Shanghai duanhe duan law firm. A letter from the White House is embedded in an exquisite photo frame: "Dear Mr. Charlie Duan, thank you very much for telling me the good news of your firm's opening. I wish the firm all the best." President Clinton's signature is at the signature office. Time: 1993 July 15.
The opening of Duan Qihua Law Firm really surprised people at home and abroad, including the President of the United States.
1992, Duan Qihua returned to his hometown in Shanghai. During this period, foreign media reports on the new wave of China's reform and opening-up made his heart surge. He felt the time was ripe-to return to China to open the first foreign-related law firm in China.
During the period of 1990, Duan Qihua's master's thesis at Washington University was entitled "On the Possibility of Establishing a Private Partnership Law Firm in China". The American tutor only gave him 3.2 points. The tutor said, "When you really set up a private partnership law firm in China, I will give you full marks."
Sure enough, as expected by the American tutor, Duan Qihua's idea is really whimsical. After returning home, he traveled all over Shanghai and the relevant departments of the central government and got the same answer: no.
At that time, although Shanghai encouraged international students to come to work and supported the way that international students came to work in Shanghai to declare their household registration, the opening was not completely open.
Previously, when sporadic returned students wanted to start a business in Shanghai, Shanghai even stipulated that local preferential policies could only be enjoyed by international students born in Shanghai.
Duan Qihua was puzzled: "Isn't the country welcoming overseas students to work and start businesses in China?"
The answer is: "The document only stipulates that foreign students are welcome to return to China to start businesses, and there is no provision for setting up a law firm. To be a lawyer, you must go to a domestic law firm. "
Duan Qihua was anxious: "Can't the policy be relaxed?"
There is no answer.
But Duan Qihua firmly believes that China will open a private partnership law firm one day if it wants to go global. He himself can't remember how many reports he made and how many people he lobbied. Half a year later, a leader instructed in a government document: "You can open this hole."
The opening of Shanghai is out of control. 1992, the first overseas student pioneer park in China was established in Shanghai. The following year, the Shanghai Municipal Government issued a document to encourage overseas students to return to China to start businesses. It is expressly stipulated that as long as the registered capital is not less than 1 ten thousand dollars, overseas students can come to Shanghai to run enterprises.
On April 8th, 1993, "Duan He Duan Law Firm" was officially listed.
This has become a signal of China's reform and opening up, which has aroused great interest from domestic and foreign media. Previously, Duan Qihua had twice exchanged letters with President Clinton on the MFN status of China. Hearing about Duan and Duan, Clinton wrote a personal letter. (Excerpted from Freedom to Come and Go)
China was the first person to open a private law firm.
At the beginning of 1997, China promulgated the new Lawyers Law, which further clarified that private individuals can set up "partnership law firms". This shows that China's judicial system has taken a big step forward. In this process, we can see a series of footprints left by Duan Qihua, a foreign student from China, as early as five years ago.
Things have to start from the beginning.
After Duan Qihua 1983 graduated from Shanghai East China University of Political Science and Law, 1988 went to Washington Law School at his own expense. On the eve of graduation from 65438 to 0990, he took "On the Possibility of Establishing a Private Partnership Law Firm in China" as his graduation thesis and obtained a master's degree from the college. In the same year, he was employed by William Si Nuo & Busch Law Firm in Seattle, USA, as a legal consultant, and concurrently served as the vice president of Northwest International Trading Co., Ltd. Isn't this the goal pursued by some international students? But a patriotic infatuation and belief made Duan Qihua resolutely decide to return to China to establish a private partnership law firm. When this idea was solemnly put forward to his uncle in America, his uncle gave him strong support with his bitter and bumpy life experience. He said: "Only by returning to the motherland can we have a foundation and give full play to our advantages."
On the eve of returning home, Duan Qihua met a classmate in middle school in the street. The student was surprised when he heard that he was going back to China for development.
"I planned to go back when I first came out." Duan Qihua said.
"Why? Serve the country? Are you party member? National hero? Patriot? This century is almost over, how can there be antiques like you? " His classmates kept asking questions.
"Patriotism is nothing to laugh at, is it?"
"How can you be so traditional!"
"There is nothing wrong with the patriotic tradition!"
"I'm just worried about your return to China, because China is still a country with an imperfect legal system."
