My Interview...
So I interviewed with a Chinese “law firm” this afternoon. It was, well, interesting. I called this guy—lawyer zhj—after reading an ad posted on a local Beijing website. At any rate, the ad stated that this lawyer was looking for 2 foreigners to help with the firm’s business. After talking to the guy over the phone, I decided to meet with him to talk about potential work opportunities. I figured that, if nothing else, it’d be a great opportunity to practice my Chinese in a “real” context.
So I go to his office—which was way off in the cut to the north of the city—and was struck by the lack of a functional office. It turns out that the firm is planning to start doing business next Tuesday; besides a water cooler and a few desks with nothing in them, the place was empty. Bare. Nonetheless, a start-up can be interesting, and sitting through an interview mostly in Chinese was something that I wanted to try out, so I was excited to hear what he had to say.
The guy interviewing me was a large, jovial man with a big laugh. Not an I-just-told-a-joke laugh and not an evil laugh, but something between the two extremes. Kind of like the laugh you’d expect a rich villain in a movie to make after he wipes his ass with money. Beyond the laugh, he had a crew cut, a big smile, big teeth and a presence that vacillated between commanding, playful and boyish. After we sat down across the table with nothing on it, the three other people in the room—a chain smoking middle-ages man in a suit, a woman in her early twenties in jeans and a guy with a youthful face also wearing very casual clothes—all left the room, leaving me and the laoban, or boss, alone to discuss things. After bringing me a glass of luke warm water in a Dixie cup that resembled a shot glass, we began to talk.
It turns out that foreign lawyers are not allowed to appear in court in china. Because of this, the guy starting up this firm believed that he could find foreign companies looking to get a foot in china and take care of their legal troubles. Yet his English was, well, less-than-stellar. Therefore, he was looking for 2 foreigners to work with him. Essentially, the job would entail calling up foreign company—and he was thinking mostly of investment banks and other big money outfits—and convincing them that, instead of going through a western firm that has a relationship with local lawyers, they should use “us” for all of their legal work. Pretty much, my job would consist of calling western firms, convincing them to meet with us, and then accompanying the boss to these meetings. As for salary, I wouldn’t have one, but I’d get a commission of 20% of all legal fees for every company we found which, according to my boss, would make me rich if 1 in a 100 phone calls turned into something. As for switching to a business visa, I’d have to do that by myself—he wouldn’t pick up the tab. On the plus side, he offered to teach me about doing business in china and how people go about practice law in china. Moreover, he said that the firm would have a staff of 20: 3 lawyers, 2 foreigners, a file person, and 14 people do other things.
Although he offered me the job, which would start on Tuesday, I don’t think that I’m going to take it—it’s just not what I’m looking for. I just think that I want something a little more structured and, candidly, I can’t afford to work for months and give up studying to make no money. So, that was my day. Interesting, definitely, but not what I want to devote my time to—I’d rather study political and current events words, learn how to read the Chinese language daily, and continue to look for other opportunities.
So I go to his office—which was way off in the cut to the north of the city—and was struck by the lack of a functional office. It turns out that the firm is planning to start doing business next Tuesday; besides a water cooler and a few desks with nothing in them, the place was empty. Bare. Nonetheless, a start-up can be interesting, and sitting through an interview mostly in Chinese was something that I wanted to try out, so I was excited to hear what he had to say.
The guy interviewing me was a large, jovial man with a big laugh. Not an I-just-told-a-joke laugh and not an evil laugh, but something between the two extremes. Kind of like the laugh you’d expect a rich villain in a movie to make after he wipes his ass with money. Beyond the laugh, he had a crew cut, a big smile, big teeth and a presence that vacillated between commanding, playful and boyish. After we sat down across the table with nothing on it, the three other people in the room—a chain smoking middle-ages man in a suit, a woman in her early twenties in jeans and a guy with a youthful face also wearing very casual clothes—all left the room, leaving me and the laoban, or boss, alone to discuss things. After bringing me a glass of luke warm water in a Dixie cup that resembled a shot glass, we began to talk.
It turns out that foreign lawyers are not allowed to appear in court in china. Because of this, the guy starting up this firm believed that he could find foreign companies looking to get a foot in china and take care of their legal troubles. Yet his English was, well, less-than-stellar. Therefore, he was looking for 2 foreigners to work with him. Essentially, the job would entail calling up foreign company—and he was thinking mostly of investment banks and other big money outfits—and convincing them that, instead of going through a western firm that has a relationship with local lawyers, they should use “us” for all of their legal work. Pretty much, my job would consist of calling western firms, convincing them to meet with us, and then accompanying the boss to these meetings. As for salary, I wouldn’t have one, but I’d get a commission of 20% of all legal fees for every company we found which, according to my boss, would make me rich if 1 in a 100 phone calls turned into something. As for switching to a business visa, I’d have to do that by myself—he wouldn’t pick up the tab. On the plus side, he offered to teach me about doing business in china and how people go about practice law in china. Moreover, he said that the firm would have a staff of 20: 3 lawyers, 2 foreigners, a file person, and 14 people do other things.
Although he offered me the job, which would start on Tuesday, I don’t think that I’m going to take it—it’s just not what I’m looking for. I just think that I want something a little more structured and, candidly, I can’t afford to work for months and give up studying to make no money. So, that was my day. Interesting, definitely, but not what I want to devote my time to—I’d rather study political and current events words, learn how to read the Chinese language daily, and continue to look for other opportunities.
posted by jr at 6:06 AM
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