In 2001 China practice for international law firms was all about inbound dealsadvising multinationals making investments in the developing economy. Most Western lawyers counted themselves happy to have the same clients in China that they had back home. Vinson & Elkins’s China-based lawyers were no different, representing regular clients of the firm such as BP plc, Coastal Energy, and the soon-to-be-infamous Enron Corp. in exploration and production deals. But at a strategy session held at the suburban Beijing home of then-partner Handel Lee, V&E’s China team decided to follow a different path.
"At that point in time we did zero work for the state-owned enterprises [SOEs]," recalls James Cuclis, Vinson & Elkins’s Hong Kongbased corporate head. The largest companies in China, the SOEs dominate sectors like banking, steel, and telecommunicationsand energy. "We decided at that meeting that our number one priority for the China practice was to target those companies."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
