Thomson Reuters expands Practical Law service with launch in China


Thomson Reuters today announced it has expanded the scope of Practical Law, the leading provider of online know-how to lawyers worldwide, with the launch of a dedicated China service.

Practical Law China is the first legal know-how service of its kind to provide transactional support to lawyers doing business in, or with parties based in, mainland China.

Practical Law China was created to meet the unique needs of lawyers working in one of the world’s largest target markets for global corporations and brands. It enables lawyers at multinational companies that trade with China to understand quickly where and how the practice of Chinese law differs from typical international practice, and to advise with confidence on the most common foreign direct investment deals.

The service brings together the expertise of Practical Law’s trusted team of in-house legal editors, all former practising lawyers at top firms and companies around the world, with insight and guidance from leading international and Chinese law firms, including Beijing-based Zhong Lun Law Firm.

“There is nothing in the Chinese legal market like the Practical Law China service,” said Robert Lewis, international managing partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm and a member of the service’s consultation board. “The templates in the Practical Law China service have been localised for use in China, so users will have confidence that the documents conform to international best practices while at the same time are appropriately adapted for use in China. I am confident that practitioners both inside and outside of China will find these resources to be invaluable.”

Unique to the Practical Law China service is a set of distinct toolkits which focus on the most common transaction types lawyers are likely to encounter. From the fundamentals of establishing a business in China, to localising boilerplate agreements, dealing with government merger filings and protecting IP, the toolkits help lawyers to work more efficiently and ultimately to mitigate risk when carrying out transactions with Chinese counterparties.

The English language toolkits provide more than 350 resources, including over 100 international market standard document and clause templates. All resources are regularly updated by the service’s in-house team and localised to work for commercial deals in China.

Further materials include integrated drafting notes with guidance and practical tips on what lawyers need to do differently in China, practice notes, checklists, glossary of key terms and country Q&As. Users can also connect to relevant bi-lingual Chinese legislation on Westlaw China from the Practical Law resources. Chinese language materials will be developed in future rollouts.

”Lawyers working in multinational companies quickly realise that in order to seize the rampant growth opportunities in China, they need to understand the key legal challenges of doing business in the country,” said Sophie Cameron, head of Practical Law China at Thomson Reuters.

“Practical Law China will enable lawyers to respond to these challenges more effectively, offering critical insight and practical guidance in a straightforward and comprehensive way.”

To learn more about the new service, click here.

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