Legal profession eases access for interns

Law firms nationwide have implemented changes to intern requirements to promote employment in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Jiang Min, vice-president of the All China Lawyers Association said on Friday.

A total of 1,926 law graduates have been employed as paid interns in the past four months without needing to first gain certification.

Graduates wanting to become practicing lawyers usually need to pass the unified national legal profession qualification examination to gain certification. They are then required to serve an apprenticeship of one year with a legal firm.

However, in April, the Ministry of Justice and six departments jointly issued a document allowing graduates to apply for an internship first. The interns must still pass the certification process and other requirements before they can become practicing lawyers.

Lawyers have also been mobilized to offer legal assistance to help businesses resume production, as the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control.

By the end of June, Jiangsu province had organized lawyers to visit enterprises, major projects and industrial parks to offer legal opinions on reducing financial harm.

The lawyers gave advice on how to recover assets and avoid further losses estimated at 940 million yuan ($135 million), according to the ACLA.

They will also provide free legal services for five years to medical workers who fought the epidemic and reduce their legal service fees by 30 to 50 percent for micro, small and medium-sized businesses.