Analysis and Reflection on the Role of Lawyers in Building a Harmonious Society under the Rule of Law

Abstract: As an important part of the legal professional community in a society ruled by law, lawyers will play an important role in the political life, social life and legal construction of a harmonious society ruled by law, but the current Chinese lawyer system can not guarantee the effective play of the role of lawyers in the construction of a harmonious society ruled by law. Reforming the lawyer system, improving the lawyer's practice environment, and effectively playing the role of lawyers are not only an important guarantee for the orderly development of a harmonious society ruled by law, but also an important part of building a society ruled by law.

Keywords: lawyer rule of law role reform

After nearly a hundred years of development, China's lawyer system has experienced several ups and downs. It has played a certain role in promoting the development of Chinese society and the rule of law, but it is far from playing the role it should play. The current Chinese lawyer system developed after the restoration of the lawyer industry in 1979, and once again experienced a process from scratch. The lawyer system and the number of lawyers have made a qualitative leap today. According to data from the website of the Ministry of Justice, as of 2005, there were more than 118000 practicing lawyers in my country, including 103389 full-time lawyers, 6841 part-time lawyers, 1817 public lawyers, 733 corporate lawyers, 1750 military lawyers, and legal aid lawyers. 4768 people. In addition, there are more than 30000 auxiliary lawyers. Lawyers with a bachelor's degree or above account for 64.6 of the total number of lawyers. Among them, there are more than 10000 lawyers with a graduate degree or above. At the same time, the organization of lawyers' practice has been gradually improved. There are 11691 law firms nationwide, including 8024 partnership law firms, 1746 cooperative law firms and 1742 state-funded law firms. The degree of specialization and scale of Chinese lawyers and law firms has continued to increase. Lawyers across the country handle more than 150 million litigation cases and more than 800,000 non-litigation legal affairs each year. Every year, lawyers carry out more than 260 million voluntary legal consultations and handle more than 103000 legal aid cases, which have become the main force of China's legal aid cause and made positive contributions to the realization of social fairness and justice. However, due to historical reasons and the influence of factors such as the overall political system and social system, China's lawyer system is still far from developed countries and regions, and the role and value of Chinese lawyers in political, economic and social life have not been fully reflected. The Chinese lawyer system is an important part of China's construction of a harmonious society under the rule of law, and the Chinese lawyer industry is an integral part of China's commitment to opening up the legal service market as a member of the WTO. Chinese lawyers must and must play a role in China's political and social life. Play an increasingly important role and reflect more important values.

The relationship between 1. lawyer system and lawyers and building a harmonious society ruled by law

In the context of western legal circles, the rule of law and lawyers are closely related. Lawyers are an important force to realize the order of the rule of law and an important indicator to measure the degree of realization of the rule of law. Before the Chinese government proposed to build a harmonious society, it proposed to devote itself to the construction of a society ruled by law. The rule of law is the basic guarantee of building a harmonious society. The lawyer system and lawyers are an indispensable part of the construction of the rule of law in China. They are an important promoting force and guarantee pioneer in building a society ruled by law and a harmonious society. They play an important role in various fields of the country's political, economic and social life. Therefore, it is impossible to build a harmonious society under the rule of law without the work of lawyers and the efforts of lawyers. Moreover, the lawyer system and the lawyer itself constitute an important part of a harmonious society ruled by law.

1. There is a natural connection between the lawyer system and the construction of a harmonious society ruled by law.

Democracy, the rule of law, fairness and justice are the basic characteristics of a harmonious socialist society, as well as the premise and foundation of the creation of the lawyer system. The emergence of the lawyer profession is not only based on the needs of social life for its professional skills, but also an important system design in the construction of national politics. From a worldwide point of view, all countries regard the construction of the lawyer system as one of the important links to promote the construction of democracy and the rule of law, and the development of the lawyer industry is often regarded as a symbol of the overall level of national democracy and the rule of law. After the reform and opening up, the lawyer system has made great contributions to the process of China's democracy and the rule of law, and has had an important impact on all areas of China's political, economic and social life. In this sense, it can be said that without the pursuit of democracy and the rule of law, without the respect for fairness and justice, there can be no lawyer profession; without the lawyer profession, democracy and the rule of law cannot be realized and fairness and justice are difficult to maintain.

