Jana King Allen

Practicing Transparency: Foreign Lawyers in China's Transitional Economy Jana King Allen

China is in the midst of unprecedented economictransformation. Fundamental legal reform accompaniesthese changes as the government promotes the rule oflaw. Foreign lawyers have played a critical role in thisprocess, working toward greater transparencyin China's legal system. This book examines howforeign lawyers working in China promote China's legaltransformation in their daily practice, and how thecountry's opaque legal environment causes lawyers toalter the roles they play for clients. While workingin China, these foreign lawyers operate underrestrictions on their legalpractice. This book analyzes how theselawyers respond to such restrictions byfollowing, bending or violating the Chinese regulations. This innovativesociologicalstudy is based onextensive original interviews with legalpractitioners in China. Readers with an interest inChina, law, or sociology will find this bookparticularly illuminating.