CLE credit, but its free, including a free meal.  Which means that I highly recommend law students to hit this event.  (and practitioners early enough in their career that they want to learn more about changing into international law)  More after the jump.
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Just wanted to post this quickly from the New York Lawyer. I recently had a post that linked Donald Clarke’s PDF resource on the usefulness (or lack thereof) of having a Chinese LLM. Well, yesterday, the NY Lawyer published this article saying that foreign firms want staff their firms by having foreign attorneys with U.S. LLM’s. I suppose its an interesting turn of events:

Law firms with roots in the United States are increasingly tapping master of law degree programs here to recruit foreign lawyers for building out their international networks.

For instance, McDermott, Will & Emery, which was founded in Chicago and now has six offices outside the United States, this year is cultivating closer ties with U.S. law schools that offer so-called LL.M. programs for foreigners in the hopes of luring some of the graduates to its non-U.S. offices.

Firms are turning to the LL.M. programs as a source of foreign lawyers who have law degrees from their home countries and other requisite credentials, plus an understanding of the U.S. legal system and strong English-language skills, law school officials said.

While some large international firms have been recruiting from the programs for years, they’re expanding their use of them now at the same time that some newly global firms are coming to the idea.

The demand from firms for attorneys from certain countries rises or falls each year, depending on which areas of the world are experiencing the most growth, law school officials said. Firms currently are particularly interested in students from Germany, Brazil and China, said Lidija Rebic, the acting career adviser for the LL.M. program at Northwestern University School of Law.

In the past, many of the foreign LL.M. students simply got their degrees and perhaps took advantage of an automatic option to work for a year at a U.S. firm, but then headed home to a prior employer. Now, there are more opportunities for the students to join a new U.S. law firm employer permanently, school officials said.

So, for those of you wanting a Chinese LLM, the applicant pool is becoming more diverse than just U.S. JD’s with Chinese LLMs.

Donald Clarke recently posted an updated version of an FAQ type of resource about foreigners who want to get an LLM (Master of Law) degree from a Chinese University. It covers everything about which programs to consider and if such a degree will help you get a job in China. You can find it here.

I thought it to be important to those considering continuing education as well as those interested in China. The bottom line: the LLM probably won’t help you to find a job in China all that much.

Either way, its a good resource and will shed a lot of light onto the subject of a Chinese LLM. I reckon that there is probably growing popularity of this subject due to blogs like Boulder2Beijing.

UPDATE: As noted in comment, the document is not easily accessible from China because China Law Prof Blog is hosted on TypePad.  I have it posted here now as well.

I have been doing some posts about networking and being able to practice law (unofficially) in China. Well, the Star had an interesting article entitled, “Practising law a risky endeavour in China”. Sure, it involves lawyers who end up taking controversial cases, but I thought it was worth highlighting because the rule of law is not yet established in China, and that is something to consider before you work out there. For example, if you want to be a public interest lawyer, you should be forewarned that there might be some headache and heartache involved.

Here’s the article:

One fine fall afternoon last year, Li Heping was making his way towards a newspaper kiosk not far from his office when a man approached, grabbed him by the arm and said sternly, “Come with me.”

In a matter of seconds, Li had a cloth sack pulled over his head, he was wrestled into a car and driven to the outskirts of town where he was brought down into a basement and beaten.

Li is a lawyer – a partner in the respected Beijing Globe Law Firm.

“They were slapping me about the head, pulling me by the hair and striking me with electrical batons.

“They were yelling, `Sell your house, sell your car and get the hell out of Beijing!’”

Towards midnight, he was bundled back into the car and dumped in a forested area, from which he eventually made his way home.

I would’ve expected that business lawyers would be exempt from this sort of bullying. Well, what did Li actually do?

He’s among a select group of lawyers in China who dare to take on politically sensitive cases.

Li is one of 49 human rights lawyers interviewed for a report released today by Human Rights Watch entitled, “Walking on Thin Ice: Control, Intimidation and Harassment of Lawyers in China.”

Part of me is cynical and thinks that this is part of the territory. But part of me also recognizes that the rule of law, building such a thing into a country that does not really have it firmly established, will involve these sort of personal costs.

Senior government officials routinely proclaim China to be a country of “the rule of law.” Even President Hu Jintao, at the 17th Communist Party Congress last year, stressed “the rule of law constitutes the essential requirement of socialist democracy.”

But many observers see China as a country of “the rule by law” – the law being an instrument that remains largely in the hands of the government.

As a consequence, it remains risky for lawyers to take on certain cases.

