The firm announced today the establishment of the Peking University-Jones Day chair professorship for globalisation and rule of law to support what it described as the university's efforts in recruiting and retaining world-leading academicians. The professorship will be organised through Jones Day’s non-profit foundation, which is funded by donations from partners and staff.

Lawyers' duties

Jones Day managing partner Stephen Brogan presented the firm’s RMB5 million ($783,000) funding package to the university today. ‘The foundation's gift is intended to support Peking University's distinctive leadership in training students in the most important traditions of the legal profession,’ commented Mr Brogan. ‘Jones Day's presence in China is premised on the firm's long held view that all the great nations and economies of the world are based on the same or similar legal principles and that it is the duty of a lawyer to articulate and advance those principles to achieve justice for the client and to advance the rule of law.’

Mr Brogan continued: ‘Globalisation is the most significant development in the history of the practice of law and as it continues its inevitable march forward, the authentic development of the rule of law will achieve the greatest benefits for the most people in our consolidating world. We look forward to working with Peking Law School in fulfilling our duties as lawyers in a globally changing world.’

Human rights concerns

Human rights campaigners continue to express concerns about the independence of China’s legal profession. At the end of March, it emerged that all Chinese lawyers were being forced to sign a loyalty oath to the country’s ruling communist party.