"Take every case seriously as if it were a rehearsal of your own life."
"As a professional marriage lawyer, don't empathize with anyone too much, and give strong support to clients with calm and rational professionalism."
Zhang Lizhen, founding partner of Beijing Anjia Law Firm (hereinafter referred to as "Anjia"), these two seemingly contradictory practice maxims are compared, but people understand something.
Just like herself, in her calm and neat professional image, she also has a gentle affinity; Soft-spoken, yet logical, professional points of view. Rational calmness and emotional empathy, these two seemingly contradictory qualities and cultivation, constitute the unique aura of a professional marriage and family lawyer.
At Anjia, there are many professional lawyers like Zhang Lizhen who have rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field of marriage and family affairs. Founded in 2015, Beijing Anjia Law Firm is a boutique focusing on legal services in the field of marriage and family affairs, Anjia has always adhered to the practice philosophy and values of "research, pragmatism, trust and enterprising" to provide customers with the ultimate and efficient family legal services. Professionally, Anjia lawyers have established a professional brand out of the circle by carefully studying the combination of subdivisions, team advantages, and collaborative work; In the process of service, Anjia lawyers insist on providing strong support full of security for the parties throughout the process and delivering "warm" services.
In the Lexi Novosti released on October 30, 2022, Anjia Law Firm was selected into the boutique law firm database of Lexi Press, and Ms. Zhang Lizhen was awarded the "Powerful Lawyer" brand star in the professional field of marriage and family affairs.
01
Intensive research,
Non-litigation business is an important growth point in the future
How are boutique bridal firms better than comprehensive law firms? After practicing law for many years, having extensive contact with civil and commercial cases, and not worrying about the source of the case, the two founders of Anjia, lawyer Zhang Lizhen and lawyer Zhao Li, resolutely jumped out of the "comfort zone" and established a marriage and family affairs boutique - Beijing Anjia Law Firm.
Through the intensive research of the subdivision of the marriage business and the optimization of the operation mechanism in the firm, Anjia has realized a virtuous cycle of specialization, segmentation and teamwork. In addition to traditional litigation business, Anjia regards non-litigation services such as marriage and family advisory services, estate administrators and family wealth inheritance as the focus of future development.
Lxs: You also focused on commercial business in your early years, what motivated you to choose to further your cultivation in the field of marriage and family affairs, and together with lawyer Zhao Li, you founded Beijing Anjia Law Firm focusing on marriage business?
Zhang Lizhen: At the beginning of my practice, my practice area was indeed mainly civil and commercial matters. At that time, I practiced in a comprehensive law firm, and the number of cases completed in a year was nearly 100, which allowed me to accumulate rich practical experience in civil and commercial business, and also prompted me to think about the issue of personal professional construction.
I feel that practicing in a field that is too broad, not focused, and cannot be more professional. Therefore, I discussed the issue of "specialization" in depth with my colleague at the time and current partner, Ms. Zhao Li. After comprehensively considering our own interests, knowledge structure, life experience and other factors, combined with the advantages of gender and age, we have carefully chosen the field of "marriage and family affairs" as the professional direction of continuous study, and are determined to jump out of the "comfort zone" and jointly build a boutique, professional law firm that only does marriage and family affairs.
L.Xin: In 2015, Beijing Anjia Law Firm was established and gradually developed into a well-known bridal boutique in the industry.
Zhang Lizhen: Over the past seven years since its establishment, Anjia has developed from five colleagues at the beginning of its establishment to a top-ranked professional wedding boutique in Beijing. In recent years, Anjia's cases include: the first successful protest in a divorce case in Beijing; Successfully assisted the parties in obtaining the first local personal safety protection order in a domestic violence divorce dispute; Successfully helped the woman win more than 1.6 billion divorce property division cases; Succession disputes involving heirs to obtain a 70% share; Major, difficult and complex marital and family dispute cases such as cases of marital cheating and donation of millions of property to a third party.
At the beginning of our establishment, we also had concerns: was the professional field of marriage and family affairs too small to support an independent law firm? In the continuous development, Anjia's services are no longer limited to the field of matrimonial and family litigation, but combine litigation and non-litigation business. In addition to holding a lawyer license, Ms. Zhao Li and I also have marriage and family counselor (level 2) and national psychological counselor (level 2) certificates, which can provide comprehensive marriage and family counseling services such as premarital counseling, premarital property planning, premarital legal risk prevention, family legal counsel, and family crisis mediation, and strive to help clients resolve marriage and family difficulties in a non-litigation manner.
