When the Western nations had foreign concessions in China in the 1920's, legal disputes were settled by foreign attorneys according to Anglo-American law.
法學院院長章孝慈說：「東吳法律系是我國成立最久的法律系，創系於民國十五年，當時列強佔據租界，租界中的英美人士常與我方發生糾紛。這些事件若要循法律途徑解決，均由外國律師承理。而我國是大陸法系國家，當時缺乏熟悉英、美法的專家，無法據理力爭，經常吃虧、落敗。