Wang Zhelin, a lawyer who has been practicing in first-tier cities for nearly four years and mainly handles civil, commercial and administrative cases, remembers that a few years ago, in the law firm where she practiced, a fellow lawyer who had been practicing for many years was arrested for fraud.
"The main reason is that I learned that he was held criminally responsible for fraud during the process of representing a case." She said that people around her were surprised at the time, and she did not expect that being an agent in civil and commercial cases would encounter such consequences.
The Asian Lawyers Network (ALN), a public welfare organization, published the "Report on the Rights and Interests of Civil and Commercial Lawyers in China" in July this year, pointing out that there is an upward trend in civil and commercial lawyers being held criminally responsible for normal practice.
Lu Miaoqing, one of the authors of the report, said that as the Chinese authorities launched a "special campaign against organized crime" in 2018 and announced a one-year in-depth work in July this year, civil and commercial lawyers will consider the risks of cases they represent more clearly.
"Is the client's case sensitive? Is his background clean? Will the case be reclassified in three years?"
Yu Ping, a doctor of law and former China director of the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Program, analyzed to BBC Chinese that in an environment where China's economy faces multiple challenges, civil and commercial lawyers are more likely to increase their own risks by representing cases involving economic disputes.
Wang Zhelin mainly represents cases involving contract sales, labor disputes, and administrative litigation. Her clients are mainly medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, she has also undertaken some work related to gender violence, and has also represented group litigation cases. Although these cases are civil proceedings, there is a certain sensitivity involved.
She said that the industry is now beginning to discuss more about which cases are "sensitive cases" and the scope is not necessarily related to politics or rights protection. For example, in civil cases such as "infringement of personality rights" or "infringement of reputation rights" arising from sexual harassment, if the case involves real-name reporting of campus sexual harassment, lawyers will often consider the case to be more sensitive.
"Everyone will think that this kind of case is relatively sensitive... This sensitivity means that this case cannot be resolved through so-called normal legal channels." She explained that in the cases she has personally represented, more often than not, the judge will prefer to let the parties resolve the case through private mediation, "let the plaintiff withdraw the lawsuit, and then the case does not need to form a judgment."
In addition, some civil cases involving social stability, economic impact, national macro-control, and high public opinion may also be considered sensitive, including some campus sexual assault and harassment cases. Some group lawsuits may require additional procedural arrangements, such as lawsuits filed by migrant workers seeking wages. "The Lawyers Association (Bar Association) has regulations that such group lawsuits must be reported."
Wang Zhelin pointed out that law firms, lawyers associations, judicial bureaus and other departments will pay special attention to this type of cases. In addition to personal risk considerations, she also needs the consent of the law firm and confirmation from the Bureau of Justice before she can represent this type of case. "When you are representing this case, you will feel particularly annoyed, that is, you cannot carry out the work smoothly... You will feel that this practice is still relatively limited."
After she represented these cases, she was often approached by the Justice Bureau or the local government to "ask about the status of the case." The law firm would also require her to regularly report on the progress and status of the relevant cases. If in some administrative cases, the defendant is involved with the government or public security agencies, "they will find other ways to put some pressure on you. This situation is very common now."
According to the "Report on the Rights and Interests of Civil and Commercial Lawyers in China", some cases that were originally general civil and commercial disputes may be given varying degrees of political significance because they involve factors such as large private enterprises, online platforms, real estate, financial risks, mass incidents, and foreign-related investments. The report believes that whether a case is sensitive is no longer determined only by its legal nature, but also by factors such as the identity of the parties, industrial background, influence of public opinion, and government governance goals.
Li Yiting, a lawyer who has been practicing for nearly five years and mainly represents civil and commercial cases, told BBC Chinese that in recent years, some cases in which civil and commercial lawyers have been held criminally responsible have aroused concern among the lawyer community. Among them, the case in which Shandong lawyer Gao Bingfang represented "migrant workers seeking wages" and was accused of false litigation was one of the most discussed cases among her peers. "The highest risk that our civil and commercial lawyers face now, such as the crime of false litigation, is like a sharp sword hanging over our civil and commercial lawyers."