“Abuses of lawyers compound human rights violations,” says Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s Asia advocacy director. “Without due process and genuine defence rights, law remains little more than an instrument of state repression.”

I’ve heard of substance abuse, but lawyer abuse? Interesting.

Two things. First, this should not discourage you from wanting to be a lawyer in China. It shouldn’t really. The rule of law is still marching forward, albeit slowly. But it should make you think about what your motivations are. If you want to be a lawyer in China to change the government and the system, you might actually accomplish that. But there is a high price to pay and you better know that. You also better know that it might not happen in your life time. I am not anti-public interest. But I am opposed to public interest types thinking that they can be aggressive in America, and then just waltz into China and be aggressive there too. Don’t be naive.

In general, I don’t think this applies to most of us who want to practice business law in China. The actions and motivations of someone like that is probably going to be a little different than a crusader.

Second, if you do end up out there as a lawyer, even as a business lawyer, it does not mean you are suddenly immune. You choose your cases. Well, you also choose your causes. And if you insist on choosing causes that the government doesn’t like, just be ready if intimidation comes knocking on your door.

Bottom line: use your head.

This is sort of a follow up on my previous post about networking tips for law students (see here), hence the title, but also in response to the fact that blogging made the cover of the California Lawyer Magazine this month. I found the main article to be a re-hash of most such articles because of the content:

• lawyer blogging is booming (a 3500% jump in 5 years, which is no surprise)
• attorneys have many reasons to blog: to build a reputation in a specialty, attract clients, monitoring a legal niche, starting a conversation with a community of interest, etc. (common sense, no surprise again)
• the downside of blogging (lawyers are often technophobes and trolls are annoying, nothing new)
• future of blogging (no real information, just some pretty lame speculation)

However, the magazine provided 7 tips for blogging. Since I had counseled law students to learn about blogging and start their own blogs (or join the staff of a blog which has multiple authors like Transnational Law Blog), I thought I would put up some excerpts of the tips:

1. THINK GLOBALLY
In blogging, even though it feels like you’re sharing your thoughts with an intimate circle of friends, remember that millions of Internet users around the world will be able to read-and react to-what you’ve written.

This is even more important if you are taking on an international niche–then you really do need to think globally.

2. MANAGE YOUR READING REQUIREMENTS
Everyone already has too much to read, and the popularity of blogs is an added burden. But to be a well-regarded blogger, you really need to keep up with what fellow bloggers are saying. “Blogs act as funnels,” says Kevin O’Keefe, president of Seattle consulting firm LexBlog. “It’s like you have an intelligence agent that puts things in perspective for you.”

It is possible to follow a dozen or two dozen blogs without taking too much time if you have RSS or a standard bookmark list that you check once or twice a day. No need to keep on reading a blog over and over because there will be new stuff eventually.

3. KEEP IT CIVIL
If you wind up in a heated online spat but aren’t familiar with the tone and behavior expected in the blogosphere, resist the urge to respond immediately.

4. JOIN THE CONVERSATION (BUT IGNORE THE TROLLS)
When someone blogs misinformation about you, your firm, or an issue you are involved in, you should go ahead and set the record straight online. “The remedy for false speech is more speech,” says JoAnne Speers, executive director and ethics program director of the Institute for Local Government in Sacramento.  However, if you encounter a rabid, screaming, and pertinacious blogger-often referred to as a troll-you might want to hang back.

Just common sense, though I slightly disagree with #4. One thing is that when “trolls” abound, in general, just let them be. That usually works well. It’s the debate that will keep them coming back. No debate, moderate their comments, and you will be just fine.

5. FOLLOW OFFLINE RULES ONLINE
For the most part, you can avoid getting in hot water while blogging. “Use the same standard of ethics and decorum that applies to any medium,” including a person-to-person conversation, Speers advises.

Remember you are a professional. If you are a to-be lawyer, what you say will be remembered by the lawyer blog community. It’s a small community. So be professional always.

6. ABANDON ANONYMITY
Although it may be tempting to launch an anonymous blog in which you can speak freely, keep in mind that anonymous bloggers rarely stay anonymous. “Eventually, you are going to get found out,” says Kristie D. Prinz, founder of the California Biotech Law Blog. Howell agrees. “It’s not that difficult to figure out who someone is,” she says. Just ask Rick Frenkel, a lawyer at Cisco Systems. Shortly after his anonymous blog-Patent Troll Tracker-was outed this year, two Texas patent attorneys sued Frenkel and Cisco for defamation. Cisco has since revised its blog policy.

