A Small Group Working Hard for Justice --Yitong Law Firm

• Author: China Law Digest

With only twelve attorneys, Yitong Law Firm is but a small firm among Beijing’s more than one thousand law firms. But when it comes to public influence, even many large law firms cannot compare with Yitong. When news broke on February 16 that Beijing Haidian District Justice Bureau ordered the firm to stop business for six months, Yitong became the most discussed subject in the Chinese legal world.

Yitong Law Firm’s home page describes the firm as a "well known rights-defending and real estate expert team." No doubt this is true judging from Yitong’s public influence. Hao Jingsong, director of Beijing’s Center for Law and Public Interest, said Yitong has gathered a unique group of people. "People like Li Jingsong, Liu Xiaoyuan, Cheng Hai--call them desperados of the legal world. They are not afraid of authority and are loyal only to the law." This group also includes attorney Li Subin, who has been forced onto the streets after suing Henan’s Justice Department for illegally charging attorney registry fees.

Yitong’s director Li Jingsong won the French Republic's Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Human Rights Prize for his work in defending rights. Former deputy director Li Subin is an attorney from Henan Luoyang who became famous after suing Henan’s Justice Department...