87_87134 "The ITC (United States International Trade Commission), after referring to the contents of the application and other numbers available at that time, began to prepare a questionnaire and send it to the persons directly interested in the case, i.e., the producers and importers in the United States, and the foreign exporters and manufacturers involved in the case, requesting them to provide the relevant information required by the ITC, and the following is only a brief introduction to the foreign exporters and manufacturers and our customers......"

It was almost 10 o'clock after eating the seafood, Han Jun and Zhang Lin decided to go downstairs to Director Bai, ready to comfort and comfort her, and let her not be so entangled.

I didn't expect it to be so late, and the conference room of the law firm on the second floor was still brightly lit.

Director Bai, who should have been very entangled, actually stayed up late with Gao Ming and other trainee lawyers to listen to Shi Lingzhi's lectures like a senior high school student, and even participated in the reception at the front desk.

Han Jun noticed that after not coming for a few days, the lawyer had changed dramatically inside and out.

The texts in the open office area are all in English, and his collection of law books such as the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 19.CFR are all used as textbooks and reference books. Shi Lingzhi spoke English inside, and in order to make them understand, she spoke very slowly.

In the consultant's office, Bai Xiaoqian's office, the lounge and the reception room, there are even a few foldable wire beds. The trash can in the pantry is stuffed with foam lunch boxes left behind after eating.

They are working hard and are studying at the same time.

Lawyer is a profession that requires continuous learning, and even the largest, most staffed, top-ranked and oldest law firm on Wall Street places great emphasis on professional training. They have just set foot in the foreign business. And I have not received systematic legal professional education in the United States, so I need to study it carefully.

Han Jun was very happy that the law firm could make such a change, and smiled at Zhang Lin knowingly. Walking into the conference room and speaking fluent American English, he introduced more professionally: "Theoretically, the ITC does not take samples, but sends the questionnaire to all known foreign exporters and manufacturers, by sending the questionnaire directly to the foreign exporter or manufacturer, and if the manufacturer has an agent in the United States, it will be relayed through the agent."

The US industry will also provide a partial list of foreign manufacturers in the application. However, the listed manufacturers do not necessarily actually produce the products in question, so the ITC may sometimes contact the embassy of the country involved in the case to provide information. ”

I listened too carefully just now. Almost nothing was known about the arrival of the two.

Listening to the familiar voice and looking at the familiar face, Bai Xiaoqian smiled happily: "My Han University advisor, you are finally back." You're not at home. You don't care about us, we can only learn by ourselves, since we are here, let's take a lesson. ”

As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Lingzhi and Gao Ming immediately gave a round of warm applause.

Chinese lawyers are a social group with more than 100,000 people, but there are only four kinds of lawyers who can really make money: one is the best who engaged in lawyer work in the early days, they have not only accumulated clients, accumulated contacts, and established a good relationship with the local judicial authorities. It has formed a certain social influence in the local area, and has even obtained social positions such as people's congress deputies and CPPCC members. They have formed a brand and become famous lawyers in the local area and even in the province and the country.

The second type is a lawyer with deep social ties or background. A certain kind of lawyer who can also be called "collusion between officials and businessmen" is similar to the way some entrepreneurs make their fortunes.

The third type is the director or partner of some large law firms, who basically no longer handle specific cases or legal affairs, but focus on the overall publicity and promotion of the law firm, while they obtain their own benefits from the case handling income of other lawyers.

The last type is a lawyer who has a high degree or even study abroad experience, and can communicate with foreign businessmen proficiently in foreign languages. It is also easier to earn legal fees for foreign-related legal affairs of domestic enterprises.

The positioning of the western suburbs branch is clear. In the future, they will specialize in foreign-related business, and in fact, this is the only way they can get ahead. After all, the competition in foreign-related business is relatively small. There is no law firm in the whole province that can take over the anti-dumping investigation and response business of Huasheng Porcelain Industry.

They are determined to become an anti-dumping and anti-monopoly response team, looking at their look full of anticipation, Han Jun can't help but think of the efforts he has made back then.

While motioning for them to sit down, he said with emotion: "Except for Kotani (reception at the front desk), everyone here is not small. Some are already in the year of establishment, and some are in the year of establishment. I am very touched and infected that you can still work so hard and so hard at this age. To outsiders, it may seem like you're learning a little late, but it doesn't seem to me to be too late at all.

Know that in the United States, law is not a profession for young people. The average age of lawyers in the United States is around 47 years old, and only lawyers over the age of 36 are eligible to enter the 'junior bar association' of the ABA (American Bar Association). After all, there are so many more experienced lawyers to choose from, who wants to find a hairy guy in his 20s to defend himself in court? ”

He smiled at Shi Lingzhi and continued: "As you know, I am a special case, or I am more fortunate to have the opportunity to represent Mr. Shi's grandfather in a lawsuit against the New York City government, and I have made a little name in the Chinese community in New York and New South Wales.

As for the case of Donghua Group, I have discussed with Director Bai before that the reason why I was able to obtain a relatively low tax rate was not because I was better than my American counterpart, but because Donghua Group was more cooperative than several other companies that responded to the lawsuit.

In addition, they have a certain degree of systematization in their daily management and company operations, and the numbers and materials required in the anti-dumping questionnaire are relatively easy to find, which makes the documentary evidence we submit to the ITC relatively comprehensive and can be supported by sufficient evidence......"

