Measures for the Management of Legal Service Vouchers in Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1 (Purposes and Basis)

With a view to further enhancing the capacity of the legal service industry to empower the development of the real economy, and optimizing the business environment for enterprises, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the Guiding Opinions on Further Optimizing the Development Environment to Promote the High-Quality Development of Shanghai's Professional Service Industry (SMDRC I [2024] No.12 ), and in the light of the actual circumstances of the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as "Lin-gang Special Area").

Article 2 (Scope of Application)

These Measures shall apply to the activities such as the application, use, redemption, and supervision of legal service vouchers in Lin-gang Special Area.

Article 3 (Management Responsibilities)

The Lin-gang Special Area Administration (hereinafter referred to as "the Administration") shall be responsible for formulating the policies, managing the budget, and reviewing fund disbursements for legal service vouchers. It shall track and supervise the budget execution and fund utilization, and entrust a third-party management institution (hereinafter referred to as "management institution") to undertake preliminary review tasks such as application and issuance, usage supervision, redemption review of legal service vouchers, and selection of legal service providers.

Article 4 (Qualification for Legal Service Providers)

Institutions that wish to accept legal service vouchers in legal service transactions may submit their materials including the team profiles, service norms, and charge standards through the Lin-gang Special Area Administration Fiscal Management System for Promoting Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as "the Management System"). The management institution will conduct preliminary reviews and organize an expert evaluation. Subsequently, the Administration will review and designate the qualified legal service institutions, followed by a public announcement.

A qualified legal service provider shall meet the following criteria:

1. conforming to the positioning and development direction of the special economic functional zone of Lin-gang Special Area, and practically serving the high-level institutional opening-up, the construction of a law-based business environment and the innovative and coordinated development of foreign-related rule of law;

2. being legally established and engaged in mediation, arbitration, litigation, notarization, appraisal, legal consultation, legal inquiry, neutral evaluation, legal technology and other businesses; and

3. having clear service items, service norms and charge standards, and having no record of negative public credit.

Chapter II  Supported Entities, Scope and Quota

Article 5 (Supported Entities)

Legal service vouchers support two types of entities:

1. micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that align with the positioning and development direction of the special economic functional zone of Lin-gang Special Area, and whose main business conforms to the guidance of cutting-edge industries (hereinafter referred to as "enterprises"); and

2. science and technology innovation carries such as technology business incubators, university science parks or makerspaces and other science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship teams that have not yet been registered as established enterprises and have no less than three core members (hereinafter referred to as "teams").

Article 6 (Scope of Support)

Legal service vouchers are used to support enterprises and teams in purchasing the following legal services from legal service providers:

1. perennial legal counsel services;

2. civil and commercial dispute resolution services such as mediation, arbitration and litigation, as well as preventive legal services such as legal compliance training; and

3. specialized legal services:

(1) intellectual property legal services: services regarding the layout, application, maintenance, and protection of proprietary rights such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets;

(2) investment and financing legal services: corporate equity structure design, investment and financing risk prevention and control, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), bond issuance, and other capital market legal matters;

(3) data and cyberspace security legal services: compliance advisory and legal services regarding data collection, use, transmission, cross-border flow, storage, sharing, destruction, personal information protection, and data security;

(4) labor and human resources legal services: labor contract drafting and reviewing, labor dispute handling, personnel policy formulation and reviewing, employee compliance training, and other related matters; and

(5) foreign-related legal services: identification, prevention and control of legal, regulatory and policy risks in the target investment for the enterprises in the "Going Global" process, legal counsel, international negotiation and other legal support for international trade, cross-border investment, and international cooperation projects.

Article 7 (Support Quota)

The use of legal service vouchers shall follow the principle of "voluntary application, overall quota control, first-come-first-served until exhausted, and expiration at the deadline". Any unused balance of legal service voucher quota within the year shall automatically become voided upon the expiration of the voucher's validity period or when the total annual voucher funding pool is depleted, and shall not be carried forward to the next year.

The maximum face value of a legal service voucher is calculated at a maximum of 50% of the actual amount of the signed legal service contract. Each enterprise may apply for vouchers up to three times a year, with a total subsidy amount not exceeding 30,000 yuan.

Chapter III  Application, Use and Redemption

Article 8 (Application for Vouchers)

An enterprise or a team may log into the Management System to submit an enterprise credit report and a letter of commitment to apply for legal service vouchers.

The management institution shall conduct a preliminary review of whether the applicant meets the criteria for a supported entity prescribed in Article 5 of these Measures. A supported entity approved by the Administration may apply for a maximum of three legal service vouchers in one instance.

Article 9 (Use of Vouchers)

Legal service vouchers shall be used for legal services that have actually occurred. After a supported entity of legal service voucher reaches an agreement with a legal service institution on the service matters, it shall submit the effective legal service contract to the Management System.

The management institution shall conduct a preliminary review of the legal service contract. Upon approval by the Administration, the legal service voucher will be granted for use at a maximum rate of 50% of the total amount of the contract.

Article 10 (Voucher Redemption)

Upon the fulfillment of the legal service contracts, the supported entity shall submit via the Management System the invoice and a letter of commitment that match the contracts. The management institution shall conduct a preliminary review, followed by the Administration's final audit to confirm the list of vouchers eligible for redemption. The approved list will be published for public notice, and redemption will be processed if no objections are raised during the notice period.

Chapter IV  Supervision and Management

Article 11 (Performance Management)

The Lin-gang Special Area Administration shall organize budget performance management for the funds allocated to the legal service voucher program, and take the results of performance evaluation as an important basis for adjusting and improving policies and fund budgets.

Article 12 (Supervision and Inspection)

The supported entity shall apply for the use and redemption of legal service vouchers in accordance with relevant provisions, strictly implement financial rules and regulations and accounting methods, use legal service vouchers legitimately and authentically, and voluntarily accept supervision and inspection by relevant departments.

Article 13 (Handling of Violations)

Legal service vouchers shall not be transferred, gifted or traded. For enterprises, teams or institutions that obtain legal service vouchers by defrauding, their legal service vouchers shall be revoked, the fraudulently obtained funds shall be recovered, and the relevant units and individuals shall be included in the credit records, making them ineligible for legal service voucher funding support for three years. If the case is serious, legal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.

Chapter V  Supplementary Provisions

Article 14 (Interpretation)

These Measures shall be interpreted by the Lin-gang Special Area Administration.

Article 15 (Effective Date)

These Measure shall be effective as of July 15, 2025 and remain valid until December 31, 2027.