U.S. law firms, however, are more circumspect.

They see that, in contrast to the riches the WTO agreement bestows upon foreign businesses, foreign law firms get very little, and in fact have some things taken away from them. “In terms of the restrictions we operate under, it’s not a win-win for lawyers,” says Nicholas Howson, the partner in charge of the Beijing office of New York-based Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.