2. The lawyer's functional activities are an important part of the construction of a harmonious society.

Solving and eliminating social contradictions and conflicts is the basis for achieving social harmony, and lawyers are the profession that faces social contradictions and conflicts. Lawyers represent parties to participate in litigation, arbitration, mediation and other activities to resolve existing contradictions and disputes; lawyers are entrusted by parties to participate in various civil and administrative activities to prevent and avoid contradictions and disputes. In some conflicts of interest that have not yet caused disputes, the lawyer's guidance and suggestions to the parties and the influence on the parties' decision-making and judgment are not only directly related to whether various social contradictions and disputes can be properly resolved, but also affect the whole society to a certain extent. The total amount of social disputes and the probability of social disputes. Nowadays, it has become a habitual choice for the government, the masses, enterprises and institutions to find a lawyer in disputes, and it is more common to hire lawyers to participate in international economic and trade fields and important civil and commercial exchanges and administrative activities. With the development of China's economy and society, various interest relations are becoming more and more complex, and the factors inducing social contradictions and conflicts are increasing. In preventing and resolving social contradictions and conflicts, lawyers can assume more responsibility.

3. The professional characteristics of lawyers determine their unique role in the construction of a harmonious society.

Generally speaking, the lawyer profession has two distinctive characteristics: one is the extensive practice activities, and the other is the relative neutrality in the practice process. These professional characteristics make lawyers have strong credibility and affinity among members of society. The effective use of the credibility and affinity of lawyers helps to integrate various social relations, coordinate and deal with various conflicts of interest, reduce the friction of social interaction, promote mutual respect, and realize the benign interaction of various social forces. On the one hand, the above-mentioned characteristics of the lawyer profession expand the publicity of the rule of law necessary for a harmonious society, and enhance the awareness of the rule of law among social members in social and political life, economic life and cultural life. on the other hand, through the practice of lawyers, it properly solves all kinds of conflicts and disputes affecting a harmonious society, which plays an important role in the orderly, stable and harmonious development of the whole society.

The political role of 2. lawyers in a harmonious society ruled by law

In China, the political nature of the lawyer profession is still a topic of doubt, but no matter from the original form of lawyer practice, or from the social reality of China, lawyers carry political functions that other professions have not and cannot carry. In Western countries under the rule of law, the original meaning of a lawyer is political rather than technical. The function of lawyers is recognized and set in the political construction, institutional change, social rule and the balance of class relations. The bearing of lawyers' political function is not only reflected in that lawyers are the reserve resource of national political talents, but more importantly, lawyers implement the country's political policies and public policies into social practice through the use of laws. What a great.

1. Lawyers have an instinctive role in promoting political and social stability.

The functional activities of the lawyer group naturally promote political and social stability. Lawyers are a group with the law as a professional standard and practice tool, and their practice activities are to help the parties properly resolve conflicts or disputes through legal channels. The activities of helping to resolve conflicts of interest and social contradictions in the practice of lawyers are objectively channels for introducing contradictions and conflicts into legal settlement. The resulting social effect is that conflicts and contradictions follow the intention of legislators to be exposed and resolved, so that society can maintain harmony, balance and healthy development. What a great deal.

2. Give full play to the role of lawyers in the construction of political system and reflect the value of lawyers participating in politics.

The premise of a harmonious society is a society ruled by law. As an important part of the legal professional community, lawyers should play a pivotal role in the political life of a society ruled by law. The practice of countries that have established a democratic society under the rule of law has proved that the construction of a society under the rule of law cannot lack or weaken the role of lawyers. The professional group of lawyers usually has a high political status in a society under the rule of law. Only in this way can lawyers give full play to their role in protecting the society under the rule of law.

