China calling - and Singapore lawyers heed with ni hao!

Singapore

AS CHINA shapes up to be a global economic heavyweight and further opens up its markets, Chinese companies are expected to bring about more deals abroad and possibly have a greater demand for disputes resolution as well.

To gain a slice of the burgeoning Chinese market - and an edge over counterparts - some corporate and litigation lawyers here are taking Chinese lessons to acquaint themselves with the language and culture.

Chinese classes for these lawyers are geared towards meeting the work demands, including explaining legal processes and jargon in Mandarin. Even though learning is still a work-in-progress, lawyers are already seeing the value of their newfound skills.

Keith Han and a few fellow litigators at Clifford Chance Asia recently started filling up their Tuesday lunch-time break with nuggets of information about China during their weekly one-hour Chinese class - supported and sponsored…