James Zimmerman was quoted in the South China Morning Post* article, "Xi Jinping says China has a Legal Problem: Finding the Lawyers to Defend its Interests Abroad," regarding there is the growing awareness among leadership that Beijing is at a disadvantage in international disputes.

According to Jim, a partner in the Beijing office and former chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Xi’s main concern with using foreign lawyers seems to be about control.
 
“Foreign lawyers are bound by confidentiality and privilege and risks are low on potential leakage of confidential information,” Jim said. “The real issue is control. Xi wants to see party control over the flow of information, as well as control over legal services and strategies.” He said it was in the interests of Chinese companies to have the best legal team possible. “Even sophisticated Chinese companies would know that they need to retain qualified counsel and would never retain a Chinese law firm by default,” he said.

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