Lawyers aim for great haul of goodwill in China

A delegation of senior City lawyers visited China last week to forge closer links with the government.

The delegation of magic circle lawyers was fronted by Slaughter and May partner Giles Hendersen.

It came only days after the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, met with senior Chinese officials to promote the export of UK legal expertise to the communist state (see [2000] Gazette, 7 September).

The City lawyer group included Clifford Chance's Roger Best, Freshfields' Matthew Cosans, Linklaters' Tom Hope, Simmons & Simmons' Colin Passmore and Environment Agency policy adviser Colin Powlesland.

The UK China Forum confirmed that Chinese legislators are considering a follow-up visit to London.

Anne Mizzi