Reunification
For up-to-date information regarding the reunification of Penn State's two law schools, please click here.
For up-to-date information regarding the reunification of Penn State's two law schools, please click here.
December 14, 2011
Left to Right: Professor Karen Bysiewicz, Professor Russell Leu, Dean Phil McConnaughay, Dean Wan Meng, and Caroline Sheldon. |
Dean Wan Meng and Associate Dean Russell Leu of Beijing Foreign Studies University School of Law visited Penn State Law recently, exploring ways to increase opportunities for J.D. and LL.M. students in Beijing. They took part in real-time videoconferencing in the Lewis Katz Building and learned about Penn State Law videoconference events with counterparts in Uganda, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Dean Wan Meng and Professor Leu were interested in learning more about the equipment, its design, and cost; replicating the same technology could help BFSU Law School expand its international reach.
"We are focused on creating global lawyers for China," said Dean Wan Meng, scholar of arbitration, maritime law, and finance, who is optimistic about the legal market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Dean Wan Meng predicts growth in intellectual property, private investment, and state-owned enterprise work, especially as businesses are increasingly "risk-aware" and hiring lawyers for more transactions. "On the whole the GDP of legal services is expanding,” he said. Dean Wan Meng predicts that legal employers in PRC will increasingly focus on hiring lawyers who have an LL.M. or JD. More than 600 law departments exist in PRC, but the national bar pass rate is 15 percent.
Dean Wan Meng has led BFSU Law School for ten years. In addition to his academic work, he serves as expert counsel to the General Office of the National People's Congress of China and is an arbitrator for China International Economic and Trade Association Commission and China Maritime Arbitration Commission. Professor Leu is managing attorney and chief representative of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and co-chairs the American Bar Association China Committee, International Section. He is a scholar of direct investment, intellectual property, and real estate. Professor Leu predicts that the U.S. legal services market will adjust over the next ten years as demand increases for PRC lawyers.