When Professionalism Meets Clientelism: Foreign Law Firms in Contemporary China

• Main Author: 龔南蕙
• Other Authors: 陳志柔
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/06602752077298366937

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 社會學研究所 === 95 === Since 2002, more foreign law firms have come to China to practice law. Among various fields of legal services, commercial lawsuits involving foreign investors’ interests challenge most the professional codes followed by these law firms. Changes in foreign law firms’ behavior in coping with such lawsuits reflect one dimension of China’s market institution in China’s post reform era constituted by professionalism and clientelism. This research attempts to analyze the mechanism of such an institution by observing the behavioral pattern of foreign law firms when they deal with lawsuits involving foreign interests. The data collection mainly relies on in-depth interviews with five American law firms based in Beijing and content analysis of litigation materials.