A newsletter from West providing Westlaw® search tips for corporate counsel and staff

Westlaw China gives you easy access to current Chinese cases and legislation, with high-quality English translations and analysis that make the law understandable and useful.

China's legal system has hit the big time. The nation's fast-paced economic growth is fueling a continuing increase in the volume of business opportunities and of lawsuits. The U.S. style of litigation is already taking off in China, and today more than 4,500 cases a year involve "foreign elements."

However, researching Chinese legal requirements can be a daunting task. It can be very difficult to search the hundreds of Chinese regulations and policies issued by a wide variety of regulatory bodies, any of which can be critical to determining a client's legal rights and obligations. And, until recently, there has not been a reliable and complete law library or legal search engine available in China.

Westlaw China is West's one-stop source for legal and business information about the People's Republic of China, offering easy access to current Chinese laws, regulations, cases, and other materials, including the following:

• more than 300,000 laws and regulations from all Central People's Government agencies, 31 provinces, municipalities under the central government, and autonomous regions
• decisions from the Supreme People's Court and provincial, local, and special courts
• current awareness (online or via e-mail) drawn from more than 120 online sources
• legal digests covering 32 topics, including nine available in English (unfair competition, arbitration, civil law, civil procedure, copyright, trademark, foreign direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, and telecom and Internet law)

Ease of use is perhaps the most compelling feature of Westlaw China. Although the product contains simple and advanced search templates, you aren't bound by word searches: More than 300,000 legal issues are identified, summarized, and integrated into topical digests by bilingual legal editors. Expert legal translators provide high-quality English translations, with all essential nuances preserved. Links to cited full-text sources are provided.

For more information about Westlaw China or to sign up for a free 14-day trial, contact your account manager or visit west.thomson.com/westlaw/global/china.