Isabelle I H Wan

Areas of Practice

• Employment [2]
• E-Commerce [3]
• Intellectual Property [4]
• Construction & Real Estate [5]

About Dr. Wan

Leader of TransAsia's Employment law practice, which was voted by Chambers and Partners "Employment Law Firm of the Year" for China in both 2010 and 2011, "PRC Team of the Year 2011 for Labor & Employment" by China Law & Practice and a Top Tier 1 Firm for employment law by The Legal 500, and co-leader of the Intellectual Property (IP) practice, Dr. Wan has 20 years' experience in advising clients on direct investments in China.

An adjunct professor at the Peking University Law School and Northwest University of Politics and Law, as well as Master Tutor of International Business at the Shanghai University for Science and Technology; she is also the first non-PRC national to serve as Director of the China Labor Law Studies Association, following her nomination by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (now the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security) in 1997. In addition, Dr Wan was nominated as Director of the China Social Security Law Research Association in 2006, where she remains the only representative from the Hong Kong SAR.

Experience

Dr. Wan enjoys a pre-eminent reputation for her expertise in PRC employment law. Her practice covers employment contracts, employee handbooks, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, social security and welfare benefits, M&A, retrenchment, trade union, stock options, expatriate employment and labor dispute resolution (mediation, arbitration and litigation).

In addition, she is an authority on PRC land law and has assisted clients in resolving various types of land use issues encountered in the course of their business operations in China.

Dr. Wan is also well-known for her expertise in e-commerce, specializing in online transactions, digital signatures and privacy policies. She has advised several PRC government agencies on e-commerce issues and assisted with the drafting of relevant legislation.

Finally, Dr. Wan has assisted numerous clients on IP issues (including protection and confidentiality), licensing/transfer agreements and trademark/copyright/software licensing agreements. She has also advised clients on IP dispute resolution (mediation, arbitration and litigation), as well as trademark/software product copyright registration and counterfeiting.

Awards and Directorships

• Leader of TransAsia's Employment Law team, which was recognized by China Law & Practice as the "Labour & Employment Team of the Year 2011" for China.
•  Leader of TransAsia's Employment Law team, which was recognized by Chambers and Partners as the "Employment Law Firm of the Year" for China in both 2010 and 2011 
• Leading China Lawyer for 2002 and 2004 - 2011 (Asia Law & Practice)
• "China Labor Lawyer of the Year Award" for 2003 (China Staff Human Resources Awards & Conference)
• Silver Medal in 2004 awarded by the China Labor Law Studies Association of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for the writing of China Labor & Social Security Law: Essential Facts Explained
• Director of the China Labor Law Studies Association of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
• Director of the China Social Security Law Research Institute under the China Law Society
• Deputy Director of the Legal Committee of the China E-Commerce Association

Government Advisory Work and Legislative Roles

Employment Law

2008

• Participated in amending the PRC Law on Elderly People's Legal Rights.

2006 - 2007

• Advised the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on local labor legislation: Isabelle joined professors from renowned universities and senior officials from local labor bureaus in discussing the dissemination of information about labor law to local employers and employees and in advising on local legislative efforts, particularly those relating to safeguarding the legal rights of rural/migrant workers.
• Invited by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to advise on the 2008 Employment Contract Law . Isabelle joined a select few officials and international experts for the closed-door discussions that followed in Kunming in late 2007. TransAsia was one of only 2 law firms invited to contribute at the meeting: the other being the local host.

2004

• Invited by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to advise on the PRC Regulations on Labor and Social Security Supervision.
• Addressed the China Labor Law Studies Association (an organization under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security) at their 2004 conference on the 10th Anniversary of the implementation of the Labor Law on possible amendments to the law.

E-Commerce Law

2010

• Invited by MOFCOM to contribute to their publication Chinese E-commerce Report 2008 - 2009, which was published by Tsinghua University Press.
  

2009

• Acted as Co-editor in Chief for the Chinese publication Economic Law and E-commerce Law, a textbook officially endorsed by the Ministry of Education under the State's 11th 5 year plan and designated as part of the core curriculum for e-commerce majors nationwide.

2008

• Invited by the Ministry of Commerce to serve as Deputy Editor for their Chinese publication E-Commerce: International Conventions and China's Legislation.
• Invited by the Ministry of Commerce to participate in the research group to amend the Administrative Measures on the Protection of Online Commercial Data.
• Assisted the Shanghai Municipal Informatization Commission with the drafting of the Administrative Measures on the Use of Digital Certificates of Shanghai Municipality.

2007

• Invited to serve as the Co-editor in Chief for revisions to the textbook E-Commerce Law Tutorial, a textbook used by higher educational institutions in China. The revision was a project under the State's 11th 5-year plan, and the updated edition was published in November 2007.
• Advised the Ministry of Commerce on the 2007 Online Transaction Guidelines (Provisional).

2006

• Assisted the PRC State Council on a research project relating to global e-commerce.

2005

• Invited by the Beijing Municipal Government Informatization Office to assist with the drafting of the Rules for the Construction and Promotion of Informatization of the Beijing Municipality and Measures for the Administration of Exchanges of Information Among Governmental Agencies of Beijing Municipality (Trial).

