Get recovery ready: invest in strategic relationships with China

Despite recent concerns for the Chinese economy, the Law Society of England and Wales is investing for the future by forging a new strategic relationship with lawyers in Shanghai.

President Paul Marsh will be visiting China and Hong Kong from 10 January, to highlight London's role as an unrivalled centre for international dispute resolution and to sign a strategic agreement with the Shanghai Bar which will see English solicitors delivering training to Chinese law firms over the coming years in many key areas of international practice.

Although growth in the Chinese economy has slowed sharply in recent months, like most of the BRIC economies it continues to attract considerable interest from overseas businesses and the law firms that support them. The Law Society is keen to invest in relationships and activities that will lead to new business for solicitors in the Chinese market in both the short and medium term.

Paul Marsh, President of the Law Society, says: 'While the economy in China has slowed, like other emerging markets it continues to attract investment in the current economic climate. This provides opportunities for the legal sector. With Chinese firms continuing to expand internationally, the Law Society visit will promote to China the UK’s role as the jurisdiction of choice for international dispute resolution.'

'Our agreement with the Shanghai Bar will also assist solicitors firms to develop links with their Chinese counterparts that may well lead to new business opportunities in what is an important and growing regional legal centre. We will be welcoming a delegation of shipping lawyers from Shanghai in March this year as the first event in our programme of joint activities for 2009.'

During the regional visit, the Law Society will be meeting a number of key representatives from the Hong Kong and Shanghai legal sectors, including the Shanghai Bar, Shanghai Bureau of Justice, Hong Kong Bar Association, and others.

The Society will also be taking part in a seminar with UKTI, City of London, and the China-British Business Council, focusing on alternative dispute resolution.

Alison Hook, head of international at the Law Society, says: 'The increased exposure of Chinese firms to international business practices and global competition, as well as to the effects of the credit crunch, has meant a growing Chinese interest in dispute resolution.

'In the current climate, businesses need to look at all the options for resolving disputes quickly and cheaply. English Solicitors are ideally placed to work with Chinese law firms and Chinese clients to offer an alternative dispute resolution process.

'Ninety-eight per cent of commercial cases handled by London law firms involve an international party, so the UK has a lot to offer in terms of experience in conducting multi-jurisdictional ADR.

'The Law Society is committed both to increasing access to justice and improving practice standards and is delighted to work in partnership with fellow bars, like the Shanghai Bar, to do so in their own jurisdictions as well.'

For more information on our work in China, contact anna.prag@lawsociety.org.uk.