An investigation on the living situation of Chinese lawyers was published recently, the Market News reported on November 10. The investigation, the first of its kind in China, shows that Chinese lawyers tend to become an urban group with low incomes and no guarantees. However, different from other such urban groups, these people with high academic credentials still own high social status.

The investigation was jointly conducted nationwide by the South China Normal University and Guangzhou Lawyers' Association lasting over a year, covering the fields of lawyers' incomes, their living and working conditions and their psychologies.

According to the investigation's statistics, Chinese lawyers' incomes are not as high as widely thought, with part of them surprisingly low. "The imbalance of incomes is quite severe in the industry," it said. Take the city of Guangzhou for example, 79 percent of lawyers surveyed put their annual volume of business under 200,000 yuan (US$25,400) and 20 percent under 30,000 yuan (US$3,810). Only 1 percent listed their annual income as exceeding 1 million yuan (US$127,000). "Extremely few are with their annual income reaching 10 million yuan (US$12,700)," insiders revealed.

Corresponding to income levels is the number of handled cases. Some 42 percent of lawyers handle about 10 cases a year; 62 percent handle about five; and 68 percent only work on cases recommended by their relatives, friends and clients, according to the investigation.

No. 1 examination in China

To become a lawyer in China, the first step is the national legal examination, the so-called "No. 1 examination in China", which is famous for its high difficulty and low qualification rate, said insiders.

According to the investigation, the qualification rate was 6.68 percent in 2002; 8.75 percent in 2003; 11.22 percent in 2004; and 14.39 percent in 2005. This year's examination, starting on September 16, attracted more than 280,000 examinees. "Only few can pass the examination the first time, and most only succeed after trying three, five or more times," said examinees.

Lu Yu, an examinee of this year, said that it was his fourth time sitting the examination. He first sat it four years ago while still a postgraduate of the Renmin University of China. He now works in the department of human resources at a governmental institution. "Many classmates of mine quit after two or three times, but I still want to continue. The pass of the examination will provide me with a mere tool to achieve my aims," Lu said.

The investigation shows that the examinees include people of all trades and professions and all age distributions; with most viewing the examination as "a tremendous pressure".

A zero-wage internship

To become a lawyer in China, the second crisis one has to weather is the one-year internship in a lawyers' office or firm. Only having completed the internship can one be given a "red lawyer-certificate".

During this period, the newcomer fresh from the national legal examination will face tremendous economic pressures, since the wage is awarded "as the firm sees fit." For low wages, trainees are usually unable to speak out.

Xiao Yan, a graduate from the China University of Political Science and Law, said that she spent her internship in a lawyers' office of her father's friends'. "Few trainees can get a high salary," she said. "I tried my very best to get a job in the lawyers' office. Most of my classmates find jobs by obtaining the help of influential people, otherwise it can't be done."

A netizen named "New Little Lawyer" published his internship experience on the Internet, saying "My first job after the legal examination was a reception clerk in a lawyers' office, with a monthly salary of 250 yuan (US$31.76). Why? We trainees are human beings instead of plants, aren't we?!"

According to the investigation, even in developed Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, a trainee-lawyer's monthly stipend stands at only 900 yuan (US$114.33). "Many lawyers' offices or firms even stipulate clearly that trainees are not paid at all," said Xiao Yan. Even so, she and her friends still continue to practice in such firms, because "you will never have any opportunity to try if you don't accept it."

Mr. Sun, a senior partner in a Beijing law firm, said that each year his office receives about 35 trainees, most with no working experience. "What the office can do is to provide them with a practice opportunity only. If we pay them, the self-operation of the office will be influenced," he said.

Unable to bear such tremendous economic pressures, lots of trainees begin to seek other working opportunities. The "instability" of trainees encourages lawyers' offices not to appoint trainees to important posts, so a vicious circle has formed between the two sides and that has incurred a great deal of resentment.

No cases for new comers

Next, a new lawyer has to endure "the period short of cases" which is longer than the internship, said insiders.

Xiao Lin has worked in a lawyers' office in Beijing for three years, handling only about 10 cases. "Litigants only want those senior lawyers to handle their cases because they have rich experiences and wide social relations. Trainees are inexperienced and hard to be trusted by litigants," said Xiao Lin.

"Once we get a case, we must bury ourselves quickly in collecting materials and evidence to prepare justification," said Xiao Lin, adding "we must pay insurance, management fees and taxes. The disposable wages can hardly repay our hardship. We are even loath to spend our money on taking a taxi. We are often worried about our rent for a flat."

30 percent feel unsafe

The investigation shows that 30 percent of the lawyers surveyed feel unsafe. Pressure and stress also come from misunderstandings with clients and the darker sides of society lawyers tackle daily.

Because of heavy workloads, fast working pace and numerous social engagements, many lawyers lack sleeping and exercise sparking a health crisis. In Guangzhou, some 66 percent of lawyers take less than three hours a week to exercise; 17 percent do not exercise at all; and 67 percent sleep less than seven hours a day.

"Most lawyers are not willing to be investigated by such questionnaires, especially those senior lawyers with high incomes and prestigious reputations in the industry. It shows another side of lawyers' psychologies," said Ding Zhe and Luo Yuting, two members of the investigation group.

Experts: lawyers are not businessmen

Hu Fuchuan, director of the Guangdong Mingjing Law Firm, showed the payrolls of some lawyers, saying "lawyers now should be regarded as a group of people in cities with low income and no guarantees." The incomes of lawyers look like a pyramid, with a few high-income owners at the top and over 70 percent at the bottom struggling to climb the ziggurat, Hu said.

Wang Fan, chairman of the All China Lawyers Association, told the Legal Daily that the average income of Chinese lawyers is not as good as that of the taxi industry, with annual incomes of under 100,000 yuan (US$12,700).

Because of the difficulties of the industry, many law graduates are not willing to become lawyers. According to an investigation conducted by Sun Yat-sen University's School of Law among its undergraduates, 35 percent of the students hoped to become lawyers, but few of them could find a job with a law firm after graduation. Among the 200 graduates in 2006, only one formally signed a contract with a lawyers' office.

Some students surveyed said that they would choose to become public servants as their first profession instead of lawyers. "We won't consider whether to become lawyers or not until accumulating certain social relations," they said. For those who entered the industry, many choose other professions later, with only few persevering.

Ms. Chen, a sociologist with the Beijing Normal University, said that while shouldering responsibilities of building and perfecting the country's legal system, Chinese lawyers are locked in a battle for survival, too. She said lawyers must seek legal justice, but the current living situation of Chinese lawyers will no doubt push them to become "businessmen". "The problem is that the industry is short of trained professionals to take over as older experts retire one after another. Young lawyers are the future of the country's legal industry," Chen said.

She called on society to pay close attention to the development of lawyers, to give them more care and guidance.

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, November 20, 2006)