2004

• Participated in the drafting of the Online Transaction Platform Service Norms, which came into effect in April 2005 and represent the first self-regulating standards in China's e-commerce industry.
• Invited by the Beijing Municipal People's Congress to participate in the drafting of the 2005 PRC Electronic Signature Law .

Major Publications

Bilingual

• Managing Editor, Interpretation of the Employment Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (TransAsia entrusted by the National Peoples' Congress, 2010)  
• Managing Editor,  Using Employment Contracts Skillfully and Reducing Labor Disputes (TransAsia entrusted by the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, 2010) 
• "Common Mistakes by Employers during Employee Probationary Periods" (Human Resources, HKIHRM, July/August 2010)  
• China's Media & Entertainment Law, Vol II (TransAsia 2006)  
• China's Media & Entertainment Law, Vol I (TransAsia 2003)
• China's IT & Telecoms Legislation (TransAsia 2003)
• China Employee Wages - Statistics and Analysis (CCH 2001)
• China's IT Policy & Legislation (TransAsia 2001)
• A Professional's Guide to PRC Land Legislation (Sweet & Maxwell 1999)
• China's Internet Policy & Legislation (TransAsia 1999)
• China Labor & Social Security Law - Essential Facts Explained (CCH 1998)

English

• "Terminating Employment Contracts Due to Incompetence: Challenges and Solutions" (HR Service Providers Directory, HKIHRM, August 2010)
•   "The Impact of China's New Employment Contract Law" (Asialaw, Euromoney, December 2007/January 2008)
• "Handling Employment and Labor Disputes in China" (Managing Business Disputes in Today's China: Duelling with Dragons, Kluwer Law International 2007)
• "Third Party Platform - Online Payment Practice in the PRC" (Business Forum China, German Industry & Commerce, April 2006)
• "Taking a Stake in Tomorrow" (The Life and Death of A DOTCOM in China, Asia Law & Practice 2000)
• "Employer's Legal Obligations in China" (Competitive Rewarding: The Essential Business Guide to Compensation and Benefits in Hong Kong and the PRC, Euromoney 1998)

Chinese

• Managing Editor, The Employment Contract Law: Implementation Strategy and Risk Prevention (TransAsia 2010)  
  
•  Contributing Author, Chinese E-commerce Report 2008 - 2009 (MOFCOM and Tsinghua University Press 2010)
• Economic Law and E-commerce Law, Vol II (Higher Education Press 2009)
• Guiding Opinions on the Protection of Commercial Data Online (MOFCOM, 30 June 2009, 1 of 3 legal advisors on the project)  
• The International Covenant and Legislation on E-Commerce in China (Law Press - China 2009)
• " [6]Reason and Emotion" [6] ( [6]LexisNexis Experts' Blog, LexisNexis.com [7]) 2009)
• E-Commerce: International Conventions and China's Legislation (China Law Press 2008)
  
• E-Commerce Law Tutorial, Vol  II (Higher Education Press, November 2007)
• "Labor Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice" (Tsinghua Law Review, Vol 2, No 1, July 2007)
• "Comparative Study of the Labor Standards for the Wage Systems of Mainland China and Taiwan" (an essay presented during the annual China Social Security Law Research Institute meeting and conference on the Legal Theory of Mainland China and Taiwan on Labor Standards, 13-14 October 2006, Suzhou University)
• "Protection of Female Employees' Legal Rights during Pregnancy, Maternity and Prenatal Period" (HR Manager Magazine, February 2006)
• "Establishing China's Electronic e-Payment Legal Environment: Guidance on Electronic Payments" (Legal Journal of Informatization & E-Commerce, ChinaEClaw.com [8], Jan/Feb 2006)
• "Commentary on Standard Clauses Involving the Validity of Shrink Wrap Contracts and Click Wrap Contracts" (Legal Investigation in the Internet Age, China Law Press 2004)
• "Analysis of Willful Litigation Cases Arising out of Labor Disputes" (a paper presented during the China Association of Labor Law Studies conference and workshop on enhancing the social insurance legal system, 2003)
• Economic Law and E-commerce Law, Vol II (Higher Education Press 2004)
• "New Issues in Signatures and Seals: a Discussion on the Legal Effect of Electronic Signatures" (Collection of Essays for the China E-Business Policy Legal Forum, 7th China International E-Business Conference 2003)
• Legal Issues Relating to E-Commerce (China Law Press 2001)
• Legal Issues Relating to Electronic Signatures (People's Court Press 2001)
  

Lectureships

• Adjunct Professor of PRC Employment Law at the Peking University Law School (Beijing)
• Adjunct Professor of PRC Employment Law at the Northwest Politics & Law University Law School (Xian)
• Master Tutor of International Business at the Shanghai University for Science and Technology (Shanghai)
• Regular guest lecturer at Tsinghua University (Beijing)

Speeches and Conferences

Dr Wan is regularly invited to speak at international conferences on topics relating to PRC employment law and e-commerce law. For details, please see our events page [9].

Key Clients and Clients Served