FEATURE | Shanghai In-house Legal Summit >>
In-house Legal Summit: Shanghai On 16 May, 150 senior in-house legal counsel converged on the Renaissance Hotel in Shanghai to network and discuss the most topical legal issues they face as practising lawyers. ALB China takes a brief look at the informative workshops they attended and the lively panel discussion at the end of the day on the new labour contract law
L L–R: Dennis Deng, partner, Dacheng Law Offices; Lawrence Liu, ACC China office chief representative; Frazer Xia, managing director of China Legal Career; Nancy Yu, joint general manager of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking; Isabella Zhou, Greater China legal counsel of Swarovski
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he issues that in-house counsel face are more diverse than those of private legal practitioners, especially in the context of a fast-changing legal and regulatory environment. As the importance of inhouse legal counsel grows, lawyers are having a variety of roles thrust upon them and need to perform effectively. The Labour Contract Law is a key piece of legislation affecting all companies operating in China. Consequently, this was the focus of a panel discussion at this year’s ALB Shanghai In-house Legal Summit. Attendees participated in six cuttingedge workshops hosted by leading law firms. Then, in an interactive panel discussion on “Will the New Labour Contract Law Increase the Cost of Doing Business in China?”, speakers and senior in-house counsel had the chance to ask each other the hard questions and throw light on some of the key legal support challenges of complying with the new law. The discussion was moderated by Lawrence Liu, ACC China office chief representative. Panelists and delegates
agreed that the new law would have significant impact on foreign and domestic businesses, and the costs of doing business in China would increase to some extent. They were also in consensus on the need to have a thorough understanding of the new law and its implications, and that in-house counsel could play an important role in assisting companies to develop a more systematic and proactive approach in managing human resources and ensuring compliance. In-house lawyers also said that the new law would help companies improve working conditions, and the development of clear guidelines and provisions would ensure that this legislation is effectively implemented across the board. Nevertheless, as China is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets the effect of the law on foreign investment in China is limited. Whether or not costs increase, ultimately a more mature legal environment should be considered as an advantage for attracting foreign investment. ALB ISSUE 5.6