Important politicians in Western countries usually have experience as lawyers. In the history of American politics, more than 70% of the president, vice president and cabinet members are lawyers. 45% of the drafters of the 1789 Constitution of the United States were lawyers. Among the members of Congress who are representatives of public opinion and legislators, more than half of the members of the Senate 2/3 and the House of Representatives have served as lawyers. The heads of state or administrative heads of state of Britain, Germany, Russia, Canada, Argentina, etc. are all from legal disciplines. The number of Chinese lawyers participating in politics is very small, whether it is relative to the proportion of lawyers or relative to the number of deputies to the National People's Congress at their level. By the convening of the 11th National People's Congress in 2008, there were only 11 practicing lawyer representatives out of 2987 representatives, accounting for 0.368 per cent. There are 95 practicing lawyers among the deputies to the people's congresses at the level of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 722 deputies to the people's congresses of regions below the level of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. The number of lawyers among deputies to people's congresses at all levels in the country is 828, and 87 per cent of them are local people's congresses below the provincial level. This number is very small compared with China's existing 160,000 lawyers and the target 300,000 lawyers. The current situation of Chinese lawyers is not the ideal state of a country ruled by law. We need to understand the political function of lawyers in China's social governance at a higher level.

Chinese lawyers, as the most direct contact with law enforcement, law compliance and witness legal effects in the construction of the rule of law in China, represent not only the interests of the group of lawyers, but more importantly, lawyers can find the smallest and most basic contradictions in social life through their practice activities, as well as the legal gaps in social, political, economic and cultural life, have a deep understanding of the interests of all levels of society and the causes of conflicts of interest between different social subjects. Therefore, lawyers' participation in political activities can improve the legislative, judicial and law enforcement systems, and realize the effective management of the society and the timely and effective resolution of social contradictions. "The life of law lies in experience, not logic." The experience of lawyers from the grassroots is the foundation needed to build the superstructure of a society ruled by law. Lawyers pursue the fairness and justice of legal entities, the openness and legality of procedures, and have a legal way of thinking. This is the basic requirement of the political system in a society ruled by law. Therefore, "lawyers prosper, the rule of law prosper; the rule of law prosper, the country prosper" (Jiang Ping language). As an important force in the social and political structure, lawyers directly participate in national political activities and can actually affect the operation of the national democratic political system.

3. Promoting and guaranteeing the process of building the socialist rule of law

The basis of the construction of socialist rule of law is to govern the country according to law and build a socialist country ruled by law. The core content of governing the country according to law is that legislation, justice, and law enforcement must take fairness and justice as the value pursuit, and procedural legality as the basic requirement. The country under the rule of law is enjoyed by the people, governed by the people, and owned by the people. The basic political, economic, social and cultural rights of citizens stipulated in the Constitution and laws are guaranteed and respected, and various powers derived from the people must be restricted and supervised by the people. Lawyers take safeguarding human rights, safeguarding judicial justice and realizing social fairness and justice as their mission. The United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers stipulate that one of the main roles of lawyers is to "provide legal services to all who need them and cooperate with governments and other institutions to further the goals of justice and public interest." Article 1, paragraph 2, of China's Lawyers Law stipulates that "lawyers shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, safeguard the correct implementation of the law, and safeguard social fairness and justice." Article 1 of Japan's Lawyers Law stipulates: "Lawyers have the mission of safeguarding basic human rights and realizing social justice. Lawyers must perform their duties honestly in accordance with the above-mentioned mission and work hard to maintain social order and improve the legal system." It can be seen that the realization of social fairness and justice is the natural mission of lawyers. As an important part of the construction of the socialist rule of law, lawyers maintain the substantive fairness and justice of the socialist rule of law construction and the fairness and legality of the procedure in the process of practicing, and play an important role in ensuring the construction of the socialist rule of law.

4. Participate in the administration of local governments according to law, and provide suggestions and opinions for improving the government's ability to govern.

Under the current political system, Chinese lawyers cannot directly enter the upper level of the political system, reflecting the value of lawyers' participation in politics. However, the Chinese government is committed to building a harmonious society under the rule of law and governing the country according to law. The administrative activities of government organs at all levels are increasingly on the track of the rule of law. In order to create a political atmosphere of administration according to law, governments at all levels absorb lawyers as their legal advisers. Chinese lawyers should make full use of this opportunity to influence the introduction of government policies through legal opinions or suggestions. Correct and avoid the emergence of illegal and unreasonable policies and administrative acts. When government departments face sudden and group disputes, lawyers should use their comprehensive legal knowledge and experience in handling social disputes to provide government departments with relevant disposal plans and put forward relevant legal opinions, and strive to properly resolve the incident through reasonable legal channels.

