International Contract Lawyer

International Contracts and Why What “Can’t Hurt” Usually Does Hurt

1. Typical Boilerplate Provisions The Western world — particularly the Anglo-Saxon/common law world — is used to ultra-long contracts for everything. A contract to buy $6,000 worth of rubber duckies will include all sorts of boilerplate provisions, such as one making clear that buying rubber duckies does not make the buyer and seller parties a

China employment lawyer

China Employee Wage Deductions

Though China employers are generally not allowed to monetarily penalize employees who cause their employer economic losses, employers can require their employees compensate them for such losses by deducting funds from their wages. Nonetheless, because wage deductions are a big deal for China employees, special care by employers is required. If a China employer is

China employment lawyers

China Employee Social Insurance Laws

It is not news that Chinese labor authorities have been cracking down on employers that fail to make social insurance payments for their employees. What is news is that Chinese labor authorities are taking that enforcement to the next level. Last week, 28 government departments (including the National Development and Reform Commission, the People’s Bank

China Sexual Harassment MeToo

China Sexual Harassment Protections

On September 5, 2018, the PRC National People’s Congress issued a new draft of Several Sections of the PRC Civil Code (the “Draft”) for public comments until early November. The Draft would provide heightened protection against sexual harassment on a national level and would also impose more obligations on China employers. Below are a few highlights

China movie contracts

Fan Bing Bing’s International Business Lessons

Photo by George Baird I had a sorta friend in college who smoked like a chimney and drank like a Supreme Court Justice. When people would point out the danger of his ways, he would respond by emphatically noting that his grandfather also smoked and drank just as much and he did and his grandfather

CalifornialawyersProposition

The Internet of Things and California Proposition 65

Most IoT products are made in China and most of those IoT products are then sold in the United States, including California. It therefore bears mentioning that California Governor Jerry Brown last week approved SB-327, the first information security law in the U.S. specifically targeting the IoT. SB-327 will take effect on January 1, 2020

China licensing lawyers

China Licensing Deals so Horrible They are Hard to Believe

In the past few months, our China lawyers have been seeing something new and troubling with China licensing agreements. Before I explain, let me step back and give a bit of history. This post is important so please stay with me. In a typical China licensing deal the foreign licensor grants the Chinese licensee the

Chinese company due diligence Seal or Chop

China Company Chops: The Basics

It is nearly always a good idea to have your Chinese counter-party “chop” or “seal” your China contracts with their official China company chop. There are many types of company chops. Which one should be used? How do you know if the company chop is real? What does a real China company chop look like?

International due diligence checklist

China Expat Employment Contracts

Hardly a day goes by without one of our China employment lawyers getting an email from a China expat seeking legal help involving an ex-employer. Many times they will briefly describe their situation and conclude their email with something like, “do I have a case?” Our employment attorneys nearly always respond with something like the