Google

2007/07/08

Can't Take My Eyes Off the Train Wreck (aka Career Suicide Was Never This Funny)

There are lawyers in China who are writing blogs, there aren't many, but they do exist...Of course there is Steve Dickinson of the Chinalawblog (which is finally accessible again in China!! And his partner, Dan Harris, sure has been getting an extended moment of fame as of late), I believe the guy behind the Black China Hand is a lawyer, unfortunately I haven't been able to read that blog for awhile due to its being blocked, and of course there is yours truly.

Yet my job and my bloglife are two separate things and so I will rarely bring up job matters on my blog, I would never mention my firm's name and would never say anything negative about anyone associated with the firm. Why? I like my job, but even beyond that, I want to be able to get a job in the future. That's when I saw The Life of a US Lawyer at a Chinese Law Firm (hat tip, again to Mr. Harris), I was more than a bit shocked. There are a lot of little differences that exist at Chinese law firms as compared to US ones, and it has a lot to do with the culture differences. My current firm, for all intents and purposes, runs almost exactly like a Western firm, it has to, that's how we get the top Western clients we do. However, I interned with a Chinese firm where there would be naps after lunch, meals with Party leaders, and other interesting activities that you wouldn't expect at a Western law firm (let me state that there was NEVER anything illegal (well, beyond software piracy)).

You can therefore understand my shock when the differences talked about by that US lawyer, going beyond the realm of just discussing cultural differences and instead issuing a full on attack against the ZhongLun Law Firm, one of China's top firms. The reality is that almost everything he talks about appears to be true, but...why talk about it? As a lawyer, this is Reason Number 1 why not to have a blog, but then again, nobody is forcing that kind of irresponsibility. It's a bit appalling, too, because some of what he talks about (the arcane nature of Chinese laws, the Office IT guy, bribery) are important problems and a rational blog could have a lot of good things to say. Instead, his blog seems more of a bitter outlet to attack a highly respected firm, I wonder what kind of effect this might have on ZhongLun. If the lawsuit against this guy comes (and I'm sure it will), I can't imagine him having much hope. Well, I can't wait for the next installment, the accident just keeps getting worse and worse and it was never more fun!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but I saw that I'm getting my ass kicked by a few other blogs, so I'll put a plea out, though I know its a bit late. This blog is elgible in the Chinalyst best blog voting. You can go here to VOTE. FOR. ME! Just click on that plus, that's all you need to do...I know there hasn't been a lot of new content lately, but there's a good story (or combo of stories) as to why, vote for me, and I will tell you, okay?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes, vote for modern leifeng

Anonymous said...

seems like his blog is still blocked. wonder what he wrote.