3. the legal role that lawyers should play in the construction of a harmonious society ruled by law.

As a professional group that uses law as a tool of practice, the work of lawyers is to realize the implementation and compliance of the law, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in social and economic life through legal means. Therefore, the legal role of lawyers is the fundamental embodiment of the lawyer profession as a social profession. Under the current situation of China's legal profession, which has been commercialized, "providing legal services to the parties" and getting paid is the instinctive response of Chinese lawyers to survive under the current political system and market economy. At the same time, Chinese lawyers, as legal professionals with social responsibilities, also undertake the mission of "maintaining social fairness and justice. Most Chinese lawyers are duty-bound to provide legal aid to vulnerable groups, to maintain fairness and justice, to initiate and participate in public interest litigation, to face the illegal use of government power to safeguard civil rights and other obligations that reflect the value of lawyers as legal professionals.

1. Provide legal services to help properly resolve various disputes through legal channels.

According to the Lawyers Law, it is the most basic duty of a lawyer to provide legal services to the parties by participating in litigation and non-litigation business as "a practitioner who accepts entrustment or appointment to provide legal services to the parties. After accepting the client's entrustment, the lawyer uses his legal knowledge and experience to help the client find the best legal way to solve the problem. In litigation affairs, the parties write various legal documents, represent the parties in court, provide court defense for the parties, and assist the parties to realize the execution of the sentenced cases. In non-litigation affairs, lawyers help the parties mediate disputes, control various legal risks for the parties, provide legal advice to the parties, and issue legal opinions.

From the perspective of the operation of the whole society, lawyers provide legal services for the parties, so that all kinds of social conflicts and contradictions can be properly resolved, and play a role of lubricant for the normal and orderly operation of the society. Keep social contradictions within the limits that society can bear. Objectively, it also reduces the pressure from the society of government departments and judicial departments. From a microscopic point of view, through the help of lawyers, various contradictions and disputes can be resolved as soon as possible, and the losses caused by disputes or contradictions are reduced for the parties. From the perspective of the construction of the rule of law, the legal activities of lawyers enable the effective implementation of the country's laws and achieve positive legal effects, so that the purpose of legislation can be achieved, so that judicial activities can be carried out in an orderly manner, so that law enforcement activities can be effectively realized. This is the basic requirement of a harmonious society ruled by law.

2. Take on the responsibility of helping the weak and helping the good, and actively undertake legal aid cases.

As the undertaker of maintaining social fairness and justice, supporting the weak and helping the good is the performance of the lawyer as a legal person to maintain the legal value. A stable and harmonious society should be a fair society. The rights and freedoms of citizens must be fully protected, especially the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups must be respected and guaranteed. Because they are in a weak position in terms of economy and awareness of rights protection, they are under the "intimidation" of strong groups. The emergence of the lawyer profession is based on meeting the needs of social fairness and justice, and the development of the lawyer profession is based on its inherent pursuit of social justice. Lawyers provide legal assistance to vulnerable groups through legal aid work, safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, ensure their survival and dignity through legal channels, and defend the justice and fair value of the law. Through the legal aid activities of lawyers, we can also resolve the potential disharmonious factors in the society, reflect the integrity and fraternity of the society, and promote the realization of social fairness and justice.

In addition to the legal aid lawyers of the State Office specially set up by the state to provide legal aid to vulnerable groups, some partnership law firms are also actively engaged in legal aid work and have played an important role in transnational claims cases. 1794 Chinese lawyers signed their names in solidarity with Chinese workers in their claims against Japan. Dong Yiming, a lawyer from Shandong Zhongcheng Law Group (Jinan) firm, went to Japan nine times to participate in labor claims against Japan to provide legal assistance to Chinese victims.

