Understanding Letters of Credit Letters of credit are complex financial tools that can be dangerous if not understood properly. This post will explain what letters of credit are, delve into specifics on potential complications, and provide advice to avoid risks when using them for international transactions. A Cautionary Letter of Credit Tale I got a
Spoke with a China lawyer friend of mine today who told me his firm had not “done” a single China Rep Office for the last six months. Every time someone had contacted them with plans for a China Rep Office, it ended up as a WFOE. I told him the same thing had been happening
In Cashing in on Internet Censorship, CNN News writes how business for Virtual Private Network (VPN) companies is booming these days, thanks largely to China and Iran. The article discusses how “foreign companies are profiting from software that allows circumvention of government internet controls.” The article quotes one of my law firm’s international attorneys on how
When the media and the blogosphere started going crazy writing about China’s plans to ban the eating of dog meat, I made clear to myself that I was going to stay out of it. There was just no way I was going to join that bandwagon. First off, I just did not see it as
One of the misconceptions I am always fighting about China is that it has no laws. Even people who should know better often just assume there is nothing on the China law books to cover a particular business law matter. Their assumptions oftentimes stem from their having seen companies act in many different ways, leading
The Matt Schivenza blog has a new post, Foreign Woman Removes Top At Beach in Qingdao, Causes Major Disturbance. [link no longer exists]. Matt’s post tracks what I was talking about this morning with a client. Not nudity, but rule of law, and how so many foreigners that do business in China misunderstand its extent
An international litigator I know just emailed me an article on Chinese Drywall, with the question, “why do you think these lawyers are spending so much money to serve the Chinese defendants.” My short answer is that I do not know. I will backtrack a bit first. The article is Chinese-Made Drywall: A Multi-Defendant, Multi-Claim,
A post like this has to generalize a bit and there are exceptions to everything I say below. But having worked with dozens of law firms in both Korea and China, I have noticed the following four problems in dealing with lawyers from those two countries, respectively: 1. KOREA LAWYERS Non-responsiveness is the norm. American
CLB’s own Steve Dickinson has just returned from the annual China Maritime Law Conference, made up mostly of Asian international maritime lawyers. This year’s conference was in Wuhan. Steve reports as follows after the first day: I just finished the morning session of the first day of the All China Maritime Law Conference being held
“I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.” Bob Dylan, Man of Peace “I am a man of peace.” Kwai Chang Caine, Kung Fu, Episode 8 “Peace lies not in the world…but in the man who walks the path.” Master Po, Kung Fu, Episode 8 When I took on this task of
