China's lawyers' associations receive 7,200 complaints in 2018

BEIJING - Lawyers' associations across China received 7,200 complaints concerning lawyers' professional conduct in 2018, up 6 percent year on year, according to the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA).

Lawyers involved in 612 cases were punished by the associations, 50 percent higher than that of the previous year, said Jiang Min, an ACLA spokesperson.

Most of the complaints received by the associations were about lawyers failing to perform their duties, violating protocols when accepting cases or charging fees, or infringing administrative or industrial regulations.

Jiang attributed the increase of complaints to the increase in the number of lawyers. In 2018, the number of lawyers grew by 10 percent over 2017.

In addition, by establishing proper mechanisms, it was easier for clients to hand in complaints and lawyers to protect their own rights, causing the number of complaints to increase, Jiang said.

"We noticed that some lawyers were yet to increase their awareness about rules and regulations related to their profession," said Jiang, adding that the ACLA will enhance supervision on law firms and organize more programs to raise awareness.