Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Knight LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview
China
Applying Unique and Practical Experience to Help Clients Succeed in China. We apply our strengths in these areas to assist clients in the corporate, business association, government and international institution sectors, and to help clients overcome challenges to achieve their goals in the China market.

Holland & Knight attorneys have extensive experience in regulatory, commercial and government relations issues in China. We apply our strengths in these areas to assist clients in the corporate, business association, government and international institution sectors, and to help clients overcome challenges to achieve their goals in the China market. We routinely handle our clients' complex international commercial transactions, project approvals, negotiations, advocacy programs, and regulatory issues involving the Chinese government and other parties.

Our attorneys assist clients in a wide spectrum of industry sectors. Recent China experience and projects cover the following industry areas: automotive, aviation, biotechnology, broadcasting, capital investment, chemical, consumer product, coating, commercial and residential development, cosmetic, electronic, energy, entertainment, food and beverage, heavy machinery, hospitality, infrastructure development, pharmaceutical, retail, software, telecommunications, toy and transportation. Typical projects may range from $60 billion infrastructure deals to legal due diligence for prospective venture partners to developing plans to prevent illegal labor practices in supplier manufacturing facilities.

Many of the industry sectors Holland & Knight's attorneys represent are included in the China Roundtable. The China Roundtable is an industry association organized to share best practices; discuss and analyze recent legal developments and advocacy opportunities; and leverage member resources to address compliance, social responsibility, occupational health and safety, environmental protection, supply-chain management and other issues affecting member operations and products in China. Holland & Knight attorneys serve as counsel to the association.

Services Available
Corporate, Transactions and Trade Experience
We advise clients on issues that need to be addressed in order to do business successfully in China. These issues include choosing the right joint venture partners; designing appropriate corporate and financial structures; establishing wholly foreign-owned enterprises and joint ventures; planning taxation strategies for corporations and foreign employees; structuring labor and employment aspects of new ventures; developing capitalization plans; and organizing banking, payment and foreign currency convertibility. We also regularly counsel our clients on contractual, project finance, capital investment, securities, merger and acquisition, technology transfer, intellectual property protection, technology security and software encryption, equipment standard certification, and other issues that are important for companies starting or expanding their investments in China.

Regulatory Experience
Our attorneys help clients understand how to transform often ambiguous or confusing Chinese regulatory requirements into practical compliance plans, and are well versed in a broad range of regulatory programs in China. Drawing on this experience and focusing on China government relations issues, we help clients avoid legal pitfalls and minimize enforcement and public perception risks for the company.

Particular regulatory areas in which we regularly assist clients include broadcast, corporate, certification and accreditation, commercial contract, environmental protection, export, finance, import, intellectual property protection, labor, land use, occupational health, occupational safety, project approval, tax, telecommunications and transport. Our attorneys are also uniquely experienced in assisting clients with their rulemaking advocacy needs in China. In this area, we work in concert with attorneys who have decades of experience in working with Chinese government organizations. In this way, we can assist clients with developing and implementing successful advocacy plans concerning particular Chinese rule or policymaking initiatives that can or will affect client operations and products.

Government Relations and Advocacy Experience
Whether operating in or selling services and/or products to China or Chinese counterparts, companies must secure government approvals, engage with government officials to understand their interpretations of ambiguous or confusing laws, or advocate to these officials particular approaches to securing business objectives. A significant number of government organizations may be involved for any particular legal issue in China. For instance, government approval of a chemical manufacturing plant in China could involve the General Administration of Taxation, the General Administration of Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, the State Administration for Work Safety, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Environmental Protection Administration, or their local counterparts, among other organizations.

Our attorneys have spent years working in and with government organizations, including a former Legislative Director from the National People's Congress responsible for drafting China's national laws and overseeing implementation and enforcement of national and local law. Our attorneys have also worked at Chinese executive agencies, such as the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Environmental Protection Administration.

Holland & Knight attorneys are particularly sensitive to the cultural and practical issues of private and public sector dealings with Chinese government officials. These include in-depth understanding of approaches to working with such officials on all manner of projects while protecting client confidences and engaging the Chinese government in productive discussions to address client goals. We have extensive experience in assisting clients with implementing corporate codes of conduct addressing the prevention of corrupt practices, as well as compliance concerns associated with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as these clients engage with national and local government officials in China.

Inbound Client Representation
The Holland & Knight China team has extensive experience in addressing the cultural and legal needs of China-based clients as they seek counsel for activities or investments in the U.S. and elsewhere outside China. Our China team works seamlessly with attorneys specializing in the wide range of other practice areas at the firm, on issues for China-based clients such as identifying suitable investment locations in the U.S., registering patents, raising capital, transferring technology or personnel, or understanding client obligations under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Training Program
More than 50 Chinese attorneys have received training at the firm. We have a strong and growing alumnae network. Many of our alumnae have gone on to hold leadership positions in Chinese government organizations, Chinese law firms, Chinese businesses, and elsewhere. Our alumnae strengthen Holland & Knight's network in the China market, to our clients' benefit.

Beijing Office
Our office in Beijing, China, augments our ability to serve our clients' corporate, regulatory, and government relations needs in proximity to the center of the national government.