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Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together? Rights Protection (Weiquan) Lawyering in China
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 October 2018
Abstract
As the idiom goes, birds of a feather flock together. This ancient proverb is frequently used to portray the phenomenon of people associating with those with have similar characteristics and tastes. However, in the name of weiquan lawyers, myriad lawyers flock together with different beliefs and diverse values. Within this pool of lawyers, in addition to those lawyers who are driven by public interest, some lawyers who have eagerly labelled themselves as weiquan lawyers are profit-oriented in nature. This paper aims to provide a new typology to present a better understanding of the role of weiquan lawyers, by jointly taking into consideration the lawyers’ motivations and adaptive strategies. In this regard, weiquan lawyers in China can be categorized into four ideal types: routine practitioners, rational activists, progressive reformers, and cynical criticizers.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- © Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Footnotes
*
Li Kege, PhD candidate at School of Law, City University of Hong Kong. The author is grateful to Professor He Xin, Dr Qu Zhen Charles, and Dr Xiao Huina for their invaluable advice during the improvement stage of this article. The author also thanks Professor Liu Sida and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments. Correspondence to Li Kege, Room 4430, Mong Man-wai Building, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong S.A.R. of China. E-mail address: kegeli3-c@my.cityu.edu.hk.
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