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Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice Document No. 2 of 2017

To the Justice Bureaus of all cities and above, the Nansha and Shunde District Justice Bureaus, and all departments and directly affiliated units of the Provincial Department:

In order to further promote the work of "streamlining government administration and delegating powers," "combining regulation with deregulation," and "optimizing services," and in accordance with the provincial government's requirements for implementing standardized administrative approvals, the Provincial Department has decided to further simplify and optimize the administrative approval process for lawyers and law firms. The relevant matters are notified as follows:

I. Simplification of Application Materials for Relevant Approvals of Lawyers and Law Firms

(I) Application Materials for Lawyer Practice

1. Cancellation of the following application materials:

(1) Copy of household register;

(2) Proof of payment for personnel file custody;

(3) Copy of graduation certificate from centralized training;

(4) Legal professional (lawyer) qualification file.

2. Adjustment of the submission content and method of the following application materials:

(1) Proof of not having been subjected to criminal punishment (except for crimes of negligence), only a certificate issued by the public security organ at the applicant's current registered residence is required. If the content of the certificate does not cover all the time period from the applicant's 14th birthday to the date of application, a "Commitment Letter on Not Having Been Subjected to Criminal Punishment" (format see attachment) must also be submitted;

(2) When applying for a change of practice across cities, the "proof of the applicant's practice performance in the original place of practice and the existence of any unsettled complaints" will be directly stated by the management department of the city's justice bureau in the original place of practice in the preliminary review opinion of the "Lawyer Practice Change Application Form," and does not need to be submitted separately;

(3) The content of the commitment letter will be filled in by the applicant in the corresponding position of the "Lawyer Practice Registration Form," and does not need to be submitted separately.

3. Cancellation of Article 1 of the "Interpretation of Relevant Issues of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice's Management Measures on Lawyer Practice Licenses".

(II) Application Materials for Law Firms

1. Cancellation of the application material of the copy of the household register of the founder.

2. Adjustment of the submission content and method of the following application materials.

(1) The "Notice of Pre-approval of Law Firm Name" will be verified by the city's justice bureau management department through the Guangdong Lawyer Management Platform, and the applicant does not need to submit it;

(2) Relevant application matters and reasons for the application for the establishment or change of a law firm (branch office) will be filled in by the applicant in the corresponding position of the "Law Firm (Branch Office) Establishment Application Registration Form" and change application form, and do not need to be submitted separately;

(3) The commitment letter will be filled in by the applicant in the corresponding position of the "Law Firm (Branch Office) Establishment Application Registration Form" or other relevant application registration form, and does not need to be submitted separately;

(4) If the address of the law firm is a self-owned house, a copy of the house property certificate or a copy of the real estate certificate can be provided; if it is a rented house, a copy of the rental agreement and a copy of the house property certificate or real estate certificate of the lessor shall be provided.

II. Standardization and Optimization of Administrative Approval Procedures

The justice bureaus of various cities and prefectures shall, in accordance with the provincial government's deployment of standardized administrative approval work, formulate and improve the service guides and business manuals for administrative approval matters, eliminate ambiguous and catch-all clauses, clarify approval conditions, and simplify and optimize the approval process.

1. When handling matters such as changes in lawyer practice, supplementary or replacement of certificates, changes in the person in charge of law firms (branch offices), changes in law firm articles of association, partnership agreements, and partners, and changes in addresses, the justice bureaus of various cities and prefectures shall handle them promptly and report them to the provincial department for approval or filing in a timely manner.

2. After a branch office-assigned lawyer withdraws from the assignment, if they need to transfer to another firm to continue practicing or no longer practice, they can submit the application materials for withdrawing the branch office-assigned lawyer and, at the same time, submit the application materials for changing practice or the application materials for canceling the lawyer's practice certificate.

3. For practicing lawyers who meet the conditions and apply to change to a post-based public interest lawyer or company lawyer, if their unit or company has set up or increased a post for them and has been approved by the provincial department, they do not need to go through the procedure of canceling their lawyer's practice certificate and can directly handle the change of practice.

4. To improve work efficiency, applicants are allowed to send relevant approval documents and certificates by postal express.

III. Relevant Requirements
         This notice shall be implemented from April 1, 2017, and shall be valid for three years. If the provisions of the "Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice's Management Measures on the Establishment of Law Firms" and the "Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice's Management Measures on Lawyer Practice Licenses" are inconsistent with this notice, this notice shall prevail.

Please earnestly implement this notice and promptly convey it to all law firms and lawyers, and do a good job in coordinating the relevant work to ensure that the approval work proceeds in an orderly manner. The Provincial Department will regularly issue announcements on those who violate the acceptance and review procedures, fail to submit applicant materials in a timely manner, and fail to deliver relevant decisions and certificates.

This is hereby notified.

Attachment: "Commitment Letter on Not Having Been Subjected to Criminal Punishment" (text format)

Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice

January 25, 2017