Press Release (December 31, 2003)
First American Law Firm To Have Agreement In Province With China's Second Largest GDP
Salt Lake City law firm, Kirton & McConkie, has entered into an agreement with the Tian Hao (Top Hope) law firm in Nanjing, the capitol of Jiangsu Province, China. The cooperation agreement is the first for an American law firm in all of Jiangsu Province, an area of 72 million people that has the second largest GDP in China. A delegation of Kirton & McConkie attorneys returned from China this week.
While there, the delegation conducted a daylong seminar on international arbitration and litigation for 100+ members of the Jiangsu Bar Association. A growing issue among Chinese companies is non-payment for goods and services sold in the U.S. Chinese attorneys are eager to learn how to enforce the rights of their clients in the U.S.
The Kirton & McConkie delegation comprised Richard G. Johnson, Jr., senior partner of Kirton & McConkieÕs International Practice Group; David Wahlquist, partner, and long-time member of the American Arbitration Association Panel of Arbitrators, and Conan Grames, Chairman of Kirton & McConkieÕs International Section.
The delegation also lectured at the Department of Law of Nanjing Agricultural University, where Kirton & McConkie was named international advisor to the school.
In August Kirton & McConkie announced that Michael Chen, an attorney associated with the firm, had been named Dean of the Department of Law of Nanjing Agricultural University in Nanjing, China. Nanjing Agricultural University is a national university administered by the Ministry of Education.
Founded in 1964, Kirton & McConkie is one of UtahÕs largest law firms. Its International Section provides counsel to U.S. companies doing business abroad and to foreign companies seeking to conduct business in the U.S. The group specializes in international sales and investment transactions, establishing local legal entities, foreign real property transactions, international construction projects, preventive law, labor law and international dispute resolution. The firm employs more than 75 attorneys; most of who have lived outside the U.S. Kirton & McConkie attorneys have fluency in 16 languages.