Are there law firms in the US which represent foreign clients in US courts for civil cases?

This is in response to a discussion item for a Cyberlaw class I am taking. The question is ';Bob, a U.S. website owner, sells products world-wide. Customer in China buys one from Bob, and is injured by it in China, and wishes to sue Bob. Should Customer have to come to the U.S. to sue Bob, or should Bob have to go to China to defend himself? Why?';





Is there a lawfirm in the US that represents foreign nationals in the US without the nationals having to come to the US?Are there law firms in the US which represent foreign clients in US courts for civil cases?
Actually I disagree. The person in China may have the option to use either forum and sue in China. Most countries including the US have long arm statues which can compel people to appear in court in a different city, state, or county. What this would likely come down to would be if Bob is targeting Chinese's buyers, for example having a site in their language or advertising on popular Chinese sites, advertising shipping to that country, or simply doing a lot of business there. If the opposite were to happen, if it was a company in China selling products on the internet to American buyers then the American buyer would have the standing to sue in his local court and compel the company to appear. Hope that helps.





This concept in US Law is called Minimum Contact. This is the civil procedure to determine the appropriate court to assert jurisdiction. I'm sure that China's laws give its citizen similar protections.Are there law firms in the US which represent foreign clients in US courts for civil cases?
Pretty much any law firm will do that.





And yeah, the Chinese customer would have to sue in Bob's jurisdiction, because the law makes it pretty clear that the point of sale is where Bob is.





The reason for that is that if the customer sued in China, and won, they'd have no way to collect, because a Chinese court can't compel Bob to do anything when he isn't in China. Only an American court can compel him to pay a judgment and punish him if he refuses.
The suit would be have to be in the US (point of sale) and service of process obtained through the Hague Convention (although, I'm not too sure if China is a signatory of the Hague).





Many firms represent foreign corporations as well as foreign countries.
The law firm of Jim Baker, the Secretary of State under President GHW Bush, was the defense counsel for the Saudi Prince in a civil law suit brought by the families of 9-11 victims.
1.Yes, all law firms represent foreign clients


2.The customer in China will have to come to America to sue, so Bob can be punished.