Chinese Attorneys

China is fast becoming the economic hub of the world, and is said to take over the United States in the not-so-distant future. With 100 out of the top 250 corporations in the world having a base in one of China’s cities, this massive diverse country means big business. And with business these days always comes complex legal issues. So unsurprisingly attorneys are plentiful in China.

An attorney is a person that is qualified to practice law in their country, province or state. There are general practioners as well as those that specialize in certain areas of the law. Some attorneys represent people in court whilst others may only provide legal advice out of their office or home. The jobs of an attorney are very diverse.

In China there are over 110,000 attorneys across the country. These are spread out over 9,000 law offices, 44% of which are law partnerships - an idea first generated in the US, but since brought over to China. China’s legal industry has grown immensely since the government legalized their markets in 1980, and recently as foreign law firms have been allowed to work in China, the number has increased significantly again.

Although there are seemingly a lot of attorneys in China, the number per capita is a lot lower than most other well-developed countries. This can be justified by the fact that a lot of the population live in rural areas and work in agriculture, so their requirements for legal advice is much lower.

Despite foreign law firms being allowed to practice in China, they are limited to advising on foreign law. Because of this many foreign and Chinese law firms have formed partnerships to offer a wider range of services.

All attorneys in China are a member of the All China Lawyers Association that oversees and is the professional administration center for all attorneys in China.

Due to the international nature of business in China, most large law firms cater for foreign clients. A lot of law offices offer services to people who are starting up or considering starting up a business in China, and they provide advice surrounding the legalities of this. As well as this, most law firms that work in business law have bilingual attorneys, and very often a variety of attorneys that cover several languages.

Attorneys in China are well qualified, and the system to becoming a qualified attorney is very similar to that in most Western countries such as the USA. They must first obtain a three year bachelor degree in law, then must complete two years work experience in a legal field. Once they have completed these two prerequisites they must sit the bar examination that is held twice yearly. There are pathways to becoming a lawyer without first obtaining a law degree, as long as they have a bachelor’s degree in a different subject. On top of this they must have three years experience in a legal field before they must sit the bar examination.

No matter where you require an attorney, you will easily find one in any of China’s cities. Many of them specialize in specific areas of the law such as: business, criminal law, corporate law, real estate and agriculture. It is important to find an attorney that has experience and expertise in the area that your case falls under. Often a general lawyer will suffice for most basic legal enquiries, but a specialist is required for more important cases.

Hiring an attorney is quite cheap in China when compared to international standards. Although the larger law firms that cater to foreign businesses tend to have their prices set to the Western norm.

Attorneys in China earn an average of US$50,000 (400,000 Yuan) every year, although there are many that are paid much more and much less. The base salary of attorneys in China increases by up to 40% when working with a large international law firm over a small local firm.

Attorneys in China are expected to work long and hard hours, and law firms are increasingly effectively offering a 24-hour service to clients, particularly as many will be working in foreign time zones. This puts enormous pressure on the attorneys, and as there is such fierce competition in China, the pressure is even more intense.

According to the Martindale-Hubbell list of top 10 law firms in China, the top five are: Anderson and Anderson LLP; Chan, Vivien; Lehman, Lee and Xu; Liu, Shen and Associates, and Fred Kan and Co. This list is refreshed monthly so is always up to date. This list is generated by the number of internet searches conducted for these companies and is not based on any specific facts. King & Wood; Jun Le Haw Offices; and Lehman, Lee and Xu have all been voted as the top three law firms to work for voted by the lawyers that work in the firms.