Features & Analyses

Guangdong is the first province to have issued a guiding opinion on the labour laws. The opinion attempts to clarify some of the ambiguities in the PRC Employment Contract Law, which took effect in January this year. But the issuance of the rules has caused considerable controversy, with some arguing the Guangdong authorities do not have the right to issue guiding opinions and that some its contents are, as a result, against the national law.

By Jianjun Ma of Jun He Law OfficesOn May 14 2007 when both employers and employees in mainland China were keeping their eyes on the review of and voting…

The Anti-monopoly Law (AML), which came into force on August 1, 2008, introduces a new legal regime of merger control. Alexandre Vincent and Elaine Zhu from CMS argue the implementation of the notifiable concentrations should be suspended until clearance by MOFCOM.

In 1979, China had only 212 lawyers and 79 law firms, since 1994 the number of lawyers has increased by 10,000 per year, meaning there are approximately 140,000 lawyers in China and 10,000 law firms. In light of such rapid development, the issue of how to regulate the legal profession has become a serious one. By Changchun Yuan and Hongchuan Liu, Partners of Broad & Bright.

China's Securities Regulatory Commission has issued measures aimed at regulating the financial consultants who provide advice to listed companies in China. Although it is seen as a step in the right direction, by bringing China more into line with the world's mature capital market environments, for many the measures do not provide a level playing field for M&A activity in China.

By Chris Xiaoyun Lin of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & FeldIn early July, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) announced a 90-day campaign to…

The Shanghai municipal government has recently published a new set of regulations to further encourage the establishment of regional headquarters in the city. Simon Meng, Partner from Herbert Smith and Betty Tam, Consultant from Herbert Smith discuss whether the new regulations will prove more attractive than the previous provisions.

By Dr. Ulrike Glück and Julia Tänzler, CMS Hasche Sigle Shanghai OfficeOn January 1 2008, the new PRC Employment Contract Law1《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》…

China's legal market continues to attract high-end, complicated and multi jurisdictional work and in Beijing this month, the China Law & Practice awards will reflect the complexities and challenges. Chris Bisogni and Joanna Law provide a summary of the deals and firms that made the 2008 shortlist.