BEIJING - Jiao Rongshuai is glad she has found her "legal family".

Established on Aug 5 under the guidance of Beijing Justice Bureau, the so-called family is a volunteer team made up of 24,000 members who provide legal advice and assistance to residents.

"I have a sense of belonging now and hope my knowledge can help residents more in the future," said the 25-year-old mediator in Shunyi district, who used to offer legal services for residents by herself.

The team, which aims to improve residents' legal awareness and help them solve legal problems, is made up of experts, university students, whose majors are law, and officers with the 16 district justice departments in the city. "It is the first time for the Beijing government to standardize legal volunteers," said Wu Qingbao, the bureau's deputy director.

"The volunteers were previously spread throughout the city and offered legal services alone, but now their powers have been brought together and they must abide by the team regulations," he said.

The team will cover the whole city, including rural areas.

"Officers can easily explain legal matters through role playing with residents, while lawyers will talk with those who have legal disputes or need legal aid via video calls," he said,

Xu Tao, a lawyer with Guo Lian Law Firm, who founded a legal aid group that has provided legal services in Xiangshan Park since 2007, is proud to be a member of the team.

"I wanted to join the team because I can find friends with the same motivation to offer legal aid for residents and cooperate with them," she said.

The lawyer gives professional suggestions and answers legal questions in the park every Tuesday. She said it makes her happy to see the smiles on residents' faces after she has clarified matters for them.

For university students, the volunteer work is a way to practice their legal theory.

"I can learn much more from the legal disputes and activities than from books," said Zhou Haiming, a law major at Renmin University of China.

Hu Xiuyun, 40, who is a mediator in Shunyi, said her main role in the team is to make speeches in communities on such topics as the marriage law and labor law.

"The team makes my legal work regular and regulated," she said, adding that better management of volunteers will be helpful to the development of the legal system across the country.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/09/2011 page7)