27th Interdisciplinary Salon on Law of the China Institute for Law and Society Successfully Held

On the afternoon of May 14th, the 27th session of the "Interdisciplinary Salon on Law," hosted by the China Institute for Law and Society at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was successfully held in Room 206 of the North Building No. 4 on the Xuhui Campus. The salon, themed "Chinese Lawyers in the US: Status Quo, Challenges, and Opportunities," featured Professor Li Ji from the School of Law at the University of California, Irvine, as the main speaker. Associate Professor Qiu Yaokun of KoGuan School of Law and the Centre at Shanghai Jiao Tong University chaired the salon. Professor Ji Weidong, University Professor of Humanity and Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Dean of the Centre, delivered the opening address. Distinguished Professor Shen Wei of KoGuan School of Law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Professor Leng Jing, Professor and Executive Vice Dean of the School of Foreign-related Rule of Law at East China University of Political Science and Law; and Yan Zhenfeng, Partner at JunHe LLP Shanghai Office, participated as commentators. Nearly thirty experts, scholars, and graduate students from universities across the country, including Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Tongji University, and from the industry, attended the salon.

Associate Professor Qiu Yaokun, who chaired the salon, welcomed Professor Li Ji and introduced the opening speaker, the commentators, as well as Professor Li Ji's academic background, main research areas, and research topics. He expressed his great anticipation for Professor Li Ji's insightful lecture.

Professor Ji Weidong, on behalf of the Centre, extended a warm welcome to Professor Li Ji for his visit and to all participating experts, scholars, and students. Professor Ji Weidong introduced the basic situation of the Centre and his relationship with Professor Li Ji, stating that Professor Li Ji has made outstanding achievements in empirical research and that he eagerly looked forward to the stimulating exchange among participants during the salon.

Professor Li Ji began by referencing existing literature on diversity within the American legal profession, pointing out that while most studies focus on gender, age, and racial discrimination, there is little research on immigrant lawyers. As the population of immigrant lawyers, especially those from East Asia, is growing in the US, their importance in the legal profession is increasingly prominent. Professor Li Ji’s academic contribution lies precisely in his targeted research on this group. First, Professor Li Ji introduced his methodology: a mixed-methods approach that included in-depth interviews with over a hundred lawyers, online ethnographic research (extracting discussion topics and tracking key points of focus from WeChat groups of Chinese lawyers in the US), and survey data. Professor Li Ji mentioned that each research method has its limitations, so he combined these three methods in his study to ensure the conclusions would not have significant bias.