Thinking about the standardized construction of individual law firms. It relates to Person Law Firm in Management Systems. First, read the Development status of the individual law firms in Taizhou. Then, Management defects of Personal Law Firms in Taizhou.
(1) Standardize the creation system construction of individual law firms
The new “Lawyers Law” stipulates that the registered capital for starting an individual firm is RMB 100,000. This is relatively difficult for economically backward areas, but for economically developed areas, the capital conditions are very low. Therefore, for the financial conditions for individuals to start a business, the competent inter-provincial judicial authorities should set their standards of not less than RMB 100,000 based on the local economic situation and divide them into provincial, prefecture-level cities, central cities, remote or economically underdeveloped areas for hierarchical setting.
The job title conditions of the founders of law firms should also include in the considerations. For regions with developed economies or a high proportion of individual law firms. The title of middle (high) lawyer (third-level lawyer or above) should introduce. One of the conditions for entry barriers is to limit the proliferation of individual law firms. These regulations are conducive to the adjustment of regional differences. In addition, there should be regulations on the location of individual law firms.
Lawyers should encourage to open individual law firms in remote or economically underdeveloped areas. And restrictions should place on the establishment of individual law firms in urban areas. As far as Taizhou City is concerned, it is an indisputable fact that the number of law firms in Jiaojiang District and Wenling City accounts for the high proportion of law firms in Taizhou City, while Sanmen, Xianju, Yuhuan, etc. stand relatively limited. Therefore, lawyers should encourage to start businesses in the aforementioned underdeveloped areas of the legal profession to meet the legal needs of the local people.
(2) The construction of a system for the employment of lawyers in individual law firms
At present, the management of the lawyer industry tends to advocate the large-scale. Professional and corporate construction of law firms to build an aircraft carrier of law firms. It believes that this move is the development trend of our country’s lawyer industry. But is not optimistic about the construction of individual law firms.
In fact, in Western countries with relatively mature development of the rule of law. The legal profession has developed from the Middle Ages to the present. The large law firms (companies) created an account for only a few. Most of the legal services are still undertaken by individual law firms or small and medium-sized law firms.
For example, half of the law firms in the United States are individual firms or small firms with less than 5 people. Among the more than 700 law firms in Hong Kong. There are only 26 larger law firms with more than 10 partners. But 44% of the law firms stand invested by individuals. Most law firms are small and medium-sized law firms with fewer than 5 partners.
Construction of a system
The development of the legal profession has to follow the laws and order that the legal service market should have. Of course, the development of the western legal profession has time and space conditions suitable for its democratic constitutional process. But it is not completely consistent with the national conditions of a large country with a population of 1.3 billion.
For a country where the lawyer system has only existed restored for more than 30 years and lacks the tradition of the legal system. The progress of the legal profession is still unable to escape the synchronous limitations of the degree of the rule of law and cannot design subjectively.
Therefore, the development of individual law firms should be an important part of the future development of the law industry. The competent judicial administrative authorities and the bar association should review. Revise the existing norms and policies that are not conducive to the development of individual law firms accordingly. To encourage the normal flow of lawyers and support the construction of individual law firms to create good conditions.
(3) Build a management system for special committees of industry associations
Based on the successful experience of the American bar association, the American Bar Association (AmericanBarAssociation) and the bar associations of various states have established special committees for individual practicing lawyers and small law firms (with 5 or fewer law firms). The latter’s services include but do not limited to, the provision of quarterly legal newsletters. Such as the Journal of the American Bar Association, and the development of convenient legal service tools (such as client lists and forms) to increase revenue, specifically for the development of cheap, complete, and easy-to-use office management systems and legal practice systems. With the help of the American Law Association, individual lawyers and small lawyers across the United States have gained huge development opportunities.
As a successful peer experience, we have good reasons to share and cultivate its useful reference to the bar association. And set up a special committee to strengthen the guidance and management of individual law firms. Especially the establishment of an exchange platform for individual law firms. To further strengthen the publicity of individual law firms, use various media, the Internet, etc. To promote the deeds and achievements of advanced the construction of individual law firms, and increase the social influence of individual law firms. And provide sustainable industry support for the development of individual law firms, which will surely bring benign effects.
(4) Improve the system for the reduction and reduction of taxes and fees borne by individual law firms
Individual law firms are new things and deserve support from industry policies and enjoy the corresponding industry, tax, and other policy preferences, especially to focus on solving the current problem of excessive taxes and fees for lawyers, to encourage the development of individual law firms. In 2012, the Beijing Bar Association stipulated that the group dues of partnership law firms reduce from 10,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan per year. While individual law firms are exempt from paying group dues.