"China's legal system is not perfect, then we should go back to study law, so that China's legal system can be improved. Besides, I want to go back. Patriotism is certainly a factor, but it is also because I am optimistic about China and believe that I can have better development in China. "
The conversation between two old classmates was like a debate in court, and Duan Qihua won the case.
At the beginning of 1992, Duan Qihua decided to return to China to start a business, resolutely resigned from all his positions in the United States, took out almost all his savings without hesitation, and pinned all his enthusiasm, all his hopes and the way out for his family on the motherland. This year, he traveled to and from China and the United States many times and spent tens of thousands of dollars in Shanghai and Beijing. However, the answer about setting up a private partnership law firm is still not good, because Duan Qihua's idea was too advanced and the policy at that time was still lagging behind. There are specific provisions for overseas students to return to China to engage in trade, set up factories, conduct scientific research and engage in education. If they want to be lawyers, they must work in a law firm established by the state. Without regulations, the establishment of private partnership law firms cannot be implemented.
Duan Qihua broke his leg and mouth, trying to convince relevant institutions and leaders again and again. After his coordination, he finally opened this hole:1992165438+10. In October, Duan Qihua's private law firm finally obtained special approval from the Ministry of Justice, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice, the State Education Commission and the Shanghai Personnel Department.
On April 8th, 1993, Duan Qihua's "Duan Heduan Law Firm" held a listing ceremony in the banquet hall of Wenhua Hotel in Shanghai Jincang. /kloc-more than 0/00 distinguished guests attended the opening ceremony, and US President Bill Clinton sent a congratulatory letter signed by himself.
At the beginning of September 1993, Duan Qihua made a good start. His firm beat the crowd and won the bid in one fell swoop, accepting a case entrusted by the US Department of Labor, making the US government a client of China Law Firm for the first time in history. A company in Saipan, USA, forced more than 3,000 China workers to work overtime and deducted their wages (working more than 10 hours a day and less than $2 per hour). The US Department of Labor sued the company for violating the labor law, and the court ruled that the company had to compensate China workers for $6,543,802, making it the largest compensation case in China's labor history. Duan Qihua's office worked seven days a week 16 hours a day, and finally delivered the hard-earned money of more than 3,000 workers who had returned to China and scattered in remote mountainous areas of Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan to them respectively. The US Department of Labor supervised the whole payment process, and it was incredible to find all the parties and pay all the compensation so quickly! Therefore, Duan and Duan Law Firm are listed as one of the global 1000 international law firms.
1995, Duan Qihua Law Firm successfully won a claim lawsuit for Shanghai Toy Company, which dragged on for eight years and became an ironclad case. The case occurred in the early 1980s, when Shanghai Toy Company was entrusted to produce plastic toy slingshots of American Imperial Toy Company. After the products were sold in the United States, there were several slingshot injuries. 1986 American Imperial Toys Company sued Shanghai Toys Company in California District Court, demanding compensation from China. At that time, domestic law firms were unfamiliar with American laws, and because they could not go abroad to handle cases, the countermeasures were wrong. 1989, 10 In June, the local court in the United States made a default judgment, demanding that Shanghai Toy Company compensate1380,000 dollars, and then compensate more than 2 million dollars and interest. After Duan Qihua took over the case, it took nearly a year to draw up hundreds of pages of reasonable and favorable complaints for his clients, listing seven major defense reasons, and finally won the lawsuit, saving the country a loss of 2 million dollars. This case has been listed as a famous case in China and written into the judicial textbook.
1996 Duan and Duan Law Firm also undertook the biggest overseas lawsuit since Shanghai opened its port. In order to deny the $2 million debt owed to China Embroidery Import and Export Corporation, the wicked first complained and sued China Embroidery Import and Export Corporation for infringing the copyright of H Company, claiming $6543.8+35 billion! This case is both complicated and dangerous. Duan Qihua cooperated with the Chinese party and fought repeatedly with the American party and lawyers for seven months, and finally made the American court make a judgment in favor of the Chinese side, which made H Company unconditionally withdraw the lawsuit and return the $2 million in arrears. This transnational lawsuit has done justice, got justice back, and greatly increased the ambition of the people of China.
Since Duan Qihua started his business, there have been many multinational companies of Fortune 500 companies in his client list. Duan Qihua's core "Duan Heduan Law Firm" is famous for its fair handling of cases and its love for China, and it has been growing and attracting worldwide attention.
Source: China Youth Daily, China Family Editor: Yan Xu