In addition, Anjia attaches great importance to brand building and the cultural construction of the law firm, so that every colleague can find a sense of happiness and belonging in Anjia, and create a professional, standardized and warm boutique wedding house.
LX: Has Anjia implemented integrated operations? What kind of mechanisms and results are there in terms of case source allocation, middle office operation, intra-firm cooperation, and professional construction?
Zhang Lizhen: Anjia adopts an integrated operation mode of "quasi-company system". Through the operation cooperation within the firm, we ensure high-quality services and improve the settlement rate. Anjia has "profiled" each lawyer to match different client needs. After the case is received by the Interview Department, the Litigation Department can match the most suitable lawyer within 5 minutes. For example, if some lawyers are older, have rich life experience, and are good at mediation, the law firm will give priority to mediation cases.
In the construction of specialization, based on the "portrait" of lawyers, Anjia encourages lawyers to further cultivate in the subdivision of marriage according to their own interests. For example, some young lawyers, due to their shallow life experience and lack of experience in the face of conflicts between husband and wife, law firms will give priority to training him to study in inheritance and family separation cases. At present, Anjia has expert lawyers in marriage, inheritance, separation of property, custody disputes and other subdivisions.
Through integrated operation, Anjia has achieved effective circulation and accurate matching of cases internally, which not only maximizes the interests of clients, but also allows lawyers to receive better cases and realize a virtuous circle of professional construction.
LF: What areas do clients in Beijing and other cities focus on in marriage and family law? What are the trends? What businesses will Anjia focus on in the future?
Zhang Lizhen: In the course of practice, we found that many high-net-worth clients have emerged not only in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, but also in second- and third-tier cities. High-net-worth clients have a compound demand for marriage and family legal services, and are more inclined to resolve marital and family conflicts in a non-litigation manner. What they need more is marriage and family planning, conflict mediation, and negotiation assistance.
High-net-worth clients are more likely to recognize lawyers with IP. A customer in Jiangsu once approached me to serve him. I asked him, wouldn't it be more convenient to find a lawyer in Shanghai? The other party replied: "I just recognized lawyer Zhang Lizhen and came to Beijing, and the distance is not a problem." ”
At present, Anjia takes the marriage and family counseling business as a key business to carry out. Before marriage, high-net-worth clients often need professional lawyers to provide them with marriage and family consulting services, such as premarital planning advice, family wealth inheritance planning, company and property allocation planning, etc.; When there is a conflict between the client's marriage and family, a professional lawyer is also needed to help them mediate.
Estate administrators are also an important development trend in the future of legal services for marriage families. After the promulgation of the Civil Code, the identity of the estate administrator was clarified, and the estate administrator business is an area that must be studied in depth for wedding boutiques. If you want to become an administrator, the responsibility is very great. We also hope to enhance exchanges with domestic and foreign counterparts to better serve our clients as estate administrators.
In response to this development trend, Anjia's future focus on professional subdivisions include marriage and family consulting services, estate administrators and family wealth inheritance.
02
Start with the end,
Promote knowledge sharing and professional improvement
In terms of professional sharing, Ms. Zhang Lizhen has no reservations, she not only teaches part-time at Peking University and other universities, but also produces courses such as "Systematic Thinking in the Field of Marriage and Family Handling" to share on platforms such as "Non-litigation College".
Intensive study of professionalism - training team - professional sharing - brand building, Anjia has formed a positive cycle that begins with the end.
LX: What are Anjia's criteria for introducing talents? What abilities and qualities do you think a good marriage lawyer should have?
Zhang Lizhen: I think a professional marriage lawyer must first keep a clear mind. Many lawyers, when engaged in the marriage business, want to be a person who can "empathize", but my understanding is different. When I choose talents, I first consider whether this lawyer is very calm.
The misfortune of marriage must be the misfortune of two people, and you cannot unilaterally feel that your party is pitiful. A marriage lawyer should be like a doctor, using a rational attitude and professionalism to communicate with clients. Let him first think about whether the decision to divorce is due to objective facts or just an emotional problem? Confirm that the relationship between the two people has indeed broken down, and we will analyze it further.