3. Participate in public interest litigation and assume the conscience, responsibility and obligation of legal persons.

In his book "Struggle for Rights", German jurist Rudolf Yellin believes that the life of law is struggle. As a citizen of a society and a country, when his rights are violated, he should fight for his own rights. It is not only a citizen's right, but also a citizen's obligation for the country. However, "fighting for rights" requires a high price, so many people choose to remain silent when their rights are harmed, but "lawyers are a profession that brings all conflicts in society into legal settlement". (He Wei Fang language) bravely shoulder the sacred obligation of "fighting for rights. In today's China, there is such a special group of lawyers, in the protection of consumer rights, equal rights of citizens, environmental protection and education rights, loss of state-owned assets, unfair competition and other fields, in the face of national interests and social public interests. When infringed, file a public interest lawsuit. They are either committed to eliminating hepatitis B discrimination; or running around to protect the legitimate rights and interests of women; or suing the Ministry of Railways for the increase in the price of train tickets during the Spring Festival; or fighting for the legitimate rights and interests of disabled migrant workers.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth. Bade. In his "The Revival of Idealism in the Bar", Ginsberg stated: "Historically, the most noble principle established for the profession of lawyers is to provide legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and low-status groups, thereby performing public services that enhance the well-being of the public." This shows that even in the United States, where the rule of law is highly developed, helping the weak and advocating public welfare is also a virtue of lawyers, and it is the highest principle, known as "the ideal of lawyers and politicians". Helping the weak and advocating public welfare embodies the lofty realm of the humanistic spirit of lawyers, and it should also become an integral part of the spiritual tradition of Chinese lawyers.

Public interest litigation is often related to the maintenance of social public welfare. Compared with private interest litigation, its function of regulating and maintaining social harmony is more significant. The construction and improvement of the public interest litigation system plays a great role in promoting the realization of the goal of a harmonious society, and the wide range of interests of public interest litigation determines that it must be institutionalized and standardized in the context of building a harmonious society in order to play its due value. The construction of a harmonious society requires the participation of all people. As professionals who are familiar with legal knowledge, lawyers have the ability and responsibility to participate in public interest litigation, so as to reduce the difficulties faced by citizens in filing public interest litigation. The "Suzhou Declaration on Public Interest Litigation" puts forward the proposal: "Lawyers across the country actively participate in the practice of public interest litigation, promote the development of public interest litigation, start from me, pay attention to strategies, strengthen the sense of justice, responsibility and professional honor, care for disadvantaged groups, and safeguard the public Interests; through attention, assistance and research cases, promote judicial reform and legal improvement, and give full play to the unique role of lawyers in the process of building a harmonious society." The gradual development of public interest litigation in China is a manifestation of the awakening of the awareness of the rule of law in Chinese society. As the forerunner of the awareness of rights and the rule of law in the society ruled by law, lawyers have certain advantages in the awareness of rights, professional awareness and social responsibility compared with ordinary citizens. In the face of the infringement of public rights and interests, the lawyer's professional ethics and the legal value mission to comply with determine the law will consciously assume the responsibility of safeguarding social welfare. It can be seen that the participation of lawyers in public interest litigation is an inevitable direction for the development of a society governed by the rule of law.

4. Coordinate the relative balance between civil rights and government power through legal channels.

In the development of human society, the struggle between "rights" and "power" has never stopped. In a non-rule of law society, power can do whatever it wants, and rights often become victims and slaves of power. After thousands of years of development, especially the awakening of the consciousness of civil rights in modern times, the demand for checks and balances of power is becoming stronger and stronger. Countries that achieve the rule of law have transformed a managerial power government into a service-oriented government that serves rights. For the Chinese society in the transition period, the struggle between rights and power has just begun. Disadvantaged citizens must rely on the law and Chinese lawyers who practice law as a means to defend their rights. It is also incumbent on Chinese lawyers in a transitional society to assume this responsibility, and to assume legal responsibility in the confrontation between civil rights and government power. Coordinate the balance between civil rights and government power through legal channels to prevent the illegal infringement of civil rights by power.

The most important value of the existence of the lawyer system is to set up a restrictive force within the framework of the judicial system to form a restriction on public power and prevent the abuse of public power. Under the design of this system concept, the fighting spirit of lawyers who are not afraid of power is an inevitable requirement for lawyers in a society ruled by law. The inevitable abuse of public power is the result of human nature, and it is the eternal mission of lawyers to fight against power, and this spirit is what lawyers should have and inherit. Because, without the struggle of lawyers, not only the legitimate rights and interests of society can not be properly protected, but also the rights of lawyers themselves will be seriously damaged. Great, great.

