Strategic Affiliation with TransAsia Lawyers Grows Firm's International Employment and Labor Law Practice
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 14, 2011) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management, today announced a strategic affiliation with TransAsia Lawyers. The expanded relationship is designed to grow Littler's labor law and employment practice in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and follows the firm's recent expansion into Venezuela, further broadening its global network, and similarly, for TransAsia to expand into the U.S.
Littler's China work will operate in tandem with TransAsia's Beijing and Shanghai offices under the leadership of Dr. Isabelle I H Wan, an internationally-recognized labor and employment law expert. Littler and TransAsia will jointly enhance both their client connections and extensive advisory materials regarding the workplace and business challenges facing global employers operating in the PRC.
"As the world's second largest economy, China is an important next step in the expansion of our International Employment and Labor practice group," said Marko Mrkonich, Littler's president and managing director. "Many of Littler's clients are already operating in some capacity in East Asia, and through our affiliation with TransAsia Lawyers—most notably, with Isabelle and her team—we're upholding our commitment to working with the most seasoned and experienced attorneys in the areas of labor and employment law in every jurisdiction where we offer clients advice."
Littler's China affiliation will allow the firm to better meet the expanding needs of its U.S. and China-based clients. The affiliation offers legal compliance services and specialty counsel in such areas as employment contracts, non-disclosure, intellectual property rights and protection, recruitment, termination, anti-discrimination and harassment, trade unions and labor disputes.
"Littler has an existing, wide-reaching international framework," said Peter Susser, Chair of Littler's International Employment and Labor Law practice group. "In addition to the significant informal relationships Littler has with labor law firms worldwide, our capabilities are further enhanced by our status as the only U.S. labor law and employment firm participating in the international Ius Laboris Alliance. For quite some time, we have been assisting clients facing issues in Beijing, Shanghai and other areas of China, and we expect our activities to increase. We will continue to look for strategic opportunities to enhance global services to clients based in the U.S. and around the world."
Established in 1994, TransAsia's employment law practice has the longest history of any local or international firm in the PRC, and is generally recognized as being the most authoritative in China. The firm was voted "Employment Law Firm of the Year 2010" for China by Chambers and Partners for its inaugural Asia Awards.
"From the inception of our employment law practice and throughout our 16 years' experience in this field, we have been committed to delivering quality and practical advice to our clients. We are pleased to have been recognized by our clients and Chambers for our work and reputation in this field," said Isabelle Wan, the leader of TransAsia's employment law practice.
Philip Qu, one of TransAsia's founding partners and the managing partner of its Beijing office, remarked, "Over the past 24 months, employment issues have become not only one of the most important areas for the old economy sector but also the new one. Our employment practice, built up meticulously and strategically over the past 15 years before many foreign investors became aware of its importance, will now proudly collaborate with the world leader, Littler, going forward. Our common clients should be the winners."
"Our close affiliation with Littler helps broaden our reach and capability to offer more specialized employment services to Chinese and U.S.-based clients. In addition, given the growth of Chinese investments into the US and other countries, and hence the increasing need for specialized professional advice on the target market's labor law environment, this partnership will create mutual cross-border synergies and opportunities," said Jesse Chang, managing partner of TransAsia.
Philip Berkowitz, the U.S. Practice Group Leader of Littler's International Employment and Labor practice group, added, "We are very pleased with the quality of the team on-the-ground in Beijing and Shanghai, and believe that their deep and collective knowledge of China's legal, regulatory and labor practices will offer significant value to our clients."
"This is a unique and tremendous opportunity for Littler and our clients," noted Dennis Brown, managing shareholder of Littler's Silicon Valley office and a member of the affiliation team. "You simply cannot be a strategic international force in employment and labor law today without direct, on-the-ground capacity in China. Our affiliation with TransAsia gives us that capacity in ways that are far ahead of our competition," he added. The majority of attorneys in the two China offices are bi-lingual in Chinese and English; across Littler's 50 locations, the firm has more than 230 multi-lingual attorneys, covering approximately 28 languages.
About Littler Mendelson
With over 800 attorneys and 50 offices, Littler Mendelson is the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. As the only U.S. member of the Ius Laboris global alliance, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of multi-national clients, from navigating international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the Firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record. For more information, visit littler.com.