Foreign cases raise bar for lawyers

Language skills, knowledge of Western systems needed as companies expand

Liu Honghui recalled both the excitement and the apprehension of the latest legal cooperation with one of the largest Chinese-American associations during his trip to the United States in April.

Regarding the language differences involved, Liu, a lawyer from the Jing Shi Law Firm in Beijing, said: "It's hard and nerve-racking to speak with Chinese-Americans, let alone the foreigners around them. Although I have five years' experience in dealing with foreign-related disputes, it's still a problem to communicate with foreign litigants without language aids."