There are approximately 110 000 lawyers and 9 000 law firms in Mainland China. In recent years, many law firms in big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have adopted the partnership system. Due to growth in the legal sector, some firms have undergone mergers and restructuring to become large-scale firms with over one hundred employees. However, in the lesser-developed western areas of China, the majority of law firms remain small in size and limit their services to criminal defense and civil representation. Few lawyers in China specialize in dealing with foreign-related businesses and even fewer provide legal services in a foreign language. Yet it should be noted that in the 20 years since the restoration of the legal profession in Mainland China, both the number of lawyers and quality of legal service have risen significantly.
