Chinese Criminal Defense Lawyer · Serving Clients Throughout Mainland China
China-qualified lawyer · Partner, W&H Law Firm, Beijing · English and Chinese
Liangjun Yin is a criminal defense lawyer based in Beijing and qualified to practice in China. He is a partner at W&H Law Firm and Deputy Director of the firm's Criminal–Civil Disputes Department, and holds a master's degree in law from Peking University and an LL.M. from Temple University in the United States.
He defends individuals under investigation or facing charges, represents companies and individuals who have been defrauded, and handles disputes in which criminal and civil issues overlap. From his base in Beijing, he takes on matters before police, prosecutors and courts throughout mainland China, and works directly with clients, families abroad, in-house teams and overseas counsel.
When a criminal case in China involves you, your family, your employees or your business, you need a Chinese lawyer who can act in the Chinese proceedings and explain clearly, in English, what is happening and what can still be done.
In Chinese criminal proceedings, only lawyers licensed in China can act as defense counsel. Mr. Yin handles the case himself in the Chinese system and reports to clients and their advisers in English, so that decisions abroad are based on an accurate picture of the Chinese process.
His matters have ended in refusals to approve arrest, release on bail, decisions not to prosecute, suspended sentences, and a sentence reduced below the statutory minimum on retrial with the approval of the Supreme People's Court.
Many of his cases turn on contracts, accounts and fund flows. He separates commercial disputes from criminal conduct and a company's actions from an individual's responsibility, and checks the amounts alleged transaction by transaction.
He acts for people facing allegations and for companies that have been victims of fraud. This helps him assess how prosecutors and victims are likely to view a case, and how criminal proceedings affect assets, civil claims and enforcement.
With legal education in China (Peking University) and the United States (LL.M., Temple University), he works comfortably with lawyers and advisers in other jurisdictions and coordinates with locally qualified counsel where a matter requires it.
You may wish to speak with Mr. Yin if:
Defense from detention and arrest review through prosecution review, trial and retrial, with regular updates in English for the client, the family and their advisers.
Chinese legal analysis and representation for foreign companies and individuals, explanation of Chinese procedure in English, and coordination with qualified counsel in other jurisdictions.
Preparing criminal complaints, following the case through the police, prosecution and court stages, and pursuing the recovery of losses.
Choosing and coordinating between criminal complaints, civil litigation, prosecutorial supervision and enforcement when a dispute involves both criminal and civil issues.
Identifying criminal-law exposure in business operations, contracts, governance and fund flows, and responding when a company or its managers are already under investigation.
A wholly owned subsidiary of a well-known Chinese internet company was investigated for supplying programs used to intrude into and illegally control computer systems. Nearly all of its senior executives were detained and large sums belonging to the company and its staff were frozen. Working with the wider defense team, Mr. Yin defended one of the technology executives, challenging the expert evidence on what the software actually did and separating his client's role from the company's business as a whole. Following the defense, the prosecutors decided not to prosecute his client; the case as a whole ended without prosecution, everyone detained was released and the assets were unfrozen.
A toy wholesaler had been sentenced at first instance and on appeal to ten years in prison, the statutory minimum, for illegally trading firearms. On retrial, Mr. Yin and his co-counsel re-examined the entire evidential record, challenged the expert evidence and argued that criminal intent had not been proven. The client was released on bail, and the retrial court imposed a sentence below the statutory minimum, equal to the time already served. The Supreme People's Court approved the judgment.
Under Chinese law, fraud of RMB 500,000 or more carries a sentence of at least ten years. By checking each transaction, Mr. Yin helped reduce the amount from nearly RMB 4 million at the outset to RMB 550,000 at indictment, and then to RMB 350,000 at trial, below the ten-year threshold. The client was sentenced to three years and one month.
Acting for a company that had been defrauded, Mr. Yin filed a criminal complaint with the police, traced the flow of funds and provided leads on the suspect's assets. The suspect was placed in criminal detention, and the company recovered the funds.
A company had been held jointly liable as guarantor for a loan of about RMB 4 million, and its application for retrial had been rejected. Arguing that the company seal on the guarantee was forged, Mr. Yin persuaded the procuratorate to recommend a retrial and represented the company through the retrial review and the retrial itself. The court overturned the original judgment and dismissed the claims against the company.
Acting for a Beijing company against a foreign national living abroad, Mr. Yin resolved the service of court documents. The court confirmed the termination of the contract and granted the company's principal refund claims.
Client names have been anonymized. Every matter turns on its own facts; past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Phone / WeChat: +86 186 0100 4251
Email: yinliangjun@weihenglaw.com
Firm: W&H Law Firm, Beijing