The epidemic has enlarged the distance between the people, but it does not hinder the exchange of wisdom. In view that ZhongYin attorneys worked from home during the epidemic, in order to improve their legal service and practice capabilities, and help them learn from each other in the practice areas, ZhongYin Law Firm has launched a program of online training for the public interest, “ZhongYin Cloud-Based Lecture Hall”, to gather top-level experts to present everyone with a wonderful audio-visual feast focusing on the hotspots related to the rule of law, and to enable more lawyers to access high-quality lecturers and course contents through the Internet.

Up to now, 10 sessions of webcast course have been provided in ZhongYin Cloud-Based Lecture Hall, where the lecturers from Beijing, Nanjing, Zhuhai, Hefei, Chongqing, and other offices have taught all they could, covering general corporate affairs, international practice, tax and wealth planning, banking and finance, intellectual property, competition and supervision, criminal practice and other areas, and have been highly praised by clients and peers.

Yang Baoquan: Strategies for Enterprises to Reduce Labor Costs Legally and Compliantly during the Epidemic

On April 8, 2020, ZhongYin Cloud-Based Lecture Hall opened for the first time. Yang Baoquan, a senior partner of ZhongYin Law Firm, started a webcast course on the topic of “Strategies for Enterprises to Reduce Labor Costs Legally and Compliantly during the Epidemic”. For a large of counseling thereabout during the epidemic, on the basis of studying the policies of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the specific operating rules implemented in different places and reviewing a large number of related cases, Yang Baoquan proposed six specific strategies for enterprises to reduce labor costs legally and compliantly.

Li Jian: Analysis on Several Issues concerning Dispute Resolution in International Trade of Goods

In the second session, Li Jian, a senior partner of ZhongYin (Nanjing), gave everyone a lecture on “Analysis on Several Issues concerning Dispute Resolution in International Trade of Goods”. How to choose the respondent in the event of a dispute over import and export contract? What shall be focused when a letter of credit is revised? Does the name of a sales contract affect the validity of the contract? What should do if no one picks up the goods at the port of destination? How to determine the quality standards for internationally traded goods? How does the force majeure clause apply in the context of the global pandemic? Li Jian elaborated in detail on several common types of disputes in international trade by combining cases.

Kou Yingjie: Valuable Guidance on Legal and Compliant Streamlining, Layoff, and Negotiation-based Separation during the Epidemic

In the third session, Kou Yingjie of ZhongYin Law Firm, gave everyone a lecture on “Valuable Guidance on Legal and Compliant Streamlining, Layoff, and Negotiation-based Separation during the Epidemic”. During the epidemic, how can enterprises reduce labor costs legally and compliantly? What legal risks are involved in illegal layoffs? Facing a large number of enterprises seeking advice, Kou Yingjie identified the best plan for collective downsizing, negotiation-based termination + economic layoff as last resort, with a view to helping them overcome the difficulties.

Hu Bo: Grounds for Defense against Accusation of Trademark Infringement

In the fourth session, Hu Bo of ZhongYin (Zhuhai) gave everyone a lecture on “Grounds for Defense against Accusation of Trademark Infringement”. By taking one of cases handled by him recently as an example, Hu Bo sorted out the general idea for attorneys to represent on trademark infringement cases, summarized seven types of grounds for defense against an accusation of trademark infringement from the defendant's perspective, and analyzed them one by one.

Peng Peng: Legal Practice of Expropriation of House on State-Owned Land

In the fifth session, Peng Peng, a senior partner of ZhongYin (Hefei), gave everyone a lecture on “Legal Practice of Expropriation of House on State-Owned Land”. The person subject to expropriation may file a petition for reconsideration or lawsuit in connection with a House Expropriation Decision. In the specific process of rights protection, it is necessary to find possible illegalities in the House Expropriation Decision. Peng Peng summarized four types of illegalities and proposed countermeasures against “unconventional means” encountered by the person subject to expropriation.

