Foreign firms come to us in three situations. A client of yours has a matter in China that needs a Chinese lawyer. A proceeding outside China needs something done on the ground here. Or a judgment or an award needs to be turned into money against assets in China.
In each case the arrangement is the same: we act as China counsel, behind your engagement with the client, on the matter you send us and nothing wider.
Acting as China counsel
We act alongside you on your client's China work — a subsidiary, a joint venture, a supply or distribution dispute, an employment or exit question, a regulatory issue, or a transaction involving Chinese assets.
We are comfortable working to your matter plan and your reporting format. Where your client would rather receive a single combined advice, we can write to that, and we are clear in the document about which firm is giving which part of it.
Evidence, service and assets in China
For proceedings outside China, we handle the work that has to be done here: taking and preserving evidence, arranging service of process through the proper channels, locating and investigating assets, and dealing with the Chinese authorities where a matter requires it.
We will tell you plainly what Chinese procedure and the applicable treaty channels will and will not permit. Timelines in this area are measured in months rather than weeks, and that is much better known at the outset than after a deadline has passed.
Recognition and enforcement in China
Where your client holds a judgment or an arbitral award and wants it enforced against assets in China, we handle the application for recognition and enforcement in the Chinese courts, and the collection that follows.
Two questions decide these matters: whether the award is enforceable in China at all, and whether there is anything to collect. We would rather answer both for you before you instruct us than after.
How we work with your firm
- Your client stays your client. We act on the matter you send us. We do not approach your client about other work, and we do not market to them.
- One point of contact. A partner runs the matter and is the person you and your client speak to. Nothing is handed to a team you have not met.
- In English. Calls, reporting and drafts in English; we file and negotiate in Chinese.
- On fees between firms. Chinese conduct rules do not permit us to pay or accept referral fees for the referral of a matter. We set that out at the outset rather than leaving it to come up awkwardly later. What we offer is a firm you can put in front of your client without having to think about how it reflects on you.
To discuss a matter, email info@busilaw.com or call +86 400 860 2665. If you are a business or an individual looking for advice rather than a firm looking for counsel, see How We Work.