Only one day left to submit your most important question about the legal aspects of doing business internationally to Ask the No Nonsense Lawyer in advance of my hosting international legal expert Carol Emory tomorrow night at 8pm Eastern and 5 pm Pacific.  For more information click here.

Legal systems develop in response to the needs of economic growth.  It’s therefore little surprise that as China’s economy has mushroomed, so too has its corresponding body of laws and regulations.  Among its newest additions is an anti-monopoly law that went into effect last year.  While from a purely legal perspective, the adoption of such anti-monopoly principles represents a significant step in the harmonization of the rule of law between countries; its implementation has led to some business surprises.

Why?  Well, it was originally thought that the new law would be a factor in the burgeoning mergers and acquisitions area.  Yet, some lawyers are creatively applying the new law on behalf of consumers to file private actions against large Chinese companies. 

By way of comparison, in the U.S. private antitrust suits are usually filed by companies or similarly situated plaintiffs who file as a group in a class action suit.  They are not typically filed by individual consumers.  As a result the Chinese application of the anti-monopoly law could lead to some interesting liability exposure.  If these suits are sanctioned by China’s Supreme People’s Court it is entirely possible that such consumer actions could be brought against foreign companies operating in China too. 

You might say that that’s the way the fortune cookie crumbles, but, the creative use of anti-monopoly is but one example of how the assumptions we may have about our own legal system may not translate well when conducting business internationally.  With more businesses going global every day, understanding the legal playing field and developing confidence in your ability to successfully navigate it can make the difference between business success and failure.

If you would like to learn more about the common legal mistakes managers and executives make when dealing abroad and how to avoid them, please join me on December 3^rd at 8 pm Eastern (5 pm Pacific) when I’ll be hosting international legal expert Carol Emory on Ask the No Nonsense Lawyer.  Better yet, if you have a question that you’d like me to ask Carol on Thursday evening click here to submit it and you’ll receive the call-in information to this complimentary program. 

Copyright © 2009, Corporate M.O., LLC 

If your business is engaged in international transactions you may be interested to know that law enforcement officials are increasingly collaborating across borders on investigations of a host of illegal activities ranging from the antitrust violations, to tax evasion, to bribery of foreign officials, financial fraud, and more.  No longer can you safely escape the clutches of Inspector Clouseau by crossing a border.

Due to this heightened scrutiny, companies with significant international operations are conducting more of their own multi-jurisdictional and cross-border investigations.  Of course every time you leave your home country you are bound to encounter some surprises and challenges. 

An interesting article, titled “Pitfalls of Cross-Border Investigations” identifies four important rules of the road that are worth noting: 

1. Secure relevant documents.  This may be easier said than done due to diverse document retention policies abroad, language barriers, and other technological challenges.
2. Beware of local rules when interviewing employees abroad.  Some countries have privacy laws that entitle employees to bring their own attorney or to decline your invitation to sit down and talk altogether.  Then there are additional hurdles created by language and other cultural barriers.
3. Recognize that the U.S. concept of attorney-client privilege is not universally accepted abroad.  European law in particular is at odds with U.S. law on this front.
4. Give consideration to a coordinated investigation if multiple governments are zeroing in on the same issue.

Conducting business internationally is a trap for the unwary, regardless of whether you have a substantial footprint overseas or are just starting out.  That’s why I’m delighted to be interviewing international legal expert, Carol Emory on December 3, 2009 at 8 pm Eastern ( 5 pm Pacific) about the potential legal pitfall of international business transactions. 

Click here for more information about how you can submit a question that I’ll ask Carol on December 3^rd and mark your calendar to join us for this valuable and complimentary program.

Copyright © 2009 Corporate M.O., LLC

I just got off the phone with my friend Nicholas Chen.  We were brainstorming about our interview Wednesday evening on Ask the No Nonsense Lawyer.  (It’s at 8pm Eastern and 5pm Pacific.)  

Nic is as entertaining as he is informative and he will definitely have some very interesting stories to tell as well as tips about the do’s and don’ts of doing business in Greater China.  Please click here for more info.