The competence and confidence of PRC companies and law firms using arbitration has improved, as the latest victory before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) shows.

The Eminent World, a Hong Kong holding company specializing in petroleum equipment distribution, filed an arbitration case against a US Fortune 500 company before the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) of the AAA.  Eminent was seeking legal relief for commission payments that were overdue after wrongful termination of an agency agreement.  It was represented by an advisory team from Zhong Lun, led by partner Wilson Huo (pictured), which, as the sole legal advisor, played a critical role in winning a US$2.5m award for its client.  The two-year case went through the process of negotiation, arbitration, mediation and then negotiation again. 

"Our client initially wanted to give up because the arbitration location was in the US, but we convinced our client to pursue the case as we believed that we would win,” said Huo. According to him, if an arbitration location is overseas, most Chinese enterprises will choose western lawyers, and some will discontinue due to expensive arbitration fees, but few enterprises will hire Chinese lawyers.

"In fact, with more Chinese companies and Chinese lawyers speaking fluent English and having a good understanding of international law and international arbitration procedures, we believe that Chinese clients and lawyers can definitely handle different international disputes,” said Huo. “My advice to Chinese lawyers and Chinese entrepreneurs is simple: be confident.” ALB

*international arbitration matters only
*as of September 2010  

Related stories:

• ALB's Leading Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Firms (19 August 2009)
• India and Middle East drive spike in arbitration instruction (11 November 2010)
• The rise of Chinese arbitration:why you should speak the language (18 November 2010)