Improve the system 01
The Beijing Bar Association deals with the issue of lawyers’ dues from the perspective of economically developed regions and has played a role in thinking and innovating the management of lawyers across the country. For the consideration of the economically developed coastal areas, the Bar Association of Zhejiang Province and even Taizhou City are fully qualified to meet with Xian Siqi and waive the group dues of individual law firms or make a significant difference between the group dues of individual law firms and partnership law firms until the final reduction.
The current national tax collection and administration law stipulate that. There are two types of tax collection methods for the lawyer industry in our country, including account collection and approval collection. In 2000, To standardize and strengthen the collection and management of personal income tax for law firm employees, the State Administration of Taxation issued the “Notice on Business Issues Related to the Collection of Personal Income Tax on the Income Obtained by Law Firm Employees” (National Taxation Issued [2000] No. 149), clarifying the relevant personal income tax issues.
However, with the development of the lawyer industry and the changes in the form of the income distribution. As well as the gradual change of the tax department’s collection method from approved collection to account collection, new situations and problems have gradually emerged.
Improve the system 02
To this end, Based on fully listening to the opinions of law firm practitioners and tax cadres, the State Administration of Taxation, by the principle of actively promoting the investigation and collection of accounts in the lawyer industry, while taking into account the actual situation of the lawyer industry, formulated and issued the “Announcement on Personal Income Tax Issues for Law Firm Practitioners”, raising the standard for case expenses to 35%, and it will implement from January 1, 2013. According to statistics, under the approved taxation method, the tax rate borne by our country’s legal profession accounts for 9% to 15% of income. However, under the method of accounting and collection, the overall tax burden of the law firm (including business tax and additional taxes) accounts for more than 25% of its operating income.
Due to the small size, the small number of personnel, and the small business volume of individual law firms. Such as the unified implementation of the accounting and collection method. It stands bound to increase the negative tax pressure and is not conducive to their development. Therefore, to promote the healthy development of individual law firms. Under the conditions that the state should implement preferential tax policies for individuals. It is not advisable to use the method of checking accounts and collecting taxes for individual law firms. But should use approved taxation as appropriate.
(5) Create a professional risk-sharing system for professional lawyers in individual law firms
It can see from the business model and debt-bearing methods of individual law firms that the founders of law firms are both investors and taxpayers. They are both self-employed and workers; they are both operators and managers. As a lawyer with more than five years of practice experience, he should abandon the previous mentality and thinking that case handling is out of touch with management, and personal interests have nothing to do with the overall interests and use his personal ability, charm, and strength to build, plan, and operate a personal law firm.
Regardless of the scale of operations or asset management. It is difficult for individual law firms to compare with large-scale law firms. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the risk control of the practice. Reduce operating costs and practice risks at the same time. The control of risks of individual lawyers shall control through the establishment and improvement of guarantee systems. Such as risk research and risk sharing mechanisms (including supporting lawyers’ practice liability insurance).
Other things;
It is undeniable that it is very difficult to implement comprehensive tax control over the lawyer industry, but if the tax department conducts tax management by checking accounts and collecting, the law firm with the problem mentioned in the question will have a greater risk of management blind spots and loopholes. Back then, Dalian Chen Dehui Law Firm was investigated for so-called “tax evasion” under the condition of a tax package (approved collection). Although it was finally acquitted, the lesson was particularly profound, warning that individual law firms should attach great importance to tax issues.
Taking into account the current financial system establishment and tax payment situation of individual law firms in Taizhou City. The author recommends that comprehensive considerations should be made of the size of the individual law firm. The number of practicing lawyers, the number of years of practice of lawyers, and the performance of the individual law firm. The approved collection measures for individual law firms should be formulated, and the approved collection management should be fully implemented. In summary, the standardized construction of individual law firms is not a one-day effort. It requires judicial and administrative organs, bar associations, law firm founders, and practicing lawyers. And other parties to work hard to innovate and improve from multiple angles. Such as creating conditions, talent teams, peer collaboration, innovation regulation, and risk control.
Conclusion
The creation of an individual law firm requires very high business credibility and integrity requirements. The number of regions marks the advantages and disadvantages of a local rule of law environment. And its healthy development requires a fairly developed and perfect rule of law environment. The development and management of individual law firms should respect the laws of the development of the law industry. Draw moderately on the successful experience of the development of the lawyer industry in western countries. In the specific system planning, national conditions and regional differences need to be considered. Especially in terms of policy incentives and business support measures.
The joint efforts of judicial administrative organs, bar associations, law firms, and individual lawyers. They are required to continuously improve them, and then promote the healthy and stable development of individual law firms. Individual law firms should work hard to improve the overall quality of lawyers, work hard on industry innovation and development, work hard to establish the image of lawyers, and further strengthen the construction of lawyers’ own industry culture, enhance the political quality, professional quality and moral quality of lawyers, and provide better legal services to various groups in society to establish a good social image. Next, Internal management of individual law firms.
