The title was a teaser. The law gap Professor Clarke is discussing is that between the law "on the books" and the law as applied. Big deal in China and a lot of other emerging market economies. Also known as the "Rule of Law". Comes up in every client meeting I've ever had, not to mention every presentation I've ever given. Suffice it to say that the subject will play a prominent role in my two presentations on Wednesday in Chicago (topic 1: IP protection; topic 2: distribution). Good conference - I will be speaking to a group of in-house counsels.

The only other point that needs to be injected into the conversation is that things are better here than they were only a few years ago. I am not saying that corruption still isn't prevalent in some areas. However, those areas are fewer in number, and the proverbial government official with his hand stuck out looking for a bribe is a rarity in many cities. You don't need to pay someone off to do business here as a matter of course - things have improved.