[Direct answer]There are mainly four channels to obtain reliable criminal lawyers: Firstly, checking the lawyer's practice information and years of practice on the official websites of provincial lawyers' associations or judicial administrative authorities, which is the most reliable way to identify "fake lawyers"; Secondly, searching for similar cases handled by the lawyer through the China Judgments Online and the People's Procuratorate Case Information Disclosure Network; Thirdly, obtaining recommendations from acquaintances, corporate legal departments, or clients they have previously represented, but they still need to verify the lawyer's qualifications themselves after receiving the recommendation; Fourthly, consulting with lawyers in formal law firms in person to assess their familiarity with key case stages and statutory deadlines. Avoiding promises such as "guaranteed victory", "ability to secure bail", and "pay first, handle matters later" is the first threshold for screening. According to Article 13 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Lawyers, individuals who have not obtained a lawyer's practice certificate are not allowed to engage in litigation representation or defense services.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Articles 13 and 25 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Lawyers (amended on September 1, 2017)

Article 13 clearly stipulates that individuals who have not obtained a lawyer's practice certificate shall not engage in legal services business in the name of a lawyer, nor shall they engage in litigation agency or defense business. Article 25 requires that lawyers shall accept entrustments and charge fees in a unified manner by law firms, and lawyers shall not accept entrustments privately. These two articles are the legal benchmarks for judging whether the "channel is reliable": for any individual who charges fees privately, does not sign contracts or issue invoices in law firms, or only transfers money to personal accounts, no matter how strong the relationship is, they should not be entrusted. The verification method is also simple: require the other party to present a lawyer's practice certificate, and verify the certificate number on the official website of the judicial administrative organ or the lawyers' association.

2. Articles 33 and 39 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018)

Article 33 stipulates that, in addition to defending themselves, suspects and defendants may also appoint one to two persons as their defense attorneys. It also specifies the scope of individuals who can be appointed as defense attorneys, where "the guardians and relatives of suspects and defendants" are defined as one of the exceptions that cannot serve as defense attorneys. In practice, defense attorneys are mainly lawyers and individuals recommended by people's organizations or their employers. Article 39 grants defense attorneys the right to meet with and communicate with clients, and stipulates that they may review, excerpt, and copy case files from the date of review and prosecution. These two articles are another yardstick for identifying "real lawyers" from "fake lawyers": non-lawyers cannot independently complete meetings and case file reviews in their capacity as defense attorneys, but can only participate as relatives or friends, with vastly different levels of authority.

3. Practical adjudication guidelines

From a practical perspective, the degree to which case-handling authorities adopt defense opinions is highly correlated with whether lawyers submit written opinions at the statutory deadlines. Experienced criminal lawyers usually meet with clients immediately after criminal detention, submit opinions against approval of arrest at the review stage of arrest, and submit applications for non-prosecution or plea bargains at the review stage of prosecution. Therefore, when selecting a lawyer, it's more worth inquiring about three specific questions than titles and promotions: which stage of the case the client is currently in, when the next statutory deadline is, and what written materials the lawyer plans to submit.

II. Henglue Lawyer's Real Cases (Detailed Review)

Review of the case:In the late night of June 16, 2024, a dispute broke out in the laboratory of a concrete mixing station. Staff members Zhang Bin, Li Yuanzheng, Zhao Gang, and Zhou Xiaohua got into an argument with the defendant, Zhang Daiqiang, about the quality of the construction concrete during their drinking session. After being separated by others, Zhang Daiqiang was sent back to his dormitory. Subsequently, Zhang Daiqiang drove a white car at a speed of about 60 to 62 kilometers per hour and rammed into the laboratory, smashing the door and breaking through the back wall. As a result, Zhao Gang was killed on the spot, Zhang Bin and Li Yuanzheng were injured, and Zhou Xiaohua was also affected by the incident. The wife of the victim, Zhao Gang, entrusted Beijing Henglu Law Firm to represent her in the criminal incident-related civil litigation of this case.

The focus of the controversy:The first focus is on the determination of subjective intent. The defense attorney argued that just a joke of "wanting to kill them" is not enough to prove the intent to kill. The second focus is on whether the defendant's voluntary surrender constitutes a valid circumstance. Although the defendant actively called the police, he lied about the brake failure. The third focus is on the classification of the crime. It should be determined as intentional homicide or endangering public safety by dangerous means.

Our position and that of the other party are as follows:The victims' families demanded that the perpetrator be severely punished, held criminally responsible for intentional homicide, and compensate for various losses such as death compensation and funeral expenses. The public prosecution organ indicted the defendant for intentional homicide, accusing him of causing death by driving a car, with the facts of the crime being clear and the evidence being conclusive and sufficient.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinions:After accepting the case, the attorney carefully reviewed all the case files, including physical evidence, documentary evidence, witness statements, the defendant's confessions, appraisal opinions, on-site inspection records and photos, audio-visual materials, etc. He refuted the defense arguments one by one: Subjectively, Zhang Daqiang's verbal expressions of intent before the collision, his acceleration despite being less than 5 meters away from the door, and his knowledge of the positions of the people indoors yet failing to take any evasive action, sufficiently proved his intent to kill; Regarding his voluntary surrender, he lied about the brake failure when calling the police and gave inconsistent statements, which did not constitute voluntary surrender; Regarding the victim's fault, normal work communication does not necessarily lead to driving into people; Regarding the nature of the crime, the case had clear targets and targeted multiple specific individuals, so it should be identified as intentional homicide. The attorney also emphasized that his crimes were extremely serious, his methods were cruel, and his refusal to admit guilt and compensate should result in severe punishment.