5. Play the important role of lawyers in ADR (selective dispute resolution)

ADR(Alternative dispute resolution, selective dispute resolution), as a new thing in the ascendant in China's legal affairs, is an important development trend of non-litigation dispute resolution in China in the future. As the main body in the legal service industry, lawyers should actively participate in ADR affairs, which can not only play a positive role in alleviating social conflicts and regulating civil disputes, but also broaden the scope of non-litigation legal affairs of lawyers and law firms. Lawyers' participation in ADR affairs also complies with the provisions of Article 28 of the Lawyers Law. Therefore, ADR should be an important part of the expansion of non-litigation legal affairs of Chinese lawyers and law firms.

Some scholars believe that the participation of lawyers in ADR helps to resolve disputes and play the role of lawyers in non-litigation dispute resolution. And the role of lawyers in ADR is summarized as the following points, the author believes that it is in line with legal principles and has practical significance.

1, is conducive to help the parties to achieve non-litigation dispute resolution. First of all, the parties need to repeatedly weigh and compare between litigation and ADR, and consider which way is more conducive to resolving disputes and maximizing their own interests. This comparison involves the analysis of relief methods, the degree of difficulty in obtaining results, the certainty and cost information, as well as the analysis of the facts of specific cases from the perspectives of law, morality and customs. The most important thing is to put the factual analysis into litigation and scope to determine which method is more suitable for the special facts in the dispute. These trade-offs and comparisons need the help of lawyers. Secondly, because ADR is a collection of various dispute resolution mechanisms except civil litigation system, after the parties complete the first choice of excluding the application of litigation mechanism with the help of lawyers, there is still a second choice problem, that is, which specific way to apply, because each specific way generally has its specific scope of application and applicable rules, however, it is difficult for the general parties to know this difference in detail. It can be seen that the second choice is also inseparable from the participation and help of lawyers.

2, is conducive to the improvement of the efficiency of non-litigation dispute resolution mechanism. On the one hand, lawyers can help the parties quickly and correctly complete the two choices of dispute resolution methods, saving the time and cost of the parties. Although the lawyer's service charges a certain fee, this fee has a considerable degree of legitimacy. Compared with the gains of the parties, it is also worth the money, not to mention that compared with the court fees in litigation, the lawyer's service fee is relatively low; on the other hand, lawyers can help the parties to run the non-litigation dispute resolution process properly and efficiently, and strive to speed up the negotiation process and maximize the benefits of the procedure. More importantly, lawyers can help the parties to reach agreement and agreement on dispute resolution, so that the dispute can be completely resolved and avoid entering the litigation process.

3. It is conducive to ensuring the realization of the justice function of the non-litigation dispute resolution mechanism. The realization of justice begins with lawyers. If there is a lack of legal services, rights will become empty things and social justice will no longer exist. On the one hand, the phenomenon of "strong parties" and "weak parties" is widespread, which can easily lead to the abortion or premature death of the justice function of ADR. On the other hand, due to the special role of law in ADR, and the fact that the parties generally know little about the law, especially the substantive legal norms, the role of legal norms on ADR may not be brought into full play, thus affecting the formation and realization of justice. The understanding of the role of the law in ADR cannot be completed by the parties after one or several disputes, but requires long-term use of legal rules, rich experience in dispute handling, and legal logical thinking ability. Without the help of professional lawyers, it is impossible for the parties to complete the complex process of promoting the law to play a positive role. What a loss.

The Social Role of 4. Lawyers in a Harmonious Society under the Rule of Law

1. Lawyers spread the concept of democracy and the rule of law through legal activities, and promote the awareness of rights and the idea of equality.

