The China Law and Policy Association (CLPA) is dedicated to increasing student and faculty understanding of pressing China-related legal issues at Stanford Law School, in addition to fostering ties between Stanford, legal practitioners and scholars in China, and the greater China-interested community in the U.S. The CLPA’s mission is to seek out salient legal and policy issues that affect aspects of modern Chinese business, politics, and society and present them to both the law school and the broader Bay Area communities. Each year, the CLPA hosts a number of lunch and dinner events featuring a broad spectrum of speakers, many from China, including scholars, attorneys, judges, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, and diplomats.

Since 2010 the highlight of each year’s programming has been the annual Stanford China Law and Policy Conference, an event organized wholly by student CLPA volunteers. During the 2010-11 school year, the CLPA conference featured former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Judge Wang Yanfang of the Chinese Supreme Court, and Judge Clifford Wallace of the 9th Circuit. During the 2011-12 school year, the keynote speaker of our conference, titled “The Role of Law in Promoting Chinese Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” is Qi Lu, President of Microsoft’s Online Services Division. The panels focus on

1. Challenges in corporate governance in modern China and its influence on foreign investment
2. Prospects for the development of innovation with Chinese characteristics
3. Hurdles that the rising Chinese clean energy sector still must overcome.

During the 2012-13 school year, the speaker series has included Nico Howson of University of Michigan Law School and Portia Ku of O’Melveny & Myers. Additionally, every year the CLPA sponsors a number of formal and informal events with the Graduate School of Business, the School of Engineering, and with other China-themed organizations such as the Greater China Business Club and the Chinese Entrepreneurial Organization.