Embassy, lawyer back home, online consulting company — why only a licensed Chinese lawyer can defend the case.
Someone has been arrested in China, and the phone is in your hand. Who do you call? Attorney Maggie Ma's short answer: the options most families reach for first — the embassy, a lawyer back home, an online consulting company — each have a role, but none of them can defend the case. Here is why, and what to do instead. Video and full transcript below.
Start with the embassy — genuinely. What they can do is notify and protect: visit your relative, follow the case, confirm welfare. But a consular visit is not a defense. Consular officers cannot read the case file, cannot argue in court, and cannot advise on Chinese law. Knowing what is happening is not the same as having someone defend him.
No matter how good your home-country lawyer is, they cannot practice in China. No visit to the detention center, no access to the case file, no court appearance. What they can do is hand you off to a Chinese lawyer — which leaves you paying two lawyers in two countries while everything that actually decides the outcome is outside their expertise.
There are many legal consulting companies online, and many of them buy ads to bring in clients — then pass the case to a lawyer. Most of your money goes to advertising, and you may never find out which lawyer is actually handling your family member's case. And here is the thing: you cannot hire a company as your defense lawyer. It has to be a licensed lawyer.
"Someone's been arrested. Who should you call? Here's the first thing to remember: only a Chinese lawyer can defend him. While he's in custody, the family can't get in to see him at all. I know how desperate that feels — but look at the three things families turn to: the embassy, a foreign lawyer, or one of those online legal consulting companies. None of them can give you what really matters.
Start with the embassy. What they can do is notify and protect. They can visit. They can follow the case. But a consular visit is not a defense. They can't read the case file. They can't argue in court. They can't advise you on Chinese law. Knowing what's happening isn't the same as having someone defend him.
Next, the foreign lawyer. No matter how good they are back home, they can't practice in China. No visit, no case file, no court. All they can do is hand you off to a Chinese lawyer — and now you are paying two lawyers in two countries, while all the things that actually decide the outcome are completely outside their expertise.
Then there are the legal consulting companies — and there are a lot of them online. Many buy ads to bring in clients, then pass the case to a lawyer. Most of your money goes to advertising, and you never find out which lawyer is actually handling your family member's case. And here's the thing: you can't hire a company as your defense lawyer. It has to be a licensed lawyer.
So how do you tell if someone's a real, licensed Chinese lawyer? Check. My law firm, my license number, my license status — it's all on the Ministry of Justice website. Every Chinese lawyer carries a certificate issued by the Ministry of Justice, and you sign the contract with the law firm. You pay the law firm and you get an invoice from the law firm.
In a criminal case, the first 37 days are the most important, and the clock starts the day they're detained. So don't ask around. Find out who you're actually hiring, and get a real Chinese lawyer on the case."