Traditional Labor and Employment Matters
We advise clients on the myriad of laws applicable to the workplace, draft employment policies, and provide guidance on their application to specific employee circumstances. We also have a depth of experience in corporate counseling, investigations and other employment law issues that affect our clients and their employee-related policies and procedures.
Our representative matters include:
Provided legal services for a Sino-foreign joint venture on the termination of employment contracts, supplementation of employees' underpaid social security and housing fund, and breach of employees' trade secret obligations;
Provided legal services for a global oilfield products company on issues such as origin, cooperative arrangements with domestic producers, and economic layoffs of its domestic subsidiaries;
Provided legal services for a U.S. chemical manufacturing company on employment contract changes arising from the evaluation of relocation and divestiture options for its domestic subsidiary;
Provided legal services for an architectural firm on the termination of its employees' employment contracts;
Provided legal services for a European lock and security brand company on the application of the provisions of claims for under-contribution of employees' social security and provident funds under the share transfer agreement;
Provided legal services for a U.S. engineering services company on the work permit issues involved in sending employees into China;
Provided legal services for a Korean e-commerce company on notification requirements arising from a data breach of employees' personal information;
Provided legal services for a biopharmaceutical and medical technology company on the management of labor employment on a long-term basis, involving issues of trade secrets and non-competition, equity incentive plans, departmental elimination and transfer, overtime and irregular work schedules, and termination of employment contracts;
Provided legal services for a catering company on the termination of labor contracts during the COVID-19 epidemic;
Provided labor law compliance training to a large state-owned enterprise;
Provided legal services to a Hong Kong company in relation to the legal liabilities of shareholders and directors arising from underpayment of social insurance contributions and housing fund contributions for employees of its sino-foreign equity joint venture in China;
Provided legal services to a medical device company in connection with employee relocation issues arising from the relocation of its factory, as well as matters relating to employment contract amendment agreements, relocation notices and democratic consultation procedures, double salary liabilities for failure to renew employment contracts, severance compensation upon employer-initiated termination, and the limitation period for labor arbitration claims concerning unused annual leave;
Provided legal services to a Chinese health technology company in relation to employees’ employment contracts, confidentiality arrangements, and non-compete arrangements;
Provided legal services to a Chinese services company in connection with risks arising from prospective employees’ breach of non-compete obligations during the hiring process;
Provided legal services to a technology enterprise in relation to disputes arising from unpaid wages and bonuses in connection with the termination of employment contracts;
Provided legal services to a technology company in relation to the termination of employment agreements;
Provided legal services to a senior executive, in collaboration with local counsel, in connection with issues of Australian law and negotiation strategies arising from company redundancy measures and the termination of his employment contract;
Provided assistance to a foreign-invested enterprise in handling the extension of work permits and residence permits for its expatriate employees;
Provided assistance to a foreign-invested enterprise in completing the relevant procedures for approval of the flexible working hours system.
Labor-Related Arbitration and Litigation
Our attorneys appear in employment arbitration proceedings. We also litigate before the Chinese courts on the full range of labor and employment law matters.
Our representative matters include:
Provided legal services to a number of clients in connection with labor arbitration and litigation proceedings arising from their employers’ unilateral salary reductions during employment, and secured satisfactory outcomes for the clients;
Provided legal services to a client in connection with labor arbitration proceedings concerning unpaid bonuses under a termination agreement signed upon departure, and successfully assisted the client in recovering the full amount of such bonuses;
Provided legal services to a foreign-invested enterprise in relation to the termination of an employee’s employment contract, and successfully facilitated a settlement between the parties;
Provided legal services to an Israeli medical company in connection with the termination of an employee’s employment contract by its PRC subsidiary, and represented it in labor arbitration, first-instance litigation and second-instance litigation proceedings, achieving a satisfactory outcome for the client;
Provided legal services to a globally leading film equipment manufacturer in relation to the termination of an employee’s employment contract by its PRC subsidiary, represented it in labor arbitration proceedings, and achieved a satisfactory outcome for the client;
Provided legal services to a smart home enterprise in connection with an employee’s breach of non-compete obligations, and represented it in labor arbitration proceedings;
Provided legal services to a client in connection with claims arising from unlawful termination of employment by the employer and non-payment of performance bonuses, and represented the client in labor arbitration proceedings, which are currently ongoing.
IP and Trade Secrets Related Services
In a highly competitive market environment, trade secrets have become a key element for enterprises to maintain their core competitiveness. Employment relationships, meanwhile, form the foundation of business operations, and the intersection of these two areas is critical to the sound development of any enterprise. We assist companies in establishing comprehensive trade secret protection systems, regulating employment relationships, preventing legal risks, safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, and supporting their sustainable development.
Advised Honeywell on all kinds of employee-related IP issues including without limitation, design and implementation of company information security system, inventor awards policy, personal information and data privacy and other compliance rules; drafting and enforcement of employee confidentiality agreements, non-compete agreements, relevant notice and warning letters plus employee trainings, internal/external investigations and necessary legal actions, etc.;
Advised Bobst, H.B. Fuller, INEOS and Lummus on “work for hire” IP ownership and employee inventor award issues in China;
Represented a major US company in civil actions against former employees and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction;
Represented a major EU tech company in criminal prosecution against former employees;
Represented a major EU company in private investigation of former employees for suspected trade secret leakage;
Represented a major US chemical client in civil action against ex-employee for trade secret theft;
Advised a globally renowned multinational pharmaceutical R&D company on its service invention award and remuneration policies;
Advised a leading global biopharmaceutical company on service invention award and remuneration matters and on trade secret protection mechanisms in collaborations with domestic partners, including drafting internal policies and procedures;
Represented a leading multinational chemical company in a matter concerning the illegal possession of trade secrets by its departing employees, providing legal defense services, and obtaining interim relief from the local court in civil litigation for the preservation of conduct ("interim injunction in litigation");
Represented a well-known domestic listed company in the wind power industry in a criminal law case concerning illegal spying of trade secrets by a competitor's employee, which was selected as a typical case of Guangdong Provincial Court for Protecting Trade Secrets and the Top Ten Cases of Intellectual Property Trials in Guangdong Province in 2020;
Represented a global Fortune 500 company in a case involving trade secrets in relation to employee's departure, providing comprehensive legal services including criminal protection;
Represented a leading global chemical company in a lawsuit against a departing employee for infringement of trade secrets, providing comprehensive legal services, including criminal and civil legal solutions, and obtaining a "temporary injunction" in the civil lawsuit to prevent further disclosure of the client's trade secrets in a timely manner;
Represented a Japanese company to initiate a comprehensive action to protect the trade secret of the company against departing employees;
Represented a well-known Internet brand in a criminal defense action for trade secret disclosure;
Represented a European company in a case involving the illegal downloading of a large number of confidential company documents by a departing employee, providing legal services including evidence collection and criminal reporting;
Represented a number of European and U.S. clients in resolving disputes over employees’ post-employment invention through legal proceedings and non-contentious means, and assisted the client in recovering the relevant patents;
Represented a world-renowned company to retrieve relevant patents through litigation and obtain compensation from a departing employee who obtained the company's technical secrets in violation of the law.
