China's legal service network has improved in underprivileged areas, with lawyers now working in all counties.
Previously 174 counties had no lawyers, Wang Junfeng, director of the All-China Lawyers Association (ACLA), said at the Ninth National Lawyers Congress held on Wednesday in Beijing.
The ACLA has worked with justice organs and lawyers associations nationwide to expand legal services to the 174 counties by encouraging law offices to open branches and organizing volunteers, said Wang.
In past four years, lawyers associations in eastern cities and provinces have trained over 21,000 lawyers for areas lacking legal resources in central and western China.
The country has more than 297,000 practicing lawyers and more than 24,000 law offices. Lawyers nationwide have handled over 13 million litigation and non-litigation cases. They have also offered non-profit legal services in nearly 10 million cases.
To improve the legal service network, the ACLA will work on incentives for lawyers and law offices operating in central and western China, and strengthen protection of lawyer's rights, said Wang.
