News

AVY Law Firm has launched the "JAVY Interview" series program to bring lawyers closer. Let's get to know the stories behind each lawyer.

He went from a passionate military camp to the legal realm. The identity has changed, but the initial heart is unchanged; decades of spring and autumn, he has mastered his profession and pursued perfection, showing high professionalism and responsibility in every job; he has always fought on the front line of legal services, defending justice and fairness with solid professional knowledge and boundless enthusiasm; he is the guest of this period's interview - senior partner Xu Fadong lawyer. Question: Please introduce yourself briefly. Interest and hobbies are the best teachers, and I have the deepest experience with this sentence. I became acquainted with the lawyer profession, which is quite legendary. In 1984, after I passed the provincial key high school entrance exam, I wanted to study liberal arts and take the legal professional exam after graduation to become a lawyer. But at that time, the high school teachers all disagreed, saying that my math and science were so good that it was a shame to study liberal arts. At that time, the society generally believed that "learning math and science can go anywhere in the world," and that studying liberal arts had no future prospects, so I listened to my teachers and chose to study math and science in high school in 1987, and was admitted to a military college to study weapon inspection and management engineering. But my dream of studying law and becoming a lawyer has never been fulfilled. During my college years, I studied my major well while taking advantage of winter and summer vacations and spare time to learn all the legal courses on my own. In August 1992, just two years after my graduation, I took the fourth national lawyer qualification examination and obtained a certificate of lawyer qualification. Later, I entered Renmin University of China for further education and obtained a master's degree in law. During my service in the army, I successively served as the legal adviser of a military-level base under the original Commission of Science, Industry and Technology for National Defense, the legal adviser of the original Commission of Science, Industry and Technology for National Defense (at the level of a military region), and the legal adviser of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army. Practicing law for 30 years, I have adhered to the regulations that military lawyers are strictly forbidden to charge fees and the professional ethics, and have always provided free legal services to military units and soldiers. I have given legal knowledge lectures to various levels of military units over 100 times, and have helped recover over 100 million yuan in economic losses for military units and soldiers. I have established a good image and reputation of military lawyers in the original General Staff of the People's Liberation Army system and even the entire army. Therefore, I was awarded the Third Class Military Merit twice, and was commended dozens of times. In 2007, I was awarded the title of "Excellent Lawyer of the original General Staff of the People's Liberation Army", and in 2008, I was awarded the title of "Outstanding Lawyer of the People's Liberation Army". Question: As a senior lawyer in the legal community, what does the transition from a lawyer to a senior partner mean in terms of the responsibilities you bear? Whether a law firm can develop and grow depends on the partnership team. As we all know, the vast majority of law firms in China are partnership-based, and the partners or senior partners bear important responsibilities and mission in terms of innovative development, business expansion, mentoring young lawyers, brand image, and legal service quality levels. The development level of a law firm is mainly determined by the ability and quality of the partnership team. The partnership identity is not just a title or a status, but a heavy responsibility and obligation. Partners of a law firm should truly be able to serve as the leading figure in revenue generation, the pioneer in business expansion, the explorer in academic research, and the guide for young lawyers' growth and progress. Experienced lawyers should avoid arrogance and condescension, and have the mindset of "Everyone has something to teach me" and a broad mindset. They should be good at discovering the strengths and advantages of young lawyers, good at communicating with young lawyers and making friends with them, and good at teaching methods, skills, and experience, as well as sharing ideas, respecting each other, learning from each other, and growing and progressing together. To genuinely care and encourage their growth and progress, guide and help them cultivate rigorous and meticulous work styles and healthy and upward professional ethics, and continuously improve their practice abilities and case handling levels. In the past ten years, I have successively trained and mentored over a dozen apprentices. To date, my relationships with my apprentices and cooperating lawyers are all very friendly and harmonious. Their professional abilities, professional ethics, and professional conduct are all very solid. Many of my apprentices have already crossed the million-yuan income range. Yang Shuang lawyer has appeared on CCTV Legal Channel to present typical cases on multiple occasions, and has received widespread praise and thumbs-up from all walks of life. Question: What legal services have you been primarily committed to since your practice, and what are the difficulties in handling cases in this field? I have been entrusted with the task of serving others. The areas of law that my team specializes in are fairly comprehensive, especially in criminal defense, civil and commercial dispute resolution, and government and military-related business. Every case handled by a lawyer's office is not a simple repetition. It requires the legal team to systematically think about every case, thoroughly study every piece of evidence, every detail, and every word spoken by the client, and deeply think and come up with a plan of action. When taking on certain cases, I always adhere to the principle of putting the interests of our clients first. The most suitable lawyer should handle the case that they are most proficient in. Based on the nature and characteristics of the case, a team is formed, and the most professional and experienced lawyers within the firm are selected first. If none of the team members are proficient or experienced, lawyers with the most expertise and experience within the firm are selected to form the legal team to handle the case. During the course of handling the case, I have never been a hands-off boss. I work with the team lawyers to deeply study and analyze the case materials, and strictly control and review the legal documents to be submitted. If necessary, I will insist on appearing in court. I cannot position myself as a case negotiator or a lawyer boss. I insist on being both a case negotiator and a case handler, always fighting on the front line, and always maintaining the essence of a practicing lawyer. Lawyers face various key and difficult issues when handling different types of cases. For example, in criminal defense cases, the focus is on communication and exchange with the law enforcement and judicial personnel. We must comply with the law and regulations, present facts and reason, and submit written materials in a timely manner. We cannot be lazy or afraid of trouble. At the same time, we should also pay attention to soothing the emotions of detainees and their families. We must be good at providing emotional value to them. No matter what type of case is being handled, it involves dealing with people. As a mature lawyer, you should be good at interacting with people and communicating effectively with people of all kinds in different settings and situations, striving to achieve harmonious relationships. The case that has left the deepest impression on me was a case of intentional homicide that I handled in the latter half of 2013 while working in the military. During the trial stage, the issue of compensation to the victim's family by the accused was involved. If the accused actively compensated and obtained the victim's family's forgiveness, his life could be saved. However, the accused's family was unable to compensate, and as the defense counsel, I spent a month negotiating and consulting with the victim's family, as well as doing the work of the accused's sister and wife. Ultimately, I managed to obtain the victim's family's forgiveness with half of the initial compensation amount that they had demanded. The fact that we were able to obtain forgiveness with half of the compensation amount was particularly surprising to the presiding judge and the prosecutor who appeared in court, as they had not expected that it was possible to obtain forgiveness with half of the compensation amount. In the end, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment, and all parties were very satisfied with the case. Question: What professional genes and business skills do you think young lawyers need at each stage? Lawyers should uphold justice and sacrifice themselves for a just cause, and these two sentences should be our motto and professional genes for every lawyer. Young lawyers are the sun at eight or nine in the morning, the future and hope of the legal profession. But young lawyers need to grow and progress continuously, on the one hand, they need senior lawyers to guide and help, and on the other hand, they need to persevere in their efforts without giving up, starting from small cases and minor matters, and building a solid foundation for the basic skills of legal practice. The basic skills of legal practice include: the ability to grasp and apply legal knowledge flexibly, the ability to analyze and judge case facts and legal relationships, the ability to express orally and in writing, the ability to negotiate, coordinate, and communicate, and the ability to grasp and understand the policies and principles of the state. There is no shortcut for young lawyers to acquire and improve these five abilities. They can only achieve it by working hard, meticulously and responsibly handling every case, and practicing in the real world to exercise themselves, temper their willpower, accumulate experience, so as to continuously improve their professional qualities and capabilities. I was also a young lawyer in the past. I often think about a case in my dreams. I used to get up eight times in one night to write a defense statement. As a practicing lawyer, we must always bear in mind the social responsibilities we shoulder, and always adhere to our moral bottom line and professional ethics. We must never be complacent or indulgent in any way. 

