My BA is in Mandarin Chinese from the University of Washington and law degree from
McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. Most of my legal practice
has been in civil litigation (court based cases).
There is no need for Chinese clients to hire or arrange for an interpreter when
they meet with me or prepare documents. For most Court hearings we have to arrange for
an interpreter if there will be testimony of any kind, or if it is a contested motion. On some occassions,
I have convinced the Court to waive the requirement for my client as no testimony would be
taken, and the issues on that day were such that I could have appeared without my client anyways.
My goal with my practice now is to take that 10 years of hard-fought litigation
experience, and apply it to the task of protecting, growing and planning for small
businesses who wish to have a lawyer on their team. If you are looking for
a potential business partner for yourself or a business associate you should know
that it is completely legal under Washington lawyer ethics for an attorney to be
a minor shareholder in a client-owned business. I welcome all enquiries or
ideas in along these lines. This can reduce attorney fees in
the startup and growth phase of the business. I am envisioning 3-18% stakes
depending on the nature of the business and value I can contribute, plus a minimal
hourly expense of $40-70, again depending on the venture and stake/share. (And obviously there is no charge to discuss any of these ideas with
me!)
I work with a Chinese speaking CPA/Lawyer who has done tax
and real-estate work here in Seattle for 12 years. He always
has good business taxation, real-estate law or accounting advice available.
My first three years of Chinese course work at the UW resulted in a grade average
for my Mandarin classes of 3.97. The UW Chinese program is 2nd in the nation only
to Princeton. Those familiear with the program know that it demands full writing
ability in Chinese characters. My own written Chinese, though it has diminished
slightly with time, enabled me to write page-long essay tests extemporaneously in
both classical and simplified Chinese characters. I am a Wash. state
certified Mandarin interpreter. Reading and negotiating in Chinese is not
a problem.
Most of my practice has been in civil litigation focussing on:
divorce & custody, bankruptcy for individuals or small business owners, small
business law and landlord tenant, and
personal injury (inlcuding legal malpractice litigation and claims against
Seattle based hospitals where health care professionals have breached professional
ethics resulting in harm to patients). The process of civil litigation
is virtually identical no matter what the area of law concerned: contract
breaches, a motion in divorce practice, a trial for custody involves the same rules
of evidence and witness cross-examination as that for real-estate. The last
time I checked subpoenas and deposition defenses were the same in custody and legal
malpractice.
Normally I am available to take civil litigation cases for Chinese speaking clients
in the greater Seattle area. I travel often so please call or email for more
information.
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