Thomson Reuters Legal's CEO in China Stephen Yao speaks to ALB China about the company's mission,commitment and major offering, Westlaw China, to the local legal professionals.

As a clear sign of its commitment to China, Thomson Reuters Legal, the world's leading provider of information solutions to legal and other business professionals, has appointed Stephen Yao as chief executive officer in China.

Yao, born in Taiwan, holds an MBA degree in the US. He has helped a number of multinational companies, including Dow Jones Telerate and Standard & Poor's Fund Services, expand successfully in Asia and China in the past two decades. Yao's leadership and indepth local knowledge are highly regarded in the business community.

In his current role, Yao is leveraging his solid experience and expertise to assist the group in forming and implementing development and growth strategies in China.

"Thomson Reuters Legal is committed to provide quality services and products to the
local market, and support the development of local legal profession," said Yao. "Our
mission is to contribute to transforming China towards a rule of law society and be actively involved in building a legal infrastructure that can adequately facilitate China's fast growing economy, and increased levels of corporate and commercial activity."

Thomson Reuters Legal has been serving China's legal professionals since 2002, but
the successful launch of Westlaw China in May 2008 marked a milestone in the group's development in China and globally.

Westlaw China is an online legal database and a powerful online legal research tool customised for the legal professionals in China. It is built with the familiar user interface, intuitive search tools and editorial enhancements of Westlaw, recognised as the benchmark for authoritative legal information and analysis by legal professionals around the world.

"There is a multi-layer legislation and regulation system in China, and the legal system is evolving at a fast pace. A lack of unified scheme for indexing and retrieving the database and information means that coming to grips with the laws and regulations in China is a big challenge for legal professionals," said Yao.

"So, Westlaw China has come to the forefront and fills a major gap in the marketplace. It is based on the proven global success of Westlaw, built and developed by local legal experts, and designed to be the single credible source of legal information relating to the practice of law in China."

Westlaw China is set to benefit not only the local legal industry, but also the international legal and business community. A large, dedicated editorial team, consisting of legal experts and professional legal translators, ensures Westlaw China provides global access to the most up-to-date law cases and legislation, with useful legal-quality English translations and analysis that make the law understandable.

"Western companies are continuing to expand their business in China, and increasingly international law firms come to realise that Chinese law is important to the future of their practice," said Yao.

"Comprehensive and efficient legal information services are now needed more than ever before. Westlaw China will be an important resource for the information they need to deftly navigate China's complicated legal landscape," said Yao.

As China becomes increasingly tied into the global economy, its legal industry is at
the forefront of legal developments in the Asia-Pacific region. Thomson Reuters Legal's strong commitment to China, supported by its expertise, means it will play an increasingly important role in the market.

For more information on Thomson Reuters Legal and Westlaw China, please contact:
刘培Shirley Liu
汤森路透法律信息集团Thomson Reuters Legal
Tel: (8610) 5969 5100 ext. 8037
Fax: (8610) 5969 5069
Westlawchina.marketing@thomsonreuters.com
www.thomsonreuterslegal.com.cn
www.westlawchina.com