Edward Lehman
Edward Lehman (1960-) is an Illinois-born attorney and commentator on Chinese cultural, legal and geopolitical issues, and Sino-American relations. Lehman is one of the longest-standing American expatriates in the country, having been based in the China since 1987.
Biography
After receiving his juris doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1986 and being admitted to the Illinois bar, Lehman relocated to Shanghai, China to work for the representative office of American law firm Lord Bissell & Brook. Following the events of June 4, 1989, when many western businesses in China pulled back to Hong Kong citing security concerns, Lehman was one of the few expatriates to remain behind. Lehman began work at a Chinese state-run law firm, the first foreign national to do so.
The liberalization of the Chinese economy in the early 1990s made private law firms a possibility, and in 1992 Lehman co-founded Lehman, Lee & Xu, of which he remains managing director. Lehman, Lee & Xu was the eighth private law firm to be founded in the People's Republic of China, and is the only Chinese law firm under foreign management.
Lehman is an ACTIVE promoter of Sino-American business relations and participant in the expatriate community in China, and helped to establish the American Chambers of Commerce in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the China chapter of American Citizens Abroad. A noted public speaker, Lehman is also a regular guest on television programmes such as CCTV-9's Dialogue.
See also
- Lehman, Lee & Xu