On October 24, 2019, the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan sponsored by Beijing Legal Aid Foundation and initiated by Beijing Hylands is launched at the graduate school of China University of Political Science and Law.

 

Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Yanzhen Zhang, Chairman of the China Legal Aid Foundation Fuying Li, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, Baoguo Chang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China University of Political Science and Law Shuguang Li, Dean of the Graduate School, Second-level Inspector of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, Qun Wang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Lawyer Industry Qingyou Wang, Vice President of Beijing Lawyers Association, Shuihua Tan, Deputy Director of Chaoyang District Judicial Bureau Wei Xie, Deputy Director of Haidian District Judicial Bureau, Pinfang Ma, Director of Beijing Legal Aid Center, Dajin Li, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Municipal Notary Leaders of the Association and the Municipal Judicial Appraisal Association attended the ceremony.

Other attendees included Attorney Hong Liu, director of Beijing Hylands lawyer, Yu Xu, director of the management committee, lawyers from various offices of the firm, news media reporters, representatives of teachers and students of the Graduate School of Law University, and volunteers making the participants more than 180 in total.

 

The launching ceremony was presided over by Yan Ma, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice. Hongsheng Xie, Secretary-General of Beijing Legal Aid Foundation, introduced the background and action plan of the Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service plan. The Plan aims to promote the rule of law and meet the basic legal needs of the masses.

 

Lawyer Hong Liu, director of Hylands, represented the firm to donate one million yuan to the Beijing Legal Aid Foundation to set up a Legal Aid Volunteer Service Public Welfare Fund. In the future, the firm will donate 500 thousand per year to the foundation and continue to invest funds, manpower, resources, and time to support the development of various legal public service work under the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare program.

 

Yu Xu, director of the management committee of Hylands, said that becoming a law firm with a sense of social responsibility had always inspired Hylands since its establishment. The firm not only focuses on business development, but also strives to give back to the industry, and actively participate in social public welfare undertakings. It made donations for the Wenchuan Earthquake, participates in the Western Lawyer Training Program and the Hope Project, and volunteered services to the Beijing Winter Olympics. At the 70th anniversary of the founding of the country and the 40th anniversary of the restoration of the Chinese law system, the firm feels honored to have the opportunity to contribute to the social welfare measures in China. In the future, based on this project, under the guidance of the Municipal Bureau of Justice and the leadership of the Municipal Legal Aid Foundation, the firm will explore a long-term mechanism to expand the breadth and depth of its voluntary services, and is determined to deeply involved in this program.

 

The Beijing Legal Aid Foundation issued the ‘Public Welfare Model’ honorary certificate to Beijing Hylands and Lawyer Yu  Xurepresented the firm to receive the certificate. This acknowledgement indicates the government’s recognition of the unrelenting efforts of the head office and local branches of Hylands to promote public welfare. It is also appreciating the spirit of Hylands to actively undertake social responsibilities and give back to society. The launch of the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan marks the entering of Hylands to a path of ‘giving back to the society and fulfilling social responsibilities’.

 

In her speech, Fuying Li director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice pointed out that the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan is an important step to implement the central and municipal party committee's plan to accelerate the construction of a public legal service system. It is also an innovative attempt to mobilize social forces to participate in the construction of the public legal service system. Through this move, the law firms and lawyers in the city communicate with the people that they never forget their original aspirations, and are always willing to fulfill their social responsibilities and make greater contributions to society. Director Fuying Li proposed requirements for the voluntary service plan: First, to enhance consensus and encourage as many parties to participate in the construction of the public legal service system; second, the parties should actively undertake responsibilities and promote volunteer service projects to bring actual benefits to society; third, standardize the implementation of the project, and ensure that the donations are used in open and transparent manners. Director Li Fuying emphasized that the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare voluntary service plan would strengthen the ability of our city to provide public legal services and promote the construction of a healthy public legal service system. He has hoped that all units and departments involved would work together to continuously promote the development of legal aid voluntary services in Beijing by adhering to the principle of ‘standardization, professionalism, public spirit, and branded operation’, to make innovative and greater contributions to accelerate the construction of the public legal service system and reinforcing the practice of rule of law in the country. 

 

Yanzhen Zhang, chairman of the China Legal Aid Foundation, highly praised the event in her speech. She pointed out that The Party Central Committee and comrade Jinping Xi attach great importance to the construction of the public legal service system and legal aid work. The Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan sponsored by the Beijing Legal Aid Foundation is an innovative attempt to improve the content, form, and mode of legal aid services, and is an effort to promote the construction of the public legal service system. It will motivate lawyers, social forces, and students to participate in legal aid services work, enable the public to receive practical public legal services, and will definitely accelerate the construction of public legal service system in Beijing.

 

Baoguo Chang, vice president of China University of Political Science and Law, highly praised the event for the positive effects it would produce on the students. It would provide a good platform for law students to participate in social welfare practice and make use of their knowledge to serve society.

 

Jing Ning, a well-known film and television actor, is hired as the image ambassador of Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan and has delivered a felicitation speech at the ceremony.

 

At the end of the event, Deputy Director Yan Ma concluded that the thoughts and suggestions shared by the leaders presented at the meeting gave the firm a direction in the implementation of Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan. Chairman Yanzhen Zhang, Director Fuying Li, and Vice President Baoguo Chang not just fully affirmed the significance of this event but also put forward suggestions on how to carry out the program successfully. In the future, all units involved should follow the instructions of the leaders and project requirements, solidly implement the legal aid voluntary service plan, spread the voluntary service spirit, encourage more law firms and social forces to participate in the event, and make greater contributions to accelerating the construction of the public legal service system in the city. 

The development of the legal industry depends upon the rule of law building guided by the Party. Hylands will continue to adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping's socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics in the new era, carry out educational activities on ‘never forget the original heart, keep in mind the mission’, reach a common consensus, gather strength, reinforce political awareness, care for the people, assume the social responsibility of legal persons, and contribute to the construction of the socialist rule of law in the country.

On October 17, 2019, the Ministry of Justice issued a notice of ‘Opinions on Promoting Lawyers' Participation in Public Welfare Legal Services. This event is an attempt by the Ministry of Justice to encourage more lawyers to participate in social public welfare. We expect that in the future, under the guidance of the Party and the government, and with the care and support of social forces, there will be more students and lawyers who would love to volunteer their services, and the interest in public welfare grow further among the people. Let the Hylands Legal Aid for Public Welfare - Beijing Legal Aid Volunteer Service Plan bring benefits to people who need justice and protection, serve people in remote suburbs where legal services are scant, aid anyone who needs help, and let it play its role in promoting the construction of a robust public law service system.

 

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