U.S. law firms are struggling to represent Chinese companies on outbound investments as the world’s second-largest economy continues to expand. Even though the number of American lawyers in China increases by the day, cross-border work from China to the United States has been hard to get, thanks to a combination in America of China-bashing, security concerns, and protectionist policies, combined with cultural differences.
“There is the perception that the political climate [in the U.S.] is harder for Chinese companies,” says Spencer Griffith, managing partner of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Beijing office. That perception gained traction in 2005, when state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) dropped its offer for Unocal Corporation, and was reinforced last year when Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. abandoned its bid for 3Leaf Systems Inc. The CNOOC deal came under fire from lawmakers, while the Huawei bid drew the attention of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
