China Environmental Law

Off to the US for a short trip.  Of course, the weather in Shanghai decides to improve just as I’m leaving. 

I will be participating on a panel at the ABA’s 38th Annual Conference on Environmental Law in Keystone, Colorado on Friday, March 13 from 3:30 to 5:00PM:

Life in the Global Environmental Economy - What You Can’t Learn From the Internet

With the click of a mouse, American environmental attorneys can read laws governing hundreds of jurisdictions around the world. But often, what you really need to know can’t be found in the legislation. In this panel, leading practitioners from around the world will tell you what you really need to know (and when to cry for local help) to advise your clients on environmental aspects of doing business in important foreign jurisdictions. Hear about key aspects of legislation, and what is not in the written legislation, and what you need to know about the next generation of environmental laws affecting some of our key trading partners.

Moderator:
Jonathan W. Kahn, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Toronto, ON, Canada

Speakers:
David Desforges, Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I., Paris, France
Charles R. McElwee, II, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., Shanghai, China
Julia Rabinovici, Demarest e Almeida Advogados, Sao Paulo, Brazil

I plan to use “Taking on the Party: Meet China’s Green Crusader,” an opinion piece published recently in the International Herald Tribune, as an example of how reporting (and by extension providing legal advice) on China environmental issues based solely on uncritical Internet research can lead to getting everything spectacularly wrong. Look me up if you’ll be in Keystone. 

I will be in San Francisco for a couple of days at the beginning of the week.  I’ll try to post from the road, but that is always easier said than done.  At least watch the Twitter feed.