Wake Up Call: Denton’s China Departure Is Warning for US Firms

Welcome to Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call, a daily rundown of legal industry moves and other news.

Dentons’ decision to quit China and new investment limits by the Biden administration underscore the growing challenges facing Western companies there. China’s new counterespionage law made it impossible to follow legal industry standards and best practice, a person familiar with Dentons’ decision-making told DealBook. For example, a provision that requires Chinese firms to keep the names of clients and employees secret from foreign entities raised thorny issues for American lawyers, who must check for conflicts with existing clients before taking on a new one. ( ...