Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

China's New Foreign Law Firm Regulations: A Step In The Wrong Direction, Jane J. Heller

Washington International Law Journal

Following China's accession to the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), the Chinese government issued new regulations governing foreign law firms in China. A number of commentators have analyzed these regulations to evaluate whether China is "'on track" to fulfilling the commitments it undertook to gain entry to the WTO. However, a more basic question that should be addressed is whether the new regulations meet China's goals in joining the WTO: to foster trade and economic development and to accelerate the growth of China's legal profession. Although China appeared willing to engage in significant liberalization of the legal services sector when it …