Lawyers are one of the carriers of legal culture, and their belief and dependence on the law are the basic requirements of lawyers. Legal belief is the most important ideological and psychological basis for building a society ruled by law, which refers to the psychological state of the members of the society ruled by law taking the law as their belief, the rule of law as the criterion of action and accepting the consequences of law. American sociologist Edward. In his book on tradition, Hills points out that "traditions are defined and confirmed according to their support and their substance." "From a certain point of view, a traditional boundary is the collective boundary defined by its belief community; on the other hand, the traditional boundary is the boundary of symbolic construction." As the main carrier, defender and communicator of legal culture, lawyers should have a stronger belief in the law than the general population. The basic value of law in the rule of law society lies in fairness and justice, democracy and the rule of law, respect for rights and equality for all. With the pursuit of legal value, lawyers provide legal services for the society. In their legal activities, they subconsciously spread the concept of democracy and the rule of law, the demand for fairness and justice and the defense of equal rights.

2. Lawyers have a coordinating role in preventing and resolving social disputes.

By providing legal services to society, lawyers can promote dispute resolution agencies to resolve disputes in a timely and effective manner in accordance with the law. As an important subject to participate in the settlement of social disputes, lawyers can also directly participate in and preside over civil mediation work, so that civil or economic disputes can be properly resolved through reconciliation or mediation. Through legal consultation and legal publicity, lawyers can introduce disputes between the parties into legal settlement channels, guide the parties to safeguard their rights in accordance with the law, correctly express their demands, and avoid the parties from taking irrational and illegal ways to deal with contradictions. This can prevent and avoid the intensification of social contradictions and promote social stability.

3. Lawyers promote the development of the socialist market by participating in economic activities, which is an important factor in the coordinated operation of society.

At present, Chinese lawyers are paying more and more attention to providing legal services for the economic field, providing non-litigation legal services for economic entities (companies, enterprises, and other organizations), helping these economic entities to control and avoid legal risks, and promote the orderly and healthy development of the overall economy. The role of lawyers in social and economic life is reflected in legal planning, legal risk control and legal remedies. In terms of legal planning, lawyers can use legal rules to take the most economical, reliable and direct measures to prevent risks for the parties without violating national law and fair order. It also promotes the legitimacy, smoothness and security of all types of transactions. In terms of legal control, lawyers can help enterprises establish a series of basic systems to clarify the safety of enterprise assets, the orderly flow of economic resources and the maintenance of competitive advantages. In terms of legal remedies, when economic entities have disputes, lawyers assist enterprises to safeguard their economic interests through mediation, arbitration or litigation.

In today's global economy, the economic activities of enterprises have gone beyond the scope of a country. With the expansion of the space of economic activities of enterprises, their legal risks are also increasing. Enterprises in other countries to carry out economic activities must first understand the country's laws and the existence of legal risks. With their professional knowledge, lawyers can provide legal information services and legal advice for enterprises to invest and operate abroad in order to avoid foreign legal risks. With the continuous expansion of Chinese products being countervailing and anti-dumping, Chinese companies must use lawyers who are familiar with international economic and legal affairs to respond to foreign anti-dumping and countervailing investigations and participate in foreign responses in order to maintain their interests and share of overseas markets.

4. Lawyers are the protectors who promote social fairness and justice and realize a harmonious society.

"In the process of human pursuit and realization of social justice, the profession of lawyer undertakes a special mission that no other profession is equipped with or competent for. It can even be said that the pursuit of social justice is the inherent nature of the profession of lawyer." The professional nature of lawyers as legal persons determines that whether lawyers participate in politics, provide legal aid for vulnerable groups, and file public interest litigation for the protection of public interests, it is the performance of lawyers to pursue the value of law and pursue fairness and justice. A harmonious society under the rule of law is first of all a fair and just society, and lawyers should be the defenders and defenders of this fair and just society.

5. Give full play to the media and transmission role of lawyers in promoting mutual communication among members of society and properly reflecting the requirements of all walks of life.

Full communication between members of society and the smooth expression of the requirements of all classes is the proper state of a harmonious society. In the case of major changes in the social structure of our country, lawyers are a new type of social management resources, and they should give full play to their media and transmission role in promoting mutual communication among social members and reflecting the requirements of various classes. Through extensive practice activities, lawyers transmit the principles and policies of the state and convey the requirements of the state for social management to the public. Use the lawyer's unique way of practice to correctly and reasonably express the demands of the public. For issues that involve the interests of the majority of people and have a wide range of social impact, lawyers make suggestions to relevant government departments by issuing legal opinions; in the process of hearing, argumentation or discussion of important policies, lawyers collect, reflect and express the opinions of the people. Through the practice of lawyers, we should strengthen the communication between the government and all social strata, and strengthen the mutual communication and understanding between all social strata.