The relevant facts of Gao Bingfang’s case pointed out that the wages of 75 migrant workers were advanced by the contractor. The contractor hired Gao Bingfang as an attorney to sue the general contractor for unpaid wages in the name of migrant workers. The prosecutor accused Gao Bingfang of instructing the other two defendants to fabricate the fact that migrant workers had not been paid. Gao Bingfang insisted that she was not guilty and said that she had no prior knowledge of the advance salary. In 2024, the Shandong Court convicted Gao Bingfang of false litigation in the first instance and was sentenced to four years in prison. After she appealed, the original verdict was upheld in the second instance in 2025.
Li Yiting explained that in the process of representing a case, it may involve the client concealing key information from the lawyer. Even if a lawyer does not have the intention to falsely litigate or defraud, he or she may face criminal risks. China's "Criminal Law" stipulates that the core of the crime of false litigation is to file a civil lawsuit based on fabricated facts, obstruct judicial order or seriously infringe the legitimate rights and interests of others; if the litigation agent conspires with others and jointly commits relevant acts, he may also be held criminally responsible.
Lu Miaoqing, a public interest lawyer who co-wrote the "Report" and is currently in the United States, said that many lawyers still practicing in China have reported increased concerns that cases they represent may involve criminal liability. Lu Miaoqing, who has been practicing law in China for many years, told BBC Chinese that since the Chinese authorities implemented a "special campaign against crime" in 2018, they have begun to observe that some civil and commercial lawyers have also begun to be involved in criminal cases. In July this year, officials announced that they would launch a one-year special campaign to intensify the fight against gangs and eliminate evil, and said that cases would be handled strictly in accordance with the law to ensure that "all gangsters and evildoers are not left out, and no gangsters and evildoers are included."
One of the cases that has attracted much attention is the crime case involving Guangxi lawyer Feng Bo. From 2012 to 2015, Feng Bo served as the legal counsel of the Guilin Beijing Chamber of Commerce. Liu Qiang, president of the Chamber of Commerce, was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for 11 crimes including gang involvement. Feng Bo was arrested in 2022. In 2023, he was convicted of participating in a mafia-type organization, fraud and helping to fabricate evidence in the first instance, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After he appealed, the court held in the second trial in 2024 that the existing evidence was insufficient to prove that he had participated in a gangland organization headed by Liu Qiang, so the relevant charges were dropped; however, the original verdict was upheld for the crime of fraud and the crime of helping to fabricate evidence, and the sentence was changed to 5 years.
Lu Miaoqing believes that such cases have caused lawyers to worry about whether the normal legal client relationship they have established with their clients may in turn become the basis for holding lawyers accountable after the clients are recharacterized in the future. "This kind of thing was almost unimaginable before the crackdown on crime in 2018."
Zhang Haoran, who has been practicing in first-tier cities for more than ten years, mainly represents civil and commercial cases. When interviewed by BBC Chinese, he said that in the process of representing the cases, it is normal practice to provide legal opinions and suggestions to the parties. He said that in an environment of "sweeping down gangs and eradicating evil", attorneys who are affected by their clients and held criminally responsible may have a chilling effect. "If you are afraid, you just don't dare, you will definitely be cautious."
Yu Ping pointed out that in an economic downturn, local governments may seek financial subsidies from local entrepreneurs, and corporate lawyers may also conflict with local governments when protecting their clients' economic interests. "Many commercial lawyers will be affected just because they serve entrepreneurs. I think this situation is relatively a systemic problem, not an individual case problem."
Chen Jing, who is in her twenties and has been practicing law for nearly three years, mainly representing criminal cases, believes that if the insecurity of practicing lawyers continues to expand, it will eventually affect the public's access to high-quality legal services. "Everyone will have concerns, and I think it may be difficult to provide legal services to the best of our ability." Li Jing believes that only when the general environment of the rule of law improves, the Lawyers Association truly provides protection for lawyers, and relevant departments act in accordance with the law, will the overall risk be reduced. "Then our sense of security will definitely increase."
