Cultivating High-end Internationalized Legal Talents in China
WANG Jun
Law School, University of International Business and Economics
I. Issues as raised
What China is currently scarce are high-end internationalized legal talents. Why does this become an issue? The following examples may clearly explain the reasons for our aforesaid concern.
A member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2001, China has played as a super economy among its fellow members in settling disputes within this global trade institution. Up to now, however, China has remained reliant on U.S. lawyers in representing itself before the WTO tribunals, with the Chinese native practitioners left far behind.
Take another example. By the end of 2011, the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) had commenced as many as 435 cases, while only one WTO expert from China had been chosen to serve in the panel of one of these cases.
This gives rise to a further question: what does it mean by “high-end internationalized legal talents”? It can hardly be defined by a plain concept. Instead, let’s take examples again – if we may. Those who are capable of representing China in international litigation should be deemed such a talent. Those who have been offered a legal position with any international organizations should also count, for sure.
II. The Role of Chinese Law Schools
The Chinese law schools, in fostering students into high-calibre legal professionals of international standard, endeavor to try anything but acting in a state of inertia. Take our UIBE Law School. For a single year of 2010, 7 of our graduates had been admitted to Columbia Law School, the latter earning the 4th spot in U.S. best law school ranking of the year. These UIBE graduates appeared to have great potential to become a high-end internationalized legal talent, which in turn indicated a supportive role of the Chinese legal education in shaping their future career. In absence of such prior domestic legal education, they could hardly seize any of the aforesaid overseas opportunities.
The above observation is confirmed by another figure. Up to 2011, there had been 11 graduates of the UIBE law school who ended up working for Clifford Chance – the UK-based top international law firm – as a regular employee in its Beijing or Shanghai office. In contrast, as far as I know, such chances would be slim for those who go to college abroad immediately after graduating from the high school at home in China.
III. Curriculum and Teaching Methodology at the UIBE Law School
1. The Model of Curriculum as “1+4”
The curriculum is the very cornerstone in fostering our students into high-calibre legal talents of international standard. The current curricular system at the UIBE law school may be summarized as the so-called “One plus Four,” specifically designed for our undergraduates.
In the above context, “One” refers to a series of “core courses” (16 of them in total) required by China’s Ministry of Education, of which many are primary courses of the Chinese laws. In this particular part of curriculum, there is no significant difference between the Chinese law schools, except that the quality of such courses may vary from one law school to another who offers them.
In the same context, “Four” means four types of supplementary courses, which turn out to be “General English + Professional English + International Featured courses + International Economics, Trade & Finance”.
2. Courses on General English
For courses on General English, the UIBE law school assigns 450 class hours or more (accounting for at least 26 credits) to them, which are normally 3.5 - 4 times of the class hours assigned to the similar courses offered by a non-English featured law school. This helps our undergraduates lay a solid foundation for their further study of Professional English.
3. Courses on Professional English
Besides a broad array of bilingual courses on Professional English, the UIBE law school specifically provides 5 “all-in-English legal courses” for the undergraduates, meaning that the text book used and the instructions given therein are all in English. These 5 courses include:
(1) World Trade Organization Law;
(2) International Trade Law;
(3) International Sales of Goods;
(4) Comparative E-commerce Law;
(5) International Commercial Law.
In addition, there are 2 forthcoming “all-in-English legal courses” as follows:
(1) Business Negotiation;
(2) Legal Writing.
4. International Featured Courses
The international featured courses consist of 25 - 30 individual courses, roughly divided into 3 categories:
(1) International commercial law. Courses currently available are: Comparative Business Organization Law, Foreign Investment Enterprise Law, Comparative Contract Law, Law of International Sale of Goods, Comparative Product Liability Law, Comparative Negotiable Instrument Law, Comparative Bankruptcy Law, Comparative Security Law, Letter of Credit and International Settlements, Comparative Insurance Law, Maritime Law, International Finance Law, Comparative Corporate Finance Law, Comparative E-commerce Law, etc.;
(2) International economics law. Courses currently available are: WTO Law, International Antitrust Law, International Investment Law, Comparative Banking Law, Comparative Security Law, Comparative Fiscal and Taxation Law, Comparative Environment Law, EU law, etc.;
(3) Procedural law and legal methodology. Courses currently available are: International Commercial Arbitration, Legal Practice in International Dispute Resolution, Moot Court Competition, as well as Legal English: Writing & Translation, etc.;
As for the average amount of such featured courses taken by our undergraduates, our survey shows that in order to satisfy the credit requirements, the students normally only need 11 of such courses, although some outstanding students may take more according to their preference.
5. Courses on Economics, Trade and Finance
For the undergraduates of the UIBE, what they may choose among the courses on Economic International Economics, Trade and Finance, at their minimum levels, should include: Principles of Economics (including both macro-economics and micro-economics), International Trade, the Practice of International Trade, Introduction to China’s Foreign Trade, Finance, Elementary Financial Accounting and, Principles of Management.
IV. Study Abroad
Pursuing advanced legal education at a Western higher educational institution represents an important avenue of cultivating high-end internationalized legal talents.
For the UIBE law school, the proportion of its undergraduate graduates going abroad remains relatively high. In 2011, for instance, we have 21 such graduates going abroad, accounting for 18.1% of our total 116. This year, we have 33 such graduates who have completed their application for studying abroad, along with 5 more who are still in consideration. These 38 account for 31.4% of our total 121 such graduates.
Regarding the relations of domestic education to the study abroad, here are my takes. First, domestic education should be of great significance to one’s future development. Given the current employment situation in the Mainland China, it appears that any reputable foreign law firms, or their Chinese counterparts featuring foreign factors of any kind, would be reluctant to accept any candidate without prior undergraduate education at home.
Secondly, it should be a wise choice to base your overseas advanced education on prior undergraduate or postgraduate education at home. The solider foundation you lay for your early domestic education, the better prospects there would be of your future study abroad, the latter often involves the rank of the foreign law school you are admitted to, your academic performance therein, as well as your future development.
Thank you!
