Two hundred newly qualified lawyers are to be hired by the Beijing Legal Aid Department to offer assistance to people in need, according to a senior officer at the department.

Zhang Bin, the deputy director, said the department had set up an updated database, which includes the lawsuit fields of 300 experienced Beijing lawyers.

"We will hire another 200 lawyers, especially senior and well-known ones, through the department websites or the Beijing Lawyers Association to meet the high demand for legal aid services," he said, adding that all the lawyers must be experienced and should pass examinations to join the project.

The department has just 10 full-time lawyers offering legal aid to applicants.

"After more experienced lawyers join, vulnerable people, including migrant workers, the disabled or low-income workers, will have an equal chance of securing senior lawyers to represent them," Zhang said.

These lawyers will also have more practical experience in handling some special and major cases, such as those involving minors or high-ranking corrupt officials.

The number of legal aid services in Beijing has risen sharply, and, according to the department, between 2012 and last year it assigned lawyers to offer legal assistance to 60,000 applicants involved in 54,700 cases, a sharp increase from 2009 to 2011.

Zhang said all the lawyers providing legal aid services in Beijing will take part in a three-day special training program twice a year.

During the program, the country's leading legal experts and well-known lawyers will lecture them at courses and analyze some typical cases.

Zheng Chuankai, a Beijing lawyer who has offered legal assistance during the past six years, said the priority for a lawyer is to assume social responsibility and contribute more to the public rather than seek a reputation and high benefits.

(China Daily 07/22/2015 page5)