ReleaseWire Connect

Edward Lehman, Managing Director of leading red circle law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu has been named as one of Who’s Who leading Business Lawyers.

Guangdong province has announced that special trial courts will be established in Guangzhou to deal with an increasing number of labor contract disputes. Such special courts have already been set up in Shenzhen and Foshan, two other Pearl River delta cities that have also witnessed soaring labor disputes.

Lehman, Lee & Xu represented Katcon Global in the acquisition of the exhaust system assets of Delphi China.

On Tuesday, Shanghai announced that it will establish a city-level organization by the end of 2009 to support the local software and information technology service industry. As part of the plan, Shanghai will establish 10 IT service and software industry zones by 2012. This would double the current number. It is also expected that around 400,000 people will work for the local IT industry, accounting for 6 % of the city's gross domestic product. In addition, Shanghai will establish a fund to support IT innovation and lend assistance to IT enterprises in obtaining bank loans.

While leading red circle law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu has been assisting multinational corporations and high net worth individuals for almost two decades with issues related to Chinese law, the firm also has significant experience in the field of educational consultancy. “Education is often unfairly discounted as an investment sector in China” states Edward Lehman, Managing Director of the firm.

China’s middle-class is expanding at a fast pace, and with it grows the basin of consumers who can effectively be reached by advertising campaigns. A recent article authored by Marisa Planess Valerio, a foreign attorney affiliated within Lehman, Lee & Xu, titled Advertising to Chinese Children, and published in Young Consumers (vol. 10, no. 2, 2009, p. 170-74), analyses the current Chinese advertising environment with a focus on the market for advertising to children – roughly 274 million “under-14” in 2007 – and internet advertising.

As China’s tax system grows more complicated the scope to reduce or avoid tax has become considerably smaller. Yet, there are still some opportunities for companies to reduce their overall tax burden. One of these opportunities is the concessions for high technology enterprises. Enterprises that obtain high technology status are entitled to a pref?erential corporate income tax rate of 15%, which is substantially lower than China’s ordinary 25% corporate tax rate. This can obviously lead to significant tax savings for such enterprises. So-called ‘high technology enterprises’ are essentially companies which own independent, core IP rights, and which derive a specified portion of their income from new high technology products. Other requirements include employing of specified numbers of qualified engineers. Tax incentives have helped high technology status to be very popular with businesses in China, and to date approximately sixteen thousand enterprises have been granted certification.

When asked, most people would identify leading red circle law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu with the fields of Intellectual Property, Mergers and Acquisitions or Private Equity. The firm however also has a thriving diplomatic and government relations practice group. “Most people think that missions have diplomatic immunity and have no interaction with local law. This is simply not the case”, relays Andrew Lillis, part of the firm’s diplomatic practice group.

Wang Donghi, IP attorney at leading red circle law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu, has been invited to attend the famous “IP Salon” in 2009. The event, which is organized by the Intellectual Property channel of people.com, IPR. gov.cn and the China IPR magazine will bring together professionals from the field to discuss important legal developments in the field.

Representing the requirements of both multinational companies, and domestic Chinese companies Lehman, Lee & Xu’s highly praised Intellectual Property department, has extensive knowledge and expertise in areas concerning patents, trademarks, and copyright. Our specialist awareness in the field has resulted in Lehman, Lee & Xu being acknowledged and recognized by accolades of awards.