OUR FIRM
Choosing the right law firm can be one of the most important decisions you will ever make. You hire a law firm because you have a legal problem, which will entail either money / property, or possible jail time. With so much at stake, you want the best legal representation. That's why finding the right lawyers for you is so important.
What makes our firm stand out from the rest? Well, we are one of the few Chinese litigation law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of our clients want a law firm that understands the Chinese language and culture. Other clients want a law firm that is aggressive and experienced in litigation in a U.S. courtroom. Often times, Chinese law firms have trouble litigating in an English-speaking U.S. courtroom whereas English-speaking U.S. litigation firms do not speak Chinese or understand the Chinese culture. We bring together the "best of both worlds."
Approximately 95% of our clients are Chinese. Of these, about half speak very little or no English. Naturally, Chinese clients try to find Chinese attorneys because they understand the language and culture. But if you have a complicated case, this may not be the best thing for you. It is difficult enough for any English-speaking attorney to appear before a U.S. judge and an English speaking jury and be able to think quickly and argue effectively in open court in the English language. But for those who grew up speaking Chinese and learned English as a second language, it is even more difficult to think quickly and clearly "on your toes." Therefore, if you have a very difficult case with a difficult opposing attorney, it is very important that you have an attorney who is a native English speaker who knows the language completely fluently and can argue quickly and easily in court.
Often clients who hire Chinese attorneys feel very comfortable communicating with their attorney in Chinese, but how effective is that Chinese-speaking attorney when he/she appears in a U.S. courtroom? This is hard for non-English speaking clients to gauge and difficult for anyone in general to know unless they watch their attorney perform in court.
The problem with hiring a non-Chinese English speaking law firm for their litigation expertise is that they may not speak Chinese or understand the Chinese culture or way of thinking. This is important in litigating or negotiating Chinese cases or cases with Chinese parties. Neither Edward nor Steven Lau speak Chinese, however, they have secretaries and paralegals who can interpret for them in Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese. We also have Chinese speaking attorneys that can communicate directly with clients, if necessary. They were both born and raised in the United States, b ut have maintained their sense of Chinese culture and community. They are both also very active in the Chinese community. This gives the firm the ability to be effective litigators and provide a Chinese language and culture component for their clients.
Because of our unique ability to speak Chinese and understand the culture, along with our strong English speaking attorneys with an emphasis in U.S. litigation, we have carved out a niche that handles complex and difficult litigation cases for Chinese clients. We represent major foreign business entities and foreign governments as well as individuals. We are the general counsel to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco. Our major concentration and experience is in the areas of international business law, complex civil litigation, intellectual property rights, trademark/copyright infringement, contract disputes, international law and jurisdiction, FCC regulations, real estate law, family law (divorce), estate planning (wills & trusts), satellite and communications law, personal injury (car accidents), immigration and products liability. We have represented multi-billion dollar corporations and have faced major US companies in litigation. For our larger cases, our practice philosophy is to take a "team" approach to our cases. Typically several attorneys are assigned to cases to work together as a team. As the senior and most experienced attorney in the firm, Edward C.Y. Lau is always the leader of the team. This leads to more creative and better thought-out legal theories and arguments. Therefore, the client is not represented by just a single attorney, but an entire firm.
The Lau & Lau Law Group LLP is centrally located in downtown San Francisco, California, one block from historic Chinatown. It was founded in 1973, as the Law Offices of Edward C.Y. Lau. It changed its name to the current Lau & Lau Law Group LLP in 2005 when Edward Lau's son, Steven Lau, became a partner in the firm.
We realize that in this competitive marketplace, you have a choice of the attorney you choose. We are successful because we are good at what we do -- litigation. We have many clients who asked us to take over their cases because their former attorneys spoke to them in Chinese and were able to communicate with them well, but when it came to arguing in court, they performed inadequately because English was not their native language. The ability to speak fluent, native English is critical to winning your case in an English-speaking, U.S. Courtroom. Many new Chinese attorneys may have immigrated to the U.S. for many years and can speak English, but because English is not their natural-born native tongue, their ability to think quickly and effectively in making legal arguments in Court is still severely limited.
Finding the right law firm is a very difficult task. Be sure you know how to choose your lawyers. What are the most important law firm qualities for you: experience, language, reputation, size, price? We may not be the cheapest attorneys around, but we are good at what we do. Please, take your time and choose wisely. Thank you for exploring our website. We look forward to the opportunity to serve you.