As a law student, I think this is a definite must. You need to be known in the community, and anonymity will hurt you. Of course, this assumes you are writing an informative blog and not something like Anonymous Lawyer (by Jeremy Blachman I believe).

7. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
A blog is not the place for corporate blather or marketing blasts-it’s a place of personality. Keep that in mind as you write, suggests J. Craig Williams, a Newport Beachbased litigator. “Blogging by committee is bland and dry,” he says. “What makes blogging successful is voice. The most important thing is to be yourself.”

I also disagree with #7. Some blogs do it quite well, so I don’t think that’s a reason to stay away from group blogs. You can still develop your personal voice in a committee blog, especially when your partners aren’t going to heavily edit your work.

I hope this helps!

I have law students asking me for career advice all the time. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I was a Mentorship Committee Co-chair for the Asian American Bar Association ( AABA) for the past 3 years. And I don’t mind. Really.

One constant question is about how to network with people. How can you network with people who are doing what you want to do? Well, let’s assume you are a law student interested in doing international law in China. Yes, that’s a little different than just networking at your local bar association because your interests are more focused. But there are still a number of ways:

1. Go to the right conferences. The international law community is pretty small actually. Especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you can’t actually work with them, then at least try to meet the lawyers doing the stuff at conferences. I post about new conferences that relate to international law constantly. Stay tuned here and you won’t miss too much about local conferences.
2. Take classes taught by actual practitioners who have the experience that you want to get. Locally, Tom Klitgaard of my old firm Dillingham & Murphy, and a China expert, teaches an Asian Comparative Law course at the University of San Francisco ( USF). Tom is always opening up his network to promising USF law students who express interest. My partner, Bart Selden, teaches International Business Transactions and Intellectual Property courses at various universities, including Golden Gate University ( GGU). He even hires some of his students to be interns at the firm. When I was at Hastings, I took corporations with Anna Han of White & Case (and SCU Professor), another China business attorney. (though we never spoke about the topic because I was only interested in litigation at the time, and corporations was merely a bar course)
3. Talk to people. Dan Harris at China Law Blog makes himself available for questions constantly. (I should know, I’ve asked some) When you see an article or blog post you like, contact the author. Do informational interviews locally with people who you want to meet. The worst thing you can do is be timid and afraid. Don’t be.
4. Just get out there. Do a summer exchange program your 1L summer in China. Preferably one of those that allow you to take classes and intern at a local Chinese law firm. That’s a good experience and will let you meet people (and hopefully learn something). This applies to not only China, but anywhere else too. Here are some I found by a quick google search: Indiana, Willamette, Georgia.
5. Blog. Travis Hodgkins, Brad Luo, and Will Lewis have made quite a name for themselves by blogging. It isn’t terribly hard to do–just somewhat time consuming. Yes, you are in law school. No, you don’t have a lot of time. But you have some time. You are either wasting it on watching TV or reading the local legal gossip rags. Whereas these law students now have published the Transnational Law Blog, China Business Law Blog, and Experience Not Logic. Obviously you need to get your feet wet first, so this is not for the absolute neophyte. But after you have done #1-4 enough times over a year or two, you can do #5. In fact, I believe Travis is always looking for co-authors… (why set up your own if there are opportunities out there already?)
6. Set up online networking profiles. There are plenty of social networking online services. Like Facebook or Friendster. But I mean the professional networking sites. Ryze and LinkedIn are the two best places to start. Especially LinkedIn. Yes, I have both: here and here. And then be aggressive to meet the people you want to meet. (see #3 above)

I hope this is at helpful for those who shudder when they think of the idea of “networking”.

UPDATE: Travis mentioned this program at Duquesne, which is a combination of summer class and internship in a Chinese firm. Really, I don’t think this sort of experience can be beat for the aspiring lawyer wanting to go into a China practice.  Will Lewis recommended Santa Clara University’s programs.  They have one in Shanghai and another in Hong Kong.

It is hard work to publish a good resume. I have seen many a resume where I wanted to re-write everything, or at least tell the person that the resume needs a lot of work. Many people have resumes which are great except the formatting is an eyesore. Others have little or no content. Perhaps I will post some of them some other time.

I have placed my legal and technical resumes in the resume section of my blog. They highlight my extensive technical experience in addition to my legal practice.

Resumes tell me a lot about a person: how organized, detail oriented, and articulate a person is. Yes, many of them are generic and cut-and-pasted from elsewhere, but it still tells me a lot when I see a poor resume.