Only a licensed Chinese lawyer can defend a criminal case in China. How to verify one, the three screening criteria that matter, and the intermediaries overseas families should avoid.
The single most consequential decision an overseas family makes is who they hire, and the most common mistake is hiring someone who cannot actually enter the case. Foreign lawyers cannot. Online "legal consulting" companies cannot. Only a lawyer licensed in China can meet the detainee in the detention centre, read the case file and appear in court — and no amount of English on a website changes that. These two guides cover who to call in the first hour and how to screen a lawyer properly: English fluency is the least of it, response speed inside the seven-day and thirty-day clocks matters more, and interrogation coaching within the first twenty-four hours is what most families never get.
Embassy, lawyer back home, online consulting company — why only a licensed Chinese lawyer can defend the case, and how to verify one.
Watch & Read →English fluency, response speed inside the 7-day and 30-day clocks, and interrogation coaching within 24 hours.
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