From ABA Journal:
During the Cold War, world maps produced in the United States typically painted Communist China a bright shade of red. Today, lawyers trying to advise cli­ents do­ing business in the part-Communist, part-capitalist nation say it should be tinted a murky gray.
Under rules promulgated by the State Council through the Chinese Ministry of Justice, foreign firms from the U.S. and elsewhere are not permitted to practice law in China. When a deal is completed and a formal legal docu¬≠ment is necessary, they can’t create it or litigate it. And the Chinese lawyers who join those firms have to relinquish their Chinese law licenses, becoming advisers or consultants, sort of superparalegals. [Full Text]