The second is legal logic. If a lawyer does not have the thinking and expression of legal logic, it will be very difficult to develop and cultivate in the later stage.
Finally, there is the external image of the lawyer. You don't have to be beautiful, but your dress, speech, and appearance should look like a lawyer. When the client comes for help, it seems that he is looking for a professional lawyer, but to a greater extent, he is actually looking for "a dependent". Because your partner may be going through the worst moments in their marriage, she needs protection and support. A client once said: "Lawyer Zhang, every time I talk to you, I feel a sense of security. You can protect me. "The importance of a lawyer's image is particularly evident in the marital service.
In addition, marriage lawyers also need to be familiar with contract parts, company law and other knowledge. The family is the smallest unit, the epitome of society, marriage and family disputes often involve many other civil disputes, marriage lawyers should be aware of the provisions of the Civil Code contract part, such as gift contracts, private loans, etc. The second is the mastery of the Company Law. If the parties have opened a company in their name, it is necessary to clarify how the company should be divided at the time of divorce. There are very few legal provisions in the Company Law, which requires lawyers who have been engaged in company law business, can deeply understand the connotation of company law, and understand issues such as partners and equity in the company. These are also essential knowledge for high-net-worth clients' cases.
Lxin: How does Anjia empower the professionalization of young lawyers?
Zhang Lizhen: In recent years, Anjia no longer hires junior lawyers from outside, but cultivates talents by itself through a set of cultivation mechanisms. Anjia will select talents who are willing to develop in the field of marriage and family from trainee lawyers, and cultivate lawyers through mechanisms such as "major case discussion mechanism", "weekly professional course study" and "moot court".
Major case discussion mechanism: Every week, under the leadership of senior lawyers, junior lawyers will discuss follow-up cases, and senior lawyers will give evaluation and guidance, and provide solutions ideas. This mechanism not only trains junior lawyers' ability to describe the case, analyze the facts of the case, and refine the main points, but also ensures the quality of case handling and promotes "comparison, learning, catching up, and surpassing" among junior lawyers.
Weekly professional course learning: Anjia will arrange special time for professional knowledge learning every week, such as how to write prenuptial agreements, nuptial agreements, divorce agreements, wills, etc. After the text is written, a senior lawyer analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. These texts have been continuously refined to form the standard model texts within the Institute. Whenever new laws and regulations are introduced, we also study them together.
Moot Court: The lawyer's professional competence is ultimately reflected in the trial. Many unexpected situations often occur during the trial process, and Anjia conducts long-term and repeated training for lawyers through mock courts to improve lawyers' adaptability.
The learning atmosphere of Anjia Law Firm is very strong, and young lawyers are full of enthusiasm for learning. Anjia's partners and senior lawyers do not hesitate to share their best experience with their colleagues. I think that there is no such thing as "disciple of the church, starving the master", and in the process of sharing with others, you will find that you have a new understanding of this issue, and your understanding has been sublimated. Only when we neglect to learn will knowledge become stale. Of course, if one day, the lawyer I bring with me is stronger than me, I will be sincerely very happy and proud!
Vinaya Presse: Is this why you insist on working as a part-time professor at universities and opening online courses on various professional platforms?
Zhang Lizhen: It should be. The process of doing the course is also my personal re-sorting and rethinking of the case and the profession. Professional sharing also helped Anjia's brand building, and everyone got to know Anjia through meeting lawyer Zhang Lizhen. I hope to convey to everyone the idea that Ms. Zhang Lizhen is a truly professional lawyer, not just a big V and an Internet celebrity lawyer. We hope that through these professional courses, more talents will be attracted to Anjia to learn and work with us, so that Anjia can become better.
Teaching at a university originated from a very fortuitous opportunity. To be honest, there are not many lawyers who are willing to engage in the field of marriage and family affairs at present, and young law students are more interested in commercial matters, civil law, contract disputes and other fields. If through my sharing, students can feel that marriage and family legal services are different from the original cognition, and attract more young students to devote themselves to this field, it is also a big gain for me.
