At the beginning of this year, many said they were worried about the future foreign competition.

"I am confident that the Chinese lawyers are capable of competing with their foreign counterparts," said Wu Mingde, secretary-general of the All-China Lawyers Association.

"I do not agree with the view that foreign law firms will snatch business opportunities from Chinese lawyers," Wu said, on the possibility that the open market will attract a large number of foreign law firms.

"On the contrary, in view that foreign firms must co-operate with Chinese lawyers under many circumstances, they bring in a lot of business opportunities. I do not think the business volume of Chinese law firms is going to decline after China enters the WTO," he added.

"Familiarity with Chinese society will be one of our edges in the competition," said Xu Bing, of the Beijing-based law firm of GH & Partners. Xu said he looks forward to closer cooperation with foreign law firms which will present "the most effective way for improvement" for domestic lawyers.

Even though a large number of foreign law firms are expected to gain access to the Chinese market after WTO-entry, they would not be allowed to represent their clients in court or interpret national laws.

Many foreign law firms already in the country are co-operating with local lawyers.

The opportunities WTO entry should bring will not just fall in the laps of domestic lawyers, Wu said.

"The competition of the legal service market is about one thing - the proficiency of lawyers," he said.

Wu said his confidence comes from his association's projects to help 110,000 lawyers around the country to sharpen their skills.

Becoming a lawyer may become more difficult in the years to come with higher requirements, Wu said.

He added that his association, China's largest for lawyers, plans to provide more opportunities, or even a special school, for up-to-date professional training. The organization also plans to encourage exchanges and communications with overseas lawyers.

Wu's association has also noted that the small scale and lack of specialization are major barriers for local law firms to compete with their overseas counterparts and has already pledged to guide the mergers and specialization of domestic law firms.

China opened its legal service market to foreign law firms in 1992. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that 120 overseas law firms have set up offices on the mainland.

After China joins the WTO, overseas law firms would be able to set up more than one office, breaking the current restriction. The geographic ban that their offices can only be established in one of 15 set cities would also be lifted.

(China Daily November 26, 2000)