Overhaul targets lawyers involved in improper jobs

A three-month campaign to rectify situations where lawyers have improper part-time jobs or still work as lawyers after losing their Chinese citizenship has started across China, according to a report by ThePaper.cn, an online news outlet.

The campaign, launched by the Ministry of Justice, began on June 25 and will end on Sept 25, ThePaper.cn cited a notice by the ministry as saying.

As some lawyers have recently been found running businesses or serving as executives in enterprises instead of offering legal services — which is not allowed in China — the ministry also noted that some have been found practicing law without Chinese citizenship.

Lawyer Bao Yuming from the Beijing Taide Law Firm was named in the notice, which said he has worked for enterprises for a long time and did not report his nationality after obtaining United States citizenship in 2006.

Bao came into the spotlight in April when a woman claimed Bao had started sexually assaulting her around 2016 when she was 14 years old.

The woman's allegation triggered nationwide attention, and a team from the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security was dispatched to Shandong province, where the case originated, to supervise the local investigation.

The investigation is still underway, and no more details have been disclosed.

But after the case was exposed, some media found Bao had served as a vice-president in charge of legal affairs of Yantai-based Jereh Oilfield Services Group in Shandong and was an independent nonexecutive director of ZTE Corporation. Media further discovered that he had obtained his US citizenship.

"Bao's behavior has not only had a great negative effect on society, but also seriously harmed the image and reputation of the legal team," ThePaper.cn cited the ministry's notice as saying.

The notice orders law firms nationwide to oversee their lawyers and also demands justice bureaus to go through lawyers' materials with relevant authorities, including public security, human resources and market supervision.

Lawyers with improper part-time jobs or those without Chinese nationality will not have their certifications revoked if they report their illegal activity, quit their part-time jobs or regain their Chinese citizenship, the notice said.

Lawyers will face administrative punishments if they are found submitting fake materials or untruthfully reporting to local justice bureaus during the campaign, it said, adding law firms will also be accountable if they fail to review their lawyers' materials.