Requirement
A foreign law firm trying to establish a representative office in China, as well as posting representatives there too shall meet the following requirements:
- The firm must have been in a lawful practice within its home country, and must have never been punished for a violation regarding the code of ethics of the legal profession;
- The firm must engage with the legal service activities other than Chinese Law. All or partial number of members must also be independently bearing the external civil liabilities;
- The representatives of the office must be practicing attorneys, who are members of the American Bar Association or a part of the country's respective law society where they had obtained their qualifications to practice;
- The representatives have never been punished for a criminal offense or a violation of lawyers' professional ethics or practice discipline;
- The representatives must have practiced law for more than two years outside of China. The chief representative of the firm must had practiced for more than three years outside of China and is a partner or of equivalent status within the firm;
- There must be an actual need to establish a representative office in China to conduct legal service business.