Lawyers in Beijing: A List of Recommended Law Firms

We know that legal matters are intimidating, frustrating, and expensive, and all of your concerns are amplified in a foreign country. But whether you are involved in a criminal case or just setting up a new company in China, you must get the right representation or you can end up in more hot water. 

You can find English speaking lawyers in Beijing at most large law firms as many attorneys are graduates of first-class law schools in China and abroad and some speak French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and several other languages. 

Only Chinese citizens are permitted to take the Chinese bar examination. Since non-Chinese lawyers can not take the qualifying exam, they are precluded from practicing or interpreting Chinese law.

Foreign lawyers are permitted to open law firm branches in China but the work they are allowed to do must pertain to their home country laws and are officially only consultants. Hiring the right law firm in Beijing will hinge on the jurisdiction of the legal case.

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Fees 

Some law firms charge more than others for similar legal services and usually they do not publish their rates online. Most firms will charge contingency fees, flat fees, hourly fees, or a combination of all three. Contingency fees are commonly used in litigation and may be combined with flat fees. Flat fees apply to routine transactions like contracts or wills. 

If the legal service provided is more detailed or nuanced, then you can expect hourly rates and the billable hours will vary depending on the seniority of the law firm employee. A named partner and managing partner will have the highest rates, while junior associates, paralegals, interns, and administrative staff will have lower rates.

Generally, the hourly rate for a senior partner ranges from RMB2,500 – RMB5,000 or more while junior associates will bill from RMB800 – RMB2,500 per hour.

Consultations and Retainer

In many cases, you can arrange an initial consultation with a law firm for free online or via telephone. While the time will not likely exceed thirty minutes, it should be sufficient to briefly describe the background of your case and discuss the legal expenses. 

Before signing a retainer with your lawyer, make sure the contract outlines the scope of services to be provided, who specifically will be handling your case and the fee structure for legal services. Any upfront, advanced retainer fees will be held in an escrow account as your legal matter progresses.

Legal Aid 

Free legal services and representation are funded mostly by the Chinese government. However,  public welfare organizations and legal aid institutions like China Legal Aid Foundation, the Beijing Legal Aid Foundation, and Chinese Lawyers associations are encouraged to also accept private contributions earmarked to provide free legal assistance under the guidance of the Ministry of Justice.

Applicants apply for legal aid where the case is located or where the matter occurs. After conducting due diligence on the applicants low-income financial needs or disabled designation, then the judicial administrative department will verify and designate law firms, lawyers or Institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutions to provide legal assistance.

The lawyers appointed to represent a legal aid client will provide free legal advice, drafting of legal documents, criminal defense and representation, or litigation and non-litigation representation and are paid with legal aid subsidies.

University Legal Clinics

Peking University Legal Aid Association, the Renmin University of China Legal Aid Center in Beijing, and the legal aid clinics of the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) consists of students and faculty who may provide low cost or free legal consulting and representation of parties in court in Beijing.

The Global Network for Public Interest Law is an online network that has an office in Beijing that matches pro bono opportunities with NGOs and lawyers like ZhiCheng Public Interest Law Firm in Beijing to protect vulnerable people.

Embassy & Consulate Assistance

Embassies will usually never get involved with legal issues in China but they can give you advice. 

You can reach out to your embassy in Beijing for a list of recommended lawyers who speak your native language, for example, the Australian embassy in China maintains a list of recommended lawyers on their website. 

As does the US embassy in China but you should contact your own embassy for personalized advice. 

Fields of Practice

Beijing attorneys specialize in over sixty one different areas of legal practice and it is possible 

not to be sure what kind of attorney you need. 

You can do a bit of research online to drill down to the specific legal question you have but access to some information online may require a VPN or you can contact a general practice attorney and they either take your case or point you in the right direction. 

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Beijing Lawyer Associations

When trying to decide which law firm to retain, especially when there are potentially large fees involved, we’ve found the best place to begin is with the Beijing Lawyers Association as all licensed and practicing attorneys are required to be registered with the association, have indemnity insurance, and have their fees regulated. 

Additionally, law societies are a networking resource that include law professors, judges and other officials.

• Beijing Lawyers Association – Building 5, No.18, Anwai West Binhe Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100011 Telephone: 64515958

• All China Lawyers Association – No. 4 Courtyard of Zaojun Temple, Haidian District, Beijing 100081 Telephone: 64010507 

• Beijing Law Society – Guanhua Building, No. 118, Xizhimennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100000 Telephone: 67634519 

Online Tools for Finding a Lawyer

If you are looking for a lawyer in Beijing to represent you, you will find long lists of firms online but choosing a lawyer requires diligence in vetting the lawyers experience in the area of expertise you require. 

Chambers Asia Pacific Partners is an online law firm network. While not user friendly to input specific locations (only regions), it does provide a detailed drop down list of areas of practice. After entering the Asia region, you then select practice areas. The results will show law firms by ranking and by specialty and you can cross reference these results with Beijing law firms from the lists below.

Lawyers and Law Firms In Beijing 

You can expect to find lawyers in China to be organized into partnerships, limited liability partnerships, sole practitioners and academic communities. Additionally, they are further categorized into private practice (general law), part-time practicing lawyers, government lawyers, in-house lawyers and military lawyers.

The larger law firms in Beijing advertise wide ranging expertise in business and corporate law, and international trade and investment, with a concentration on multinational legal matters (as this is where the big bucks are). 

Since it is uncommon for a law firm in Beijing to specialize in just one area, and a bit of research into each firm shows most practice in over ten fields of law, it isn’t possible to section each by only one qualified area of expertise. 

But, if your legal question falls outside the law firms advertised purview, they still might be able to help as many legal services overlap into fields within general law practice, or they will direct you to another specialist.

Chinese Lawyers and Law Firms

These are some of the Beijing based law firms that are notable for receiving accolades and awards for their legal work in a wide range of legal practice. This list of law firms below is just a small selection of your options.

Beidou Dingming Law Firm

Beidou Dingming Law Firm is a comprehensive law firm and is one of the most well known in China. Their primary focus is on litigation and arbitration and criminal defense but they also handle legal matters from inception through to resolution in international investment, foreign currency, maritime affairs, transportation, logistics, and entertainment.

Beijing Globe Gao Wen Law Firm 

Globe Gao Wen Law Firm is known for their work in trademark law and attorneys here speak Chinese, English, German, Japanese, Russian, and Korean. This Chinese law firms’ core businesses include intellectual property, criminal defense, international trade, labor, maritime and real estate.

Beijing Jun He Law Office 

One of the largest Chinese law firms in Beijing that uses multidisciplinary project teams to actively work every angle for a client’s project. Beijing Jun He Law Office is known for employment law and healthcare law. Other core practice lines include commercial transactions, intellectual property, international trade and litigation, and they speak Chinese, English, German, and Japanese.

Beijing Tianbo Law Firm 

Tianbo has built an online platform to serve their clients’ needs. Their practice focuses on international trade, foreign marriage and adoption, civil, and criminal defense. Attorneys here speak Chinese, English, German, and Turkish.

Beijing Tianyuan Law Firm 

As one of the oldest comprehensive partnership law firms in China, they are recommended as a general go-to firm. China Law & Practice named Tianyuan.  Other notable practice areas include antitrust, family, human genetic resources regulation and compliance, and labor law. 

Han Kun Law Offices

Han Kun has received the distinction as a first-tier aviation financing law firm and is also noted as China’s leading law firm in international transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Many attorneys here are multilingual and speak Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and German.

Lehman, Lee & Xu 

They are a comprehensive law firm for cases including aviation (accidents), debt recovery and management, franchise, food and pharmaceutical, insurance, maritime, and product liability. Many of Lehman, Lee & Xu attorneys are multilingual and speak Chinese, English, German, and Spanish and is also a full service accounting firm for taxation law.

Zhong Yin Law Firm 

This firm is known in the areas of International Trade and Capital Market: Asset Securitization and Derivatives. Their core service areas also include criminal defense, intellectual property and maritime. Languages spoken at this firm include English, French, Japanese, Korean, and German.

Foreign Law Firms in Beijing 

Chinese regulations allow foreign representative branches of international law firms in Beijing to collaborate with both Chinese and international clients on legal services worldwide.

They provide legal assistance on multinational cases, niche legal matters particular to your home country, the impact of Chinese law and also work with other lawyers throughout the world.

These are some of the more prominent leading white shoe foreign law firms in Beijing:

Baker McKenzie FenXun

Baker McKenzie FenXun is one of the biggest full scale foreign representative legal offices, with over 100 lawyers and support staff in Beijing alone. Their focus on trends and technology in financial markets across the globe to collaborate seamlessly from Beijing out to their 70 offices in 45 countries worldwide.

Cleary Gottlieb

With specialty areas in cross-border work, like structuring and negotiating corporate and financing transactions, intellectual property and notable work in trade secrets laws, Cleary Gottlieb’s clients’ include national governments, multinationals and local Chinese and expats. 

Cooley LLP

Cooley specializes in a wide range of sophisticated legal matters in regulatory and compliance law, intellectual property and structuring institutional and private investment funds. Cooley LLP is a top-tier law firm and is particularly recommended for managing IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law. 

Covington & Burling LLP

Their Beijing location is a boutique representative law office, with twelve employees, both lawyers and support staff, that speak English, Chinese, Mandarin, Japanese or Korean. Covington & Burling LLP‘s clients’ range from small startups and individuals to multinational corporations with a focus on export and employment.

Dacheng Dentons Law Firm

Dacheng Dentons Law Firm is the world’s largest law firm after their merger with Dentons and Chinese law firm, Dacheng, and have offices in more than 80 countries. Clients include both sides of government and regulatory bodies in strategizing and navigating public disclosures and transactions within private and capital markets.

Latham & Watkins LLP

Latham & Watkins LLP is one of the world’s largest pro bono providers in public interest law including supporting asylum seekers, serving the elderly, advocating for gender equality and the empowerment of women. This firm’s primary legal practice includes insolvency, banking, and corporate law.

Gide Loyrette Nouel 

Gide Loyrette Nouel was founded in Paris but conducts many of their businesses outside of France. The representative office in Beijing has French, English, and Chinese speaking lawyers who work closely with their European offices in business law and international investments. Their expertise in China tax practice has a significantly strong track record. 

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP 

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is the one of the only foreign law firms to offer Alternative Legal Services in China to pass the savings onto their customers by using state of the art technology for high volume document-intensive review in specialty areas including the international impact on finance, competition, regulation and trade, intellectual property, real estate and more. Their Beijing team is bilingual in Mandarin and English.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 

Skadden is known for the litigation. They have law firm branches worldwide in areas of expertise including corporate, employment, gaming, environmental, and sports law.

Now, on to You

Hiring a lawyer in Beijing is easy as it is one of the world’s most modern cities for doing business, but plan your legal business with fees, expenses, and Chinese rules and laws in mind. 

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