Law firm in trouble for illegal acts
By Zheng Yi (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-17 05:56

As part of a recent move to regulate law firms in the capital city, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice plans to suspend the practice of Shengzhi Lawyers' Office for a year for misconduct.

A public hearing was held yesterday over the administrative decision.

According to sources with the bureau, the punishment was based on the Law on Lawyers, management regulation over the registration of the lawyers' office and the penalty for illegal behaviour of lawyers and law firms.

The bureau is the governmental department that supervises the lawyer industry.

"Beijing Shengzhi Lawyers' Office was found to have acted illegally," an official with the bureau said.

First, the law office failed to register with local justice authorities after it moved to a new office in June, sources with the bureau said.

"This is against the rules as law firms are required to inform authorities within a month of changing their location," said the official. "Otherwise, clients and the industry watchdog will not be able to find them when needed."

Meanwhile, Shengzhi Lawyers' Office aided lawyers from other law firms in their illegal operations, according to sources with the bureau.

For example, Tang Jingling, a lawyer in South China's Guangdong Province, visited his client in custody using a recommendation from Shengzhi Lawyers' Office.

The recommendation form was blank, said bureau sources, so lawyers from other firms were able to fill in anything they wanted on the form.

"Punishment for Shengzhi Lawyers' Office was normal and it was offered an opportunity to defend itself and applying for a public hearing," the official with the bureau said.

However, Gao Zhisheng, the director of the law firm, said he believed that the punishment was a way of persecuting him.

In the same move, five Beijing-based lawyers' offices including Renhai Lawyers' Office and Minyan Lawyers' Office had their registrations cancelled by the bureau.

(China Daily 11/17/2005 page2)