Not long after the United States restored diplomatic relations with post-Mao China in 1979, American lawyers began advising Chinese officials on how to build their legal system. In this webinar recorded on May 6, 2020, USALI’s founder and faculty director emeritus Jerome A. Cohen and his former law student, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations President Stephen A. Orlins, discuss whether this was a mistake. Professor Cohen and Mr. Orlins were among those early legal emissaries. They reflected on what their efforts achieved and failed to achieve, as well as what impact current U.S. government policies toward China may have on China’s continued legal development.