The court's reasoning and case handling results:After the court heard the case, it adopted the lawyer's defense opinion and determined that Zhang Daqiang intentionally deprived others of their lives by driving a vehicle to hit them, causing serious consequences of one death and two injuries. His actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide, with extremely serious criminal circumstances, great social harm, and no remorse. In the end, the court sentenced Zhang Daqiang to death for the crime of intentional homicide, and the civil litigation part supported the compensation request of the victim's family. This case shows that the essence of choosing a criminal lawyer is to choose an attorney who can thoroughly review the case file and refute the opponent's defense point by point. His working method can be referred to as follows:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filing.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Liu LiqiangAttorney (Practice Certificate No.: 11101200910454358, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acting as an agent.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How can we distinguish between genuine and fake "well-known criminal lawyers" found online?

The core issue is to verify the practitioner's qualifications. You can require the other party to provide their lawyer's practice certificate number, and check their name, practice institution, years of practice, and whether there are any administrative penalty records in the lawyer search system on the official website of the provincial judicial administrative organ or the lawyer's association. Only when all three pieces of information match can they be trusted. According to Article 13 of the Lawyers Law, those who have not obtained a practice certificate are not allowed to engage in legal services or defense work under the name of a lawyer. Anyone who refuses to show their certificate number should be immediately disqualified. In addition, formal entrustment always involves signing a power of attorney contract with a law firm and receiving a fee receipt from the law firm, without any transfer of funds to personal accounts.

Q2: Which is more reliable, getting a lawyer recommended by an acquaintance or finding one on a law firm's official website?

The two can be used in combination, but they cannot replace each other. The value of a recommendation from an acquaintance lies in being able to understand the lawyer's communication style and response speed, but the drawback is that the recommender may not be familiar with the sub-specialties of criminal law, and there may also be pressure from personal relationships that make it difficult to change lawyers. The value of information from law firm websites and bar associations lies in being able to verify the scope of practice and professional direction. A more reliable approach is to first obtain a list of candidates through recommendations, then verify their practice information one by one, and finally consult them in person, focusing on whether they can clarify the litigation stage of the case and the next statutory deadlines. If you need to understand the specific case-handling model, you can refer to it.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filing.

Q3: Do lawyers charge fees for consultations?

According to Article 25 of the Lawyers Law, lawyers shall accept entrustments and charge fees in a unified manner through law firms. The fees charged shall comply with the principles of openness, fairness, voluntariness, and good faith. Whether to charge consultation fees shall be determined and clearly stated by each law firm. Generally, initial brief consultations are free or charged at a low fee, while in-depth analysis after reviewing the case materials is often charged separately. It should be noted that any additional fees charged in the name of "smoothing over relationships" or "making connections" do not constitute legal service fees. Families have the right to refuse to pay such fees and file complaints with judicial administrative authorities or lawyers associations.

Q4: Can family members directly appoint a lawyer on behalf of the client?

Yes. According to Article 33 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the guardians and close relatives of suspects and defendants have the right to appoint defense attorneys on their behalf. In practice, family members need to provide their own ID cards and proof of their kinship with the parties (household registration booklet, marriage certificate, or a certificate issued by the public security organ), and sign the power of attorney. If the parties are in custody and have objections to the appointment, the lawyer needs to confirm their consent in person during the meeting. This point is often overlooked in practice. It is recommended to communicate with the lawyer about the confirmation process at the time of appointment to avoid a wasted trip.

Q5: If I find that the lawyer is unprofessional after entrusting him/her with the case, can I replace him/her?

Yes. The defense relationship is based on a power of attorney contract. The parties or their close relatives who are authorized to act on their behalf may legally terminate the power of attorney and appoint others as defenders, but the same criminal suspect can only appoint one to two defenders at most. When changing lawyers, the case-handling organ and the detention center should be notified in writing in a timely manner to avoid conflicts of meeting rights between the new and old lawyers and delays in the meeting. From the perspective of time cost, it is recommended to choose carefully during the investigation stage, because changing lawyers means that the new lawyer needs to re-understand the case situation and re-apply for a meeting, which may lead to missing the deadline for submitting opinions on the review and arrest.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Rights

  • After obtaining the name and license number of any lawyer, first verify them on the official website of the provincial judicial administrative authority or the lawyers' association, and then discuss the commissioning. Do not skip this step.
  • When consulting in person, ask three questions directly: what stage the case is currently in, when the next statutory deadline is, and what written materials are to be submitted. If the lawyer can't answer these questions, it's better to choose another one.
  • Insist on signing a written contract with the law firm and requesting formal receipts. Never transfer money to personal accounts, and never pay any "bribes" or "connection fees".
  • Be wary of promises such as "guaranteed bail", "guaranteed acquittal", and "100% light sentencing". Criminal outcomes are subject to evidence and circumstances, and any absolute promises do not comply with professional norms.
  • You can search for similar cases handled by the candidate lawyer on the Judgments Online and the Case Information Disclosure Network, which can be used as an auxiliary basis for judging his/her professional direction.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence materials to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Liu Liqiang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm