International Law

SME Legal Bills In China. I'm So Glad You Asked.

By Dan

I was talking with a client today for whom we are doing what I consider to be our standard China start-up "package."  We are helping them form a WFOE, helping with the legal side of their lease, registering and protecting their IP in China, and drafting their China employee manuals and employee contracts. 

I mapped out generally what the client could expect during its first year in China in terms of legal fees and then I very briefly talked about some non-legal accounting and wage issues with which it should be prepared to deal. The client then asked a great question and one that, surprisingly enough, I had never been previously asked. "How much should we set aside for China legal matters after the first year?  

I thought for a moment and then noted how unless there is a major corporate change, there usually is surprisingly little need for legal help after one's first year in China. I then said our clients might call us after the first year with a labor law issue, but that those are usually very quickly and cheaply resolved. 

I got off the phone and five minutes later a client called. He had just been told by one of his female Chinese employees that she was entitled to 13 days leave for her marriage (as opposed to the standard three days) because she is 25 years old. The client thought his employee was making this up, but he wanted to be sure. Sure enough, brides over 22 years old are entitled to an extra ten days of leave time. They are entitled to thirteen days leave, but this leave shall include weekends (but not legal holidays). It took us all of ten minutes and we did not even bother to charge. 

Full post as published by China Law Blog on September 28, 2010 (boomark / email).