A successful foreign-related lawyer came forward to speak, and everyone was excited.

They want to help themselves make money in the future, and Han Jun will naturally not let them down, so he picked up the questionnaire survey materials of Huasheng Porcelain and other four responding companies from Gao Ming's hand, and said in a low voice: "The ITC's preliminary damage investigation and ruling are very important. Although the ITC does not oblige us to respond to the questionnaire, refusing to respond to the questionnaire will lead the ITC to draw inferences against us.

What's more, the ITC's questionnaire is nowhere near as cumbersome as the U.S. Department of Commerce's questionnaire. Moreover, the results of the investigation can completely overturn the anti-dumping duty determination of the Ministry of Commerce. Let's take the following questions seriously and do a good job of doing a good job. ”

Everyone, including Bai Xiaoqian, picked up the pen and paper and prepared to take notes.

"First of all, is the inventory rate of customers relatively low over the years, and is its capacity utilization rate high? If we can prove these two things, it means that our customers will not be able to increase their production and export to the United States in the future. The likelihood of a threat to U.S. industry is low.

Conversely, large foreign manufacturers with large inventories and low capacity utilization. In the view of the ITC, it is likely that a large number of the products involved in the case will be exported to the United States, which will pose a potential threat to the U.S. industry, and it is easy for the ITC to determine that there is a risk of industrial injury or cause industrial injury......"

In the next two hours, Han Jun discussed whether the customer sold to the U.S. market at a lower price than the market price, whether the customer forced the price of the U.S. product to be lowered, the substitution of the customer's product with the U.S. product, the customer's profitability, and the customer's output trend in the past three years...... and other relevant contents related to the ITC's investigation and ruling.

Explain the profound in simple terms. has benefited a lot, and is more than a little more powerful than Shi Lingzhi, a lawyer who has never fought a "foreign lawsuit".

Gao Ming excitedly asked: "Lawyer Han, if the ITC agrees with the documentary evidence we provided and makes a ruling in our favor in the preliminary ruling, does it mean that we will be able to win this lawsuit within two months after the start of the formal investigation?" ”

Han Jun nodded and shook his head, took a sip of mineral water from Bai Xiaoqian's hand, and explained with a smile: "The whole investigation process is long and complicated, if we can win the preliminary ruling." The U.S. manufacturers who are being prosecuted may not give up, and they may file a reconsideration. But for us, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, we have to go for it.

So you have to collect, organize, and reply to a piece of documentary evidence that is favorable to us. Assisting clients with internal rectifications, only then can I make a difference in cross-examination when the ITC holds public hearings, otherwise I would have spent fifteen months or more with them. ”

Shi Lingzhi lost no time in explaining: "The public hearing is similar to a trial, where the prosecuting U.S. industry first speaks and presents its opinions, and then the importer, us and/or downstream users put forward arguments or counter-evidence. After cross-examination. Each side will also have one opportunity to speak in response to inquiries from the other side and to summarize its position. Won, although it is possible to do it again. But if you lose, you will go directly to the next program. ”

……

It was about millions of lawyers' fees, and if they won or even doubled the agreed lawyer's fees, Han Jun discussed with them until one o'clock in the morning.

When sending him and Zhang Lin back to rest, Bai Xiaoqian said unsatisfactorily: "Boss, boss, if we can win the preliminary judgment cleanly in this response, then there will be a more interesting '337 investigation' next." ”

Zhang Lin asked with a puzzled face: "337 investigation?" ”

Han Jun patiently explained: "The so-called 'Section 337 investigation' is an investigation conducted by the ITC into whether there is infringement of intellectual property rights in foreign products in accordance with Article 337 of the Customs Law of 1930.

The United States is the most developed country in the world and has the largest market. The big companies are all in the U.S., and a lot of their patents are in the U.S. So the ITC often uses Section 337 to file a patent lawsuit, and then goes through this patent lawsuit, so that many companies have no way to sell their products in the United States. It is the most flexible and lethal trade protection method of the United States. ”

Zhang Lin snickered: "Isn't it very profitable?" ”

Thinking of the bright future, Bai Xiaoqian smiled and said, "It's very profitable!" Attorney fees can easily run into millions of dollars, and no matter if you win or lose, you can take a break for a few years. Of course, it's better to win. ”

As soon as he helped the Public Security Department crack two backlog cases, he heard the news, and Han Jun asked thoughtfully: "Director Bai, who introduced this '337' investigation?" ”

"Director Yan, who else can there be? It's too late today, the information will be given to you tomorrow morning, study it well, my dowry depends on it. (To be continued)

PS: The content of this chapter may be boring for many non-law book lovers, but after reading the comments of some book readers in the book review area and Longkong, I feel that it is necessary to describe the professional level of Mr. Han from the side.

J.D. is very powerful, very difficult.

For example, B University has set up a law school in SZ and invited the former president of Cornell University to serve as the dean, specializing in cultivating foreign-related legal talents.

The tuition fee is very high, hundreds of thousands of dollars in three years, but so far it has not been certified by ABA and is considered ineligible. However, regardless of whether this J.D. is or not, J.D. graduates are still very sought-after, and the starting salary for entering a big law firm is very high, and many of them are "deputy department transfers" when they enter government departments.

Lawyer Han is a J.D., and has a certain reputation, he has served as a district prosecutor, and it is really nothing to give a deputy director with no real power