4. epilogue

The construction of a harmonious society under the rule of law is an inevitable trend in the development of Chinese society to a civil society. At present, China's social system is in a transition period, and there are many institutional obstacles in building a society ruled by law. As one of the main forces in building a society ruled by law, lawyers should not only safeguard civil rights and social fairness and justice through their practice and legal activities, but also strive to change their own disadvantageous position in the system. From this point of view, Chinese lawyers have a long way to go in building a harmonious society ruled by law. The clarion call for building a harmonious society under the rule of law has been sounded, and the awareness of the rule of law in civil society has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The role of Chinese lawyers in the country's political life, social life, and legal system construction should be fully recognized and affirmed. Reforming the current lawyer system, creating a good practice environment for lawyers, and ensuring the full and effective play of the role of lawyers are of great significance for building and promoting the development of a harmonious society ruled by law.

Comments:

[1] Ministry of Justice website [OL].http://www.moj.gov.cn/lsgzgzzds/2005-06/14/content_154886.htm

[2] Gu Peidong. The Confusion and Hidden Worries of Entering the "New Class" [J]. Chinese Lawyer.p48

[3] Gong Xiaobing. "Discussion on exerting the political function of Chinese lawyers" [OL]. Speech at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace and Asia Foundation Conference, Washington, D. C., 2 June 2005

  http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/ Gong_Chinese_Remarks.pdf

[4] Huang Jiangtian. Special Topics on Lawyers' Participation in Politics-Introduction to the Hong Kong Model [C]. Harmonious society and lawyer's mission. Peking University Press August 2007 p 73

[5] The number of practicing lawyers among the deputies to the people's congresses at all levels in China has reached more than 800 [OL].http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/ 2008-03/03/content_7706086.htm

2008 3 3 Xinhua

[6] Wang Shili. The Status and Role of Lawyers in the Construction of Political Civilization in China [J]. Chinese lawyer and jurist. February 2006. p81

[7] Lv Huaibo. On the Role of Lawyers in Building a Harmonious Society

[8] Yang Xinshun. 1794 Chinese Lawyers Sign in Support of Chinese Workers' Claims against Japan [N]. Legal Daily, September 16, 2003

[9] (US) Ruth. Bade. Ginsburg. The Revival of Idealism in Lawyers [J]. Chinese Lawyer September 2005. p12

[10] Lei Zhifeng. Lawyers and Public Interest Litigation [OL]. The 7th China Lawyers Forumhttp:// china-lawyering.com/luntan7/post/80.asp

[11] The Constitution and Human Rights Professional Committee of the All China Lawyers Association, the Asian Project Committee of the American Bar Association, the Wang Jian Law School of Soochow University, and the Soochow Institute of Comparative Law of Soochow University jointly held an international seminar on "Public Interest Litigation, Human Rights Protection and Harmonious Society" at Soochow University from October 15 to 16, 2005, and adopted the "Suzhou Declaration on Public Interest Litigation"

[12] Fan Hua. The Construction Plan, Norms and Rules of Chinese Lawyers' Spiritual Tradition [C]. Excellent Proceedings of the 6th China Lawyers Forum, 2006

[13] Kojima Takeshi. Jurisprudence and Evidence of Litigation System Reform [M]. Trans. Chen Gang, Guo Meisong. Beijing: Law Publishing House, 2001

[14] Wu Xianhua. On the Role of Lawyers in China [J]. Journal of Hainan University Humanities and Social Sciences Edition, 2007 (1):45-48

[15](United States) Edward. Hills. On Tradition [M]. Translated by Fu Keng, Lv Le. Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1st Edition, March 1991 p351

[16] Xia Zhize. On Lawyers' Participation in Administrative Public Interest Litigation [OL].www.mslv.net, June 1, 2006
(This article won the 2009 Shandong Lawyers Forum excellent paper third prize, Jinan City excellent paper first prize)