Recruiting in China

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Paul Hastings is first foreign law firm to take part in project that offers a unique mix of pro bono and branding efforts

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker is putting its stamp on China. Literally.

The firm is paying at least $40,000 toward the construction of a facility in China's remote Longqui village that will soon bear its name: the Paul Hastings Hope Elementary School.

"We're thinking this will be the first of many," said Mitchell Dudek, the head of the firm's Shanghai office. "Over time, there will be many Paul Hastings schools in China."

Paul Hastings is the first foreign law firm to participate in Project Hope, a public service project organized by the China Youth Development Foundation to build schools in poor, rural communities. Getting involved in the project was a way for the Los Angeles-based firm to contribute in a country that presents some obstacles to traditional pro bono work.

"We're becoming a participant in that economy," said Chairman Seth Zachary. "It's an important part of our strategy to give something back, to be a participant on both ends."

It's also a unique branding opportunity.

"It certainly helps recruiting because it shows us to be a socially active foreign investor," Dudek said. "It's one more thing that shows how we try to reinvest and help the communities we're in."

It's common for law firms to get involved with more innovative community projects in foreign countries since it's often hard to find pro bono opportunities abroad, said Esther Lardent, the president of the Pro Bono Institute at Georgetown University Law Center. There isn't always cultural and political acceptance of pro bono representation, and in countries like China, lawyers licensed to practice at international firms cannot handle cases in local courts.

While pro bono opportunities are slowly expanding, they remain scarce enough that the institute does not count foreign hours towards firms' tallies in its Pro Bono Challenge.

But that doesn't mean good works go unnoticed. "The Chinese government expects foreign firms licensed to operate in China to be good citizens," noted Hildebrandt International's Michael Short.

While law firms should perhaps be motivated by altruism, and not just money, Lardent said the Pro Bono Institute is a big believer in mixed messages.

"If you're opening an office in a new country, then showing you're not just there to help the very tiny percentage of rich companies is very good marketing for the firm," she said. "And we don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Nor does David Lash, the managing counsel of O'Melveny & Myers' pro bono services. It can raise the firm's profile, and give its lawyers a deeper understanding of the community in which they work, Lash said. "The more you invest in a community, the better the business relationships are as well."

Since opportunities are harder to find abroad, Latham & Watkins is helping to organize the first international seminar on pro bono, set for this October in Hungary.

"I think we're going to see an expansion of both community service and pro bono internationally," said Amos Hartston, Latham's pro bono counsel.

China's Hope program says it has built more than 9,500 schools throughout the country, many sponsored by local organizations, and some by global enterprises, like Coca-Cola and Motorola. The schools are commonly named after the organization donating the funds.

Dudek said the location of the new school is meaningful for at least two of lawyers in his firm's Shanghai office, as they both grew up in the mountainous province that houses the school -- about a 12-hour drive from Shanghai -- before receiving degrees in the United States.

The 268-student school will likely be a magnet school for five villages, concentrating the best resources in one place. In addition to the firm's initial cash contribution, Paul Hastings will likely donate additional funds as other facilities, such as dormitories, are needed.

Dudek said lawyers at the firm also plan to roll up their sleeves and head to the school for a weekend of clearing rocks or painting walls.

"At the signing ceremony, I said that I hope one day we'll be able to hire someone from the school," Dudek said.