03
brand building,
Concise and useful content is the most communicative
An excellent bridal boutique must not only have the personal IP of the barrister, but also the overall brand of the law firm. In addition to his practice, Anjia lawyers have traveled in communities and rural areas, serving as free legal counsel for many communities in Beijing for a long time, providing free legal advice to residents, providing legal aid to vulnerable groups, and establishing Anjia Public Welfare Fund for the relief of out-of-school children. Anjia refuses to sensationalize in brand building, does a good job of professional content, and strives to present high-quality communication content. It is believed that content that is useful to the public can produce the strongest communication effect.
L.Xin: In connection with Anjia's practice, what do you think are the effective ways to brand marriage and family legal services?
Zhang Lizhen: Anjia's brand building is first of all through the professional lectures of partners such as me, lawyer Zhao Li, so that the industry can understand the professionalism of Anjia. Secondly, we require every Anjia lawyer to go out with Anjia's professionalism, and the materials prepared for the trial should be detailed and clear, leaving a professional impression on the judge, whether facing clients, opponents, or every trial, to show Anjia's professional standards.
In terms of brand communication, in addition to traditional Baidu promotion and other methods, Anjia has also built its own all-media matrix based on WeChat public account, video account, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, etc., including the official account of Anjia Law Firm and the personal accounts of Lawyer Zhao Li and me. In terms of content, we attach importance to conveying correct and useful legal knowledge to the audience and prevent sensationalism. For example, Anjia's book What Do Judges Ask in Their First Session? Can a divorce agreement agree on the house to the children? Concise and high-quality video content such as "Deciding to divorce must keep these four points in mind" has good traffic and response.
In addition, the role of traditional media such as TV stations in establishing brands cannot be ignored. Some elderly customers have needs such as inheritance, separation of property, etc., and they often recognize Anjia through traditional media. Of course, becoming a guest on TV also requires lawyers to first establish a certain professional influence. Lawyer Zhao Li and I have been invited to participate in the recording of legal programs such as Beijing Satellite TV, Jiangxi Satellite TV, Beijing Radio and Television, and Beijing Radio Station many times to answer legal questions about marriage and family affairs.
Anjia also attaches great importance to the combination of brand building and public welfare, and has served as a free legal counsel for many Beijing communities for a long time. The process of lawyers sinking into communities and enterprises to popularize the law and provide legal aid can also be said to be a process of broadening the source channels of cases and establishing brands.
As for the integration of lawyers' personal IP building and law firm brand building, Anjia is still in the process of exploration, and I think this integration requires a long process.
04
The blue ocean is vast,
Behind the profession is also the support of emotional power
In the face of 490 million Chinese families and the drastic changes in people's views on marriage and family in the zeitgeist, many people are optimistic about the "blue ocean" of marriage and family legal services, but more people in the industry are also complaining that marriage and family business is complicated and trivial and does not generate high income. Where are the most important beliefs and values of legal professionals who aspire to deepen their marriage and family business in the process of professional forging and business development? Lawyer Zhang Lizhen's thinking and feelings provide a new perspective for young lawyers.
Linx: At present, professional family lawyers in the legal service market are still scarce, but there are also industry insiders who analyze that the career prospects of marriage and family lawyers are good, what do you think of this problem?
Zhang Lizhen: I think the career prospects of marriage lawyers are very good. Marriage legal services are a promising area of expertise. Judging from the data on divorce and marriage rates released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs every year, the number of divorces is increasing year by year, and professional marriage lawyers must face a "blue ocean", as long as they are willing to cultivate in this field, they do not have to worry about the source of the case.
Professional marriage law firms in the industry are booming. Not only in first-tier cities, but also in second- and third-tier cities, professional marriage houses have begun to appear, and some old large institutions have set up marriage and family affairs departments to lay out this business. The value of the marital business is clear and I am confident in the prospects of this business.
Linxin: As a senior, what is your message to young lawyers who are interested in engaging in the marriage business for a long time?
Zhang Lizhen: I would like to say to lawyers who are interested in this field: don't take other people's lives as your own practice experience; It's about taking other people's lives as your own.
Think of every case for a client as a life's exercise for yourself. After receiving a marriage case, many lawyers think, "This is a very simple case, isn't it just those trivial disputes in the family?" But in fact, in the eyes of the person concerned, this is his life. ——You happen to have the opportunity to help him and experience his life, you must be as cautious as your own life, so that you can handle the case well.
END
Contributor丨Yu Junjun
Produced by Lixin Brand Service Center