This guide provides essential information to foreign law firms in Hainan on applying for the preliminary review of applications to establish representative offices in China.

Basic requirements
The foreign law firm must be legally established and practicing in its home country and must not have been penalized for violations of lawyers' professional ethics or disciplinary rules.

The representatives of the representative office should be practicing lawyers and members of the bar association of the country where they hold their practicing qualifications. They should have practiced outside China for no less than two years, without any criminal penalties or disciplinary sanctions for violating professional ethics or rules of conduct. And the chief representative should have practiced outside China for no less than three years and should be a partner or hold an equivalent position within the foreign law firm.

There is a genuine need to establish a representative office in China to conduct legal services business.

Required materials
1. Application form for foreign law firms to establish (or establish additional) representative offices in China, and an application form for foreign law firms to appoint (or appoint additional) representatives to representative offices in China;
2. Written application;
3. Documents proving that the foreign law firm has been legally established in its home country;
4. Partnership agreement or articles of association of the foreign law firm, and a list of its principals and partners;
5. Power of attorney for the proposed representative of the foreign law firm representative office, and confirmation that the proposed chief representative is a partner of the law firm or a person in the same position;
6. Documents certifying that the proposed representative of the representative office is qualified to practice law and that the proposed chief representative has been practicing law outside of China for no less than three years, and that the other proposed representatives have been practicing law outside of China for no less than two years;
7. A certificate issued by the bar association of the country where the foreign law firm is located, certifying that each proposed representative of the representative office is a member of the bar association of that country;
8. Documents issued by the competent legal regulatory authority in the country where the foreign law firm is located certifying that the law firm and the proposed representatives have not been subject to criminal penalties and have not been penalized for violating the professional ethics and discipline of lawyers;
9. Valid professional liability insurance documentation for the current year for the proposed representative office and its representatives;
10. A copy of the passport of the proposed representative.

Where to submit your application
Authority: Hainan Provincial Department of Justice
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am-noon and 2:30 pm-5:30 pm (except public holidays)
Contact: 0898-65203043
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