Forum focuses on cross-border legal services

Writer: Kang Wei  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From: Shenzhen Daily | Updated: 2019-12-10

A global legal services forum was held at a hotel in Futian District on Saturday, bringing together lawyers and legal experts from home and abroad to share their thoughts and insights on issues like overseas investment, risk control, cross-border dispute resolution and legal cooperation.

The forum, sponsored by V&T Law Firm, was held concurrently with the first V&T Alliance Conference.

Established in 2017, the alliance is committed to providing localized services to Chinese clients and creating opportunities for its members from around the world to provide legal services in China.

“We will conduct in-depth exchanges on international legal services and cooperation, and explore a new model of global legal service cooperation,” Zhang Zhi, director of the management committee of V&T Law Firm and president of V&T Alliance, said at the start of the forum.

Jiang Xilin, director of the Shenzhen Municipal Justice Bureau, said in his opening speech that he hopes the forum and the China-centered legal network will help further promote cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and foreign legal service providers and serve as a platform for Chinese lawyers to “go global.”

Dr. Liu Xiaochun, president of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, delivered a speech titled “SCIA and the Recent Development in China’s International Arbitration.” He said, “China’s arbitration legislation needs to further strengthen international cooperation by building an international network.”

While discussing legal innovation against the backdrop of globalization and in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, several speakers at the forum touched upon the topics of how cultural differences challenge legal practice and how legal practice responds to that challenge.

Javier Junquera Rodriguez from Orient Consulting, a member of V&T Alliance, said that back in their office in Spain they are actively learning Chinese and coming to understand Chinese culture in the hope of enhancing mutual trust through mutual understanding.

“I think the alliance can be regarded as a new channel, through which we can better understand each other and seize new opportunities in the legal service market,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez’s message was echoed by Xue Xue with Denmark-based Andersen Partners, another alliance member.

“Cultural difference matters,” said Xue. “Language is always the smallest issue when it comes to conducting cross-border business, because we can always find a good translator to do that. But we cannot translate culture.”

Xue gave an account of how she helped a Chinese company fire the CEO of an R&D center the company had set up in Denmark. “My client thought it would be a tough task because, according to Chinese labor law, you have to pay compensation and it takes a long time,” Xue said. “When they came to me, I told them not to worry about it since the Danish labor law is very flexible and employees can be fired at any time without needing an excuse. So we helped our client fire the Danish CEO in just five minutes.

“Culture sometimes is a positive force and sometimes it is a counter-force. As a provider of legal services, we need to help clients prepare psychologically and practically to respond to cultural conflicts,” Xue said.

An Italian lawyer at the forum seemed to be clueless when Chen Ping, founder of PCW Law in New Zealand, asked him whether he would give a green hat as a gift to his client. “You can go horribly wrong if you give a green hat to your Chinese clients, especially male clients,” Chen told the lawyer, who appeared speechless.

“If you are not fully prepared for cross-cultural communication and don’t understand the cultural differences, behaviors, and even gestures and body language, you may misinterpret and misunderstand, which can cause huge problems for personal and business relationships,” Chen concluded.

Lawyers from other countries and regions, including the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Singapore and Hong Kong, and representatives from some Chinese businesses also talked about the current trends and challenges in overseas investment, opportunities in overseas markets, as well as issues related to corporate governance, risk management, arbitral awards and diversified dispute resolution mechanisms.

The forum lasted for one day.