How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer in China?

"How much would it cost to go after my supplier?" is usually the first question a foreign buyer asks. There is no official fee schedule in China — bar association guidance sets frameworks, not numbers, and every lawyer sets their own rates. But the way Chinese lawyers charge falls into four standard structures. Once you know them, any quote becomes easy to read.

1. The Short Answer

• There is no standard rate card. Two firms can quote the same dispute very differently, and neither number is wrong by itself.
• The fee structure is standard, the price is not. Chinese lawyers charge in one of four ways — hourly, fixed, fixed plus success fee, or pure success fee. Most firms mix them by matter type: non-litigation work is usually fixed-fee, litigation is usually fixed plus success fee.
• What you should compare is scope, not just price. A lower quote that silently excludes translations or the enforcement stage is not a discount — it is a smaller product.

2. The Four Fee Structures

1) Hourly billing

You pay for the time actually spent on your matter. The hourly rate depends on the lawyer's own seniority and expertise — every lawyer sets their own. This suits open-ended advisory work, where nobody can predict the scope in advance. If you are billed by the hour, ask what counts as billable time (increments, travel, internal meetings) and ask for estimates per stage, not just a rate.

2) Fixed fee

A defined package of work at a set price. The engagement letter lists exactly what is included, and you pay that amount no matter how many hours it takes. This is the most common arrangement for non-litigation matters — demand letters, due diligence, contract drafting and review. Read the scope before you sign: how many revisions are included, in which languages, and what happens if the other side responds.

3) Fixed fee plus success fee

The standard arrangement in litigation. You pay a fixed fee for each stage of the case — the first instance, and separately any appeal — plus a success fee: a percentage of what you actually recover, paid only if the case succeeds. (This is also called a contingency fee. It is permitted in China for civil claims.) If you agree to one, define "recovered" precisely — a judgment is not money in the bank.

4) Pure success fee

No fixed fee at all — the lawyer is paid entirely on results. This is only realistic when three conditions hold: the facts are simple, the outcome is close to certain, and the other side has real assets and will pay once judgment is issued. Because the lawyer carries all the risk, the percentage is much higher than under a fixed-plus-success arrangement — the entire fee moves into the risk premium. A good lawyer will accept this only for cases where all three conditions genuinely hold.

For most foreign buyers, the fixed fee and the fixed-plus-success structures do most of the useful work: each stage is a defined purchase, and every stage is a fresh decision.

3. The Costs That Come on Top

The lawyer's fee is one line. A serious quote will also address these:

• Court filing fees. Set by statute on a tiered percentage of the claim. Example: a RMB 1,000,000 claim carries a first-instance filing fee of about RMB 13,800, halved if the case runs through the simplified procedure. The losing side typically bears it in proportion to success.
• Preservation. Freezing the supplier's bank account usually requires an insurance company bond plus a small application fee, currently capped at RMB 5,000. Cheap relative to what a freeze does to settlement talks. How preservation works.
• Certified translation. Your evidence must be translated into Chinese for court, billed per page or per thousand words. A heavy chat-record case generates real volume.
• Notarization and apostille of your documents. Powers of attorney and corporate documents must be formalized before a Chinese court will accept them — modest per document, but a full litigation package adds up. The full checklist.
• Judicial appraisal. Quality and technical disputes often require an expert appraisal, which is frequently the largest single line in the case. Budget for it explicitly.
• VAT. Law firm invoices carry VAT (6% for general taxpayers). Confirm whether the quote is tax-inclusive and that an official fapiao is issued.

4. Red Flags in a Quote

• A total with no written scope attached.
• Guaranteed results, or "we know the judge."
• A quote far below every other quote — the real work reliably shows up later as "phase two."
• Reluctance to issue a proper invoice.

5. The Engagement Letter and the Invoice

Whatever fee structure you agree on, two documents protect you:

• The engagement letter (委托代理合同). It defines the fee, the scope of work and termination rights, and should name the specific lawyers handling your matter — not just the firm.
• The official invoice (fapiao), issued in the firm's name. It is your accounting document and your proof that the relationship is what it claims to be.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Court fee and preservation figures reflect the current statutory schedule and may change; quotes vary by matter. Nothing here is a guarantee of results.