Beijing has given the green light to the city's first batch of
sole-practitioner law firms. The lawyers concerned will open
offices in five residential communities, in an attempt to improve
the availability of legal services for ordinary people.
Of
the existing 550 legal practices in Beijing, over 90 percent are
partnerships with the remainder either State-run or cooperative
firms, according to sources with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of
Justice.
The lawyers licensed to operate as sole practitioners all have at
least six years' work experience. The five offices selected were
subject to examination and scrutiny by the justice authority from
scores of applicants, said Yang Zhiwen, vice-director of the
Beijing Bureau of Justice.
"Individual-run law practices will play an invaluable role in the
fields of taxation procuratorial services and financial services to
individuals and small-sized companies," said Yang at yesterday's
ceremony held to license the first five sole practitioner law
firms.
These sole-practitioner law firms are allowed to practice only in
urban residential areas, where they will provide citizens with a
high-quality legal service at a comparatively low price, said
Yang.
"I
will provide free services on legal consultation and the writing of
legal documents, which usually cost some 100 yuan (US$12) at law
firms in the capital," said 52-year-old Ma Yuqiang, one of the five
practicing lawyers.
Ma
also promised fees that were 50 percent less than the average
charged in Beijing. "This is because my costs for office and
personnel are lower than that of those partnerships, which are
usually located in luxurious office buildings and hotels,"
explained Ma.
"In the past, it was not very convenient for ordinary residents to
travel from their homes to law offices in downtown areas to solve
the problems and disputes of their daily lives," said Vice-Director
Yang.
"This is a good attempt to widen the organization of law offices
and make them more specialized," said Dong Chunjiang, director of
the Lawyers Administration Division with the Beijing Municipal
Bureau of Justice.
Private law firms are expected to be given a clear legal status in
the amendment to the current law concerning practitioners,
currently under discussion, according to Zhou Yuansheng, an
official with the Ministry of Justice.
The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice publicized a management
regulation on individual-run law firms earlier this year, ahead of
Beijing.
(China
Daily October 17, 2002)