The Golden Gates of Lawyerism: Part 2 - Spend It

Let it not be said that Chinese lawyers don't know how to spend their hard earned cash and have fun doing it. GoldenGate recently won a Rising Law Firm of the Year award from Asian Legal Business, an Asian (what else?) law magazine. To celebrate, the office headed out to KTV - karaoke for the rest of us. Now, because of its immense popularity in this part of the world, KTV deserves its own post or two, but this will have to do for now. The Chinese take their KTV seriously. When we walked into this place, the reception area (and reception line of women) instantly made me wonder if this particular KTV was part of a 5-star hotel or casino - but nope, all the pomp and splendor was there simply for KTV's sake.


Does this look like your average karaoke lounge entrance back home?


The process is simple: 1) Get private room for your group. 2) Order drinks. 3) Pick songs using computers/TVs and sing. 4) Repeat points 2 and 3 until you're blue in the face. We were lucky - our KTV included a complimentary buffet dinner and some superb service. Before you finished saying "Heineken", the beer was on the table in front of you with the top off. We ordered individual drinks and champagne for the group - the bubbly was of a local Beijing variety but proved to be sweet and delicious - a real treat. Tim, Jack, and I leaned heavily on that bottle.


These guys were super efficient - some of the best service I've seen around Beijing so far.


Just in case things get out of hand, we want to be double-insured.


You can pick your songs from touch-screen monitors around the room. Here Tim and Annie choose their songs - the video then plays on the big screen while surround sound floods the room.


Please believe me when I say Chinese people can't get enough KTV. Some of the paralegals before the IP department got there.


Tim, the founder and managing partner of GoldenGate, and I. Tim has an advanced law degree (LLM - Master of Laws) from American University in DC and is one clever, thorough, and collected lawyer with tons of experience in and out of the courtroom.


"This love has taken its toll on me..."


The local bubbly - I guess we can't officially call it champagne for legal reasons.




"Sometimes you just have to... let it burn"


Linda is the firm's second partner and is directly in charge of the intellectual property department. She's fabulous - smart and beautiful, the sort of woman who instantly commands a room upon walking in. Her and Tim used to work for Lehman (another influential law firm) before striking out on their own and founding GoldenGate.


We may not be able to sing all that well, but that won't stop Jack and I from founding our law firm once he gets his LLM and I get my JD. World, here we come!


About a third of our office eventually made it in.


The complimentary post-KTV buffet was delicious and diverse - here Jack is waiting for his sushi order to be made.


Mixing the wasabi with soy sauce.


My first KTV experience made for a great night in Beijing. There are definitely worse ways to spend company resources!