In Beijing, Payable to Bearer

(Beijing) - New laws on legal fees are set to rearrange the map of lawyering in China. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice put two rules on litigation into trial on May 30.

One new rule states that any non-litigation fees will be based on negotiations between lawyers and clients. However, in all civil litigation, administrative procedures, government compensation, criminal litigation and other cases, law firms will have to use government-guided pricing systems.