John Ohnesorge, “Regulation of the Legal Profession in China,” China Law and Society Review, 2023.

This article analyzes the historical evolution and regulation of the legal profession in China, from imperial times to the contemporary Xi Jinping era. It begins by examining the role of law and “proto lawyers” in imperial China, where legal intermediaries operated within a bureaucratic and hierarchical system rather than as independent professionals. It then surveys the development and regulation of the legal profession during Republican China (pre-1949), when more modern professional structures began to emerge.

The article also analyzes lawyer regulation under Soviet and Maoist influence, highlighting the subordination of legal practice to political ideology and party control. In the post-1978 reform period, legal reforms introduced market mechanisms, expanded professionalization, and permitted foreign law firms to operate under regulated conditions; however, these developments occurred within continued party oversight. The final section of this article examines regulatory trends since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, marked by intensified political control and tightening supervision over lawyers and law firms. Framed in the context of authoritarian resilience and democratic backsliding, the article illustrates how the legal profession’s autonomy expands and contracts in response to shifting political priorities, demonstrating the centrality of regulation in shaping lawyers’ capacity to act independently or resist state power.