National rules
The firm writes the price. The ministry writes the limits.
There is no current national menu that says a contract dispute in every city costs the same amount. The 2021 opinion, issued by the Ministry of Justice, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, tells each firm to set its own schedule.
What a firm must do
- Set a fee schedule that considers time, difficulty, the client's means, risk, and the lawyer's level.
- File that schedule with the bar association of its city, or of the district in a municipality, and in principle leave it unchanged for a year.
- Post the filed schedule at the office. The firm is not supposed to charge above the schedule it filed.
- A new firm files within 10 working days of receiving its practice license.
Contingent fees that are not allowed
The same opinion bars a contingent, or results-based, fee for criminal cases, administrative litigation, state compensation, group litigation, marriage and inheritance, and claims for social-insurance benefits, subsistence allowance, support, child maintenance, alimony, pensions, relief payments, work-injury compensation, and unpaid wages.
What is not the lawyer's fee
Court fees, arbitration fees, appraisal, notary, and archive fees are paid to someone else. Travel for work outside the firm's city is estimated and agreed. A lawyer does not collect the fee privately. The firm does, and it issues a receipt.
- 司发通〔2021〕87号Ministry of Justice text
- Contingent-fee capThe percentages
- CitiesThe provincial standards
Questions
Can I look up one official price for a Shanghai contract case?
No. That work is negotiated against the schedule the firm filed locally. A blog table that prints one Shanghai price is not that filing.
Does legal aid have a fee?
If the matter is accepted as legal aid, the lawyer does not charge the assisted person. Eligibility is decided by the local legal-aid office, not by this site.