Ministry of Justice, Implementing the «Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China Regulations» Provisions

Issued: July 4 2002
Effective: September 1 2002
Applicability: For the purposes of these Provisions, a "foreign law firm" means an entity of foreign practicing lawyers established outside the PRC to provide non-PRC legal services with all or some of its members assuming joint and several civil liability. Foreign law firms do not include any association of two or more foreign practising lawyers or law firms who do not share profits and risks (Article 2). A "foreign practising lawyer" means a person who has duly obtained legal practice qualifications and is licensed to practise law in the country where he/she obtains the legal practice qualifications (Article 3).

Main contents: For the purpose of Article 7 of the Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China Regulations (hereafter, the Regulations), a foreign law firm's need to establish a representative office in China shall be recognized on certain factors. These factors include the social economic development and the legal service development of the proposed office location and the main practice areas and expertise of the foreign law firm (Article 4). To apply for establishment of an additional office, the foreign law firm shall have had a PRC representative office for at least three consecutive years and good compliance record in the PRC (Article 10).
For the purpose of Article 15 of the Regulations, a representative office (or its representative) will be deemed to be providing PRC legal services if it (1) participates in litigation in the PRC; (2) provides opinion or certifying statements on specific questions of written documents (including contracts, agreements and articles of association) to which the PRC law shall apply; (3) provides opinion or certifying statements on acts or events to which the PRC law shall apply; (4) provides opinion or comments in the capacity of attorney in arbitration on the application of the PRC law and on facts which involve the PRC law; or (5) represents a client to handle registration, change, application, filing and other procedures with the PRC government or other organizations authorized by law or regulations to exercise administrative functions (Article 32).
A representative office and its parent law firm are forbidden to: (1) invest directly or indirectly in a PRC law firm; (2) form a profit-sharing or risk-sharing practicing consortium with a PRC law firm or a PRC lawyer; (3) set up joint office with, or station its personnel in, a PRC law firm to provide legal services; or (4) manage, operate, control or possess equity interest in a PRC law firm (Article 39).
The Provisions also specify the acts that would make a representative office subject to being "deemed" to be employing PRC practicing lawyers (Article 40).
Related legislation: Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China Regulations, Dec 22 2001, CLP 2002 No.2 p43