Q: Lawyer work is certainly not a time-saving, stress-free, or effortless job. How do you balance work and life? The saying goes, "You don't know what you're capable of until you've tried." Without pressure, there is no motivation. Pressure comes from responsibility, but also from a sense of duty. The legal profession is no exception. We all feel anxious without cases, and even more anxious when we do have cases. Anxiety is psychological pressure, a state of mind that every lawyer must face regularly. However, we must recognize the professional characteristics of the legal industry. I believe that a lawyer who often feels stressed after taking on a case is definitely a responsible and professional one. We should turn pressure into motivation by paying close attention to our cases and summarizing and debriefing them. "Don't judge a hero by his or her success or failure." Lawyers must have a good attitude and accurately predict the outcome of a case. Don't judge success or failure based solely on the outcome. No matter what the outcome is, we should remain calm and composed. "Win without arrogance and lose without despondency." If we win a case, don't get too proud or boastful. We should calm down and carefully reflect on what we did right, why the other side lost, and where they went wrong. And if we lose a case, we should figure out exactly where we went wrong. We should carefully review and debrief every case we handle, enrich our experience, learn from our mistakes, and take a step forward with each battle. 

Q: As a senior partner of JAVY Law Firm, what do you expect and require for the future of the firm? Iron Shoulders Bearing Justice. JAVY Law Firm has developed rapidly in terms of scale, brand enhancement, capabilities, and service quality in recent years, and has established a good brand image in society and the legal profession. It has also won many honors. In particular, a large number of well-known lawyers who are dedicated to public welfare legal services, represented by the founding partner/executive director of the firm, Cao Chunfang, senior partner Wang Wenyong, and Li Aifang, have made outstanding contributions to social governance. However, in the face of a fiercely competitive market environment, we must pay equal attention to both quantity and quality in our development process. We must prioritize continuously enhancing the capabilities and quality of our legal team and legal services. We must adhere to the people-oriented approach and firmly establish the concept that the law firm provides services for lawyers. We must provide convenience and a comfortable environment for practicing lawyers in all aspects of talent training, case source development, distribution mechanism, and service guarantee. Long and winding pathways of mountains and rivers truly resemble iron. Let us now take a new step from the beginning. JAVY Law Firm, under the leadership of its Chief Partner Zhao Cenghai, is focusing on a national and global development strategy, and is making headway towards its long-term strategic goal of the "Hundred Cities, Hundred Offices Plan". I am full of expectations and confidence for the future development of JAVY Law Firm.