Huang Liangyou: Cross-Examination on Judicial Appraisal Opinions

In the sixth session, Huang Liangyou of ZhongYin (Chongqing) gave everyone a lecture on “Cross-Examination on Judicial Appraisal Opinions”. From 2012 to 2018, Huang Liangyou served as the director of the Judicial Appraisal Center, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications. During his service, Huang Liangyou found that: on the one hand, judicial appraisers generally have difficulty in dealing with cross-examination in court, and on the other hand, attorneys have difficulty in conducting effective cross-examination on the judicial appraisal. Against this background, combining his practical experience, Huang Liangyou summed up 18 circumstances where judicial appraisal opinions should not be admitted, and the methods of cross-examination on judicial appraisal opinions.

Huang Qixin: Thought and Expression of Criminal Defense

In the seventh session, Huang Qixin, a senior partner of ZhongYin (Zhuhai), gave everyone a lecture on “Thought and Expression of Criminal Defense”. The broadcast of the popular movie Dying To Survive has initiated widespread public discussion on the crime of producing and selling counterfeit medicines. Huang Qixin has represented on a similar case, which involves Japanese eye drops. After several ups and downs in the case, Huang Qixin felt deeply and summed up four effective ways of thought and five methods of expression for criminal defense.

Zhao Lin: Practice of Tax Law in Enterprise Bankruptcy and Deregistration

In the eighth session, Zhao Lin, a partner of ZhongYin Law Firm, gave everyone a lecture on “Practice of Tax Law in Enterprise Bankruptcy and Deregistration”. In China, affected by the epidemic, some enterprises are trapped in serious operational and financial distresses, and many enterprises are nearly bankrupt. In the process of bankruptcy and liquidation, a series of asset realization, debt offsetting or relieving, and even reorganization might be conducted, and then a series of tax issues might arise. Against this background, Zhao Lin analyzed the following issues concerning the practice of tax law in four types of bankruptcy proceedings: the order of paying taxes, late fees and fines, the difficult issue of paying taxes in the disposal of real estate, the tax planning in bankruptcy proceedings, and the tax preference, tax breaks, and payment of taxes in instalments in reorganization.

Cai Rongfeng: Practice of Compliance Review on International Goods Sale and Purchase Contracts

In the ninth session, Cai Rongfeng, a senior partner of ZhongYin (Hefei), gave everyone a lecture on “Practice of Compliance Review on International Goods Sale and Purchase Contracts”. With the economic globalization and the development of global finance, cross-border transaction activities are becoming more and more frequent. Cai Rongfeng proposed the following matters needing attention when drafting or reviewing and modifying contracts for import and export companies: contracting parties, description of goods, quantity of goods, quality clause, price clause, payment clause, shipping clause, inspection clause, breach and claim clause, dispute resolution clause, and governing law clause.

Xing Jiang: Criminal Defense in the Critical Year of “Crackdown on Mafia-like Gangs and Evil Forces”

In the tenth session, Xing Jiang, a partner of ZhongYin (Hefei), gave everyone a lecture on “Criminal Defense in the Critical Year of ‘Crackdown on Mafia-like Gangs and Evil Forces’”. Organized crimes of gang nature are the highest form of joint crimes. China has always been cracking down on gang-related illegal and criminal activities according to law, and attorneys have been playing an important role in adjudicating illegal and criminal activities, protecting the legal rights and interests of defendants, and guaranteeing the fairness of cases. Therefore, attorneys should reserve sufficient knowledge, and respond actively without fear when defending against the accusation of gang-related crime. Against this background, Xing Jiang made a detailed analysis on respective identification and criminal liability for the mafia-like gang and evil force.

This program of training for the public interest, ZhongYin Cloud-Based Lecture, has received rave reviews, and online participants have commented that they benefit a lot from it. In the future, ZhongYin Law Firm will further integrate the resources of the head and branch offices, focus on legal hotspots, and provide a more convenient and efficient platform for everyone to enhance their professional capabilities and conduct close practice exchanges.