【Epoch Times, April 30, 2025】Fujian Baoneng Law Firm recently expressed dissatisfaction with the high membership fees of the Longyan City Lawyers Association, which exceed the provincial standard, and questioned the lack of transparency in its financial affairs. They have sent multiple letters requesting a reduction in the fees. The latest letter from the law firm used strong language, directly accusing the association of being “shameless,” sparking attention. The provincial lawyers’ association stated that fees vary in different cities and they are not familiar with the specific situation. The dispute over high membership fees between the two parties continues.
In recent days, a letter sent by Fujian Baoneng Law Firm to the local Longyan City Lawyers Association has been circulating online. The letter stated that after the law firm sent a letter to the association on March 25th, the association continued to “ignore the issue,” using strong words like “shameless,” “unworthy,” and “despicable,” while repeatedly mentioning the demand to reduce the fees. Once this letter started circulating online, it sparked widespread discussion.
On April 30th, “Da Wan News” reported that on the 29th, the person in charge of the law firm responded, saying that the reason for sending such an unusual lawyer’s letter was because they were dissatisfied with the high membership fees charged by the lawyers’ association and requested a reduction in fees.
This is not the first time that Fujian Baoneng Law Firm has stood firm against the lawyers’ association. On July 1, 2024, the law firm sent a letter to the Longyan City Lawyers Association stating that the association had not undergone financial audits for many years, members were unaware of the use of funds, and the law firm had not benefited from the membership. They demanded the association to disclose the expenditure of membership fees from 2016 to 2023 and make the financial audit report public to the members, threatening to sue if not complied. The exposure of this lawyer’s letter had sparked widespread attention at the time.
On March 25th of this year, the law firm once again sent a letter to the Longyan City Lawyers Association, stating that on March 1st, they had requested a reduction in membership fees, and the Judicial Bureau of Longyan City also asked the association to lower the fees. However, the association stubbornly insisted on convening a member’s meeting to vote on reducing the fees, causing dissatisfaction. The letter also mentioned that it was the time for the annual inspection for law firms and individuals, and if the fees were not paid according to the association’s standards, they would not pass the inspection. Currently, the association’s membership fee deposit is 1.7 million yuan, and the money for purchasing the office space had also been repaid. They requested a written explanation from the association on the reasons for maintaining the old fee standards and the expenditure of the 2024 membership fees. The letter also stated, “If you refuse to respond, we will persist in not paying the fees!” It used terms like “sophisticated means, malicious intentions” and “shameless and despicable” in the letter.
On April 29th, Mr. Liu, the person in charge of Fujian Baoneng Law Firm, confirmed to mainland media that all the aforementioned lawyer’s letters were indeed sent by their law firm. According to him, the Longyan City Lawyers Association charges them an annual group fee of 13,000 yuan, higher than the provincial standard of 10,000 yuan set by the Fujian Provincial Lawyers Association. The association is essentially overcharging, and it is currently urging the payment of fees. If the fees are not paid, it will affect their practice. Mr. Liu said, “So I scolded them unceremoniously.”
Mr. Liu explained that to his knowledge, the account balance of the Longyan City Lawyers Association currently stands at 1.7 million yuan, and previous expenses such as office building loans had been repaid. Therefore, he believes there is no reason for them to continue charging additional fees.
Furthermore, Mr. Liu believes that there are discrepancies in the association’s accounts, such as personal expenses of association leaders being included in the association’s expenditures. Despite paying fees in the past, they had not enjoyed any benefits. Therefore, when the Longyan City Lawyers Association demanded the payment of the 2024 membership fees, he did not comply.
Mr. Liu mentioned that he had also raised this issue with the Longyan City Judicial Bureau. Later, the Longyan City Lawyers Association replied, indicating that they could consider reducing the fees but would have to wait for the year-end representative assembly to vote. This response left him unsatisfied. On April 17th, he sent letters to 17 executive members of the Longyan City Lawyers Association, inquiring about their intent to reduce fees, with 8 agreeing and 9 disagreeing. Currently, his demand is not to completely refuse payment but to pay less, requesting a fee reduction.
The lawyer’s letter specifically named Longyan City Lawyers Association’s staff member with the surname Zhou, mentioning that the current fees being collected are for 2024, and Fujian Baoneng Law Firm is the only one out of 72 law firms in the city that has not paid. She stated that she was simply fulfilling her job responsibilities by notifying them to pay the fees promptly. She expressed incomprehension towards the lawyer’s letter.
President He of the association, surnamed He, stated that the Longyan City Lawyers Association operates on a “work first, payment later” basis, ensuring a balance between income and expenditure each year. Regarding the account balance of over one million yuan mentioned by Mr. Liu, President He explained that it was due to unforeseen circumstances causing certain offline activities to be suspended, resulting in a surplus.
President He mentioned that the association had organized various training sessions, but Mr. Liu’s law firm rarely participated. The confrontation between Mr. Liu and the association was said to have stemmed from conflicts between the firm’s partners in the past, where both sides were later disciplined. Mr. Liu believed this was related to the Longyan City Lawyers Association, as he had previously mentioned this in a group discussion. Moving forward, the association would consider publicly addressing this issue.
On April 29th, a staff member of the Fujian Provincial Lawyers Association responded, stating that the Longyan City Lawyers Association is a member organization of the provincial association, and they collect fees independently. In addition to remitting fees to the provincial association, they retain a portion. The specific fee standards vary in different cities, and as for how the Longyan City Lawyers Association communicates with law firms when collecting fees, they are not aware of the specifics.