A Tribute to Dan Harris and ‘China Law Blog’…That Began As A Post About China Business Disputes

At The ‘China Law Blog,’ Content Is Great.

But, It’s Dan Harris’ Personality, Which Infuses All His Posts–Professional Or Personal, That Keeps Me Coming Back

I’m a lawyer, and even though I don’t practice, necessity, as well as exposure, has caused me to become well-versed in certain areas of Chinese law. So, my investment banking or advisory clients still ask my opinion on Chinese legal issues, the Chinese legal and courts, and so on.

But, when I run into a topic I don’t know about or am not up-to-date on, my first stop is the China Law Blog, an American Bar Association award-winner.

Steve Dickinson

Dan Harris, in Seattle, along with his colleague at Harris & Moure, Steve Dickinson, in Qingdao, China, co-author the China Law Blog. Each has extensive experience, and I encourage you to read about them.

When they began the China Law Blog in January of 2006, their stated purpose was and, as they recently reaffirmed, is this:

We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.

This they fulfill admirably. But, while steering away from politics, the China Law Blog goes far beyond this initial mandate. It discusses the how-to’s of doing business in China, such as negotiation,  Five Rules For Negotiating Your China Deal…

…culture, Eating Dog In China. It’s Very Complex. Very…

…current China business news,  Yahoo/Alibaba/Alipay/Jack Ma/Carol Bratz: What Really Happened And What It All Means…

…a ‘recommended reading’ section, where, in addition to books, new blogs are highlighted, as China Debate was. Thanks, Dan.

…and so on.

But, what makes the China Law Blog fun–and what I look forward to beyond the practical content–is that Dan Harris interjects posts about how he feels about something, what’s happening during a trip, what movies he likes, what he and his daughter are talking about, or that hasn’t eaten meat in 25 years.

Reading all these over time, you have the feeling that, if you walked into a cocktail party, spoke with 20 unnamed people, and one of them was Dan Harris, you would know it was him after a minute or two of conversation.

The success of the China Law Blog derives in mind from one part great content and one part Dan Harris’ personality that show through in all his posts, law, business, and personal.

Now, believe it or not, this post was meant to be a discussion of one of Dan’s recent posts, ‘Avoiding And Winning China Disputes. The PowerPoint.’ But I got carried away as I wrote the intro.

Anyway, Dan recently spoke at The Offshore Investment Conference Shanghai 2011 and included his Powerpoint in the post. Here is the Powerpoint, but the discussion will have to wait for another day.

Dan Harris Avoiding and Winning China Disputes