On May 6, 2019, the signing ceremony of the cooperation framework between the Law School of Beijing Normal University and Dentons and the first Dacheng Lawyer Forum Lecture on the theme of "Why am I a Criminal Defense Lawyer" were held in room 106 of the Electronic Building. Among the guests attending the activity were the Honorary Director ZHAI Jian,, the Counselors HAN Jiayi and HAN Youyi, the Director ZHAO Yunheng, the Deputy Directors ZHAng Zhiyong and LOU Qiuqin, Secretary General YU Xingquan and Members of the Committee ZHANG Cheng, XUE Huogen ,MA Jun, WANG Sujun, WU Xueyan, Gu Wei, TIAN Zhufeng, and XIAO Sa from Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons. At the same time, the event was attended by Professor LU Jianping, the Dean of the Law School of Beijing Normal University, Professor LIANG Yingxiu, the Secretary of the Party Committee, Professor LI Bin and Associate Professor YUAN Zhijie, the Associate Deans of the Law School, Professor LIU Guangsan and Associate Professor GUO Lirong of the Criminal Law Teaching and Research Center, and LIU Hang, the Director of the Office, as well as more than 100 students from the Law School. The room was full of people and the atmosphere was warm.
This activity is divided into two parts. The first one is the signing ceremony of the cooperation framework between Beijing Normal University Law School and Dentons, presided over by Professor LIANG Yingxiu, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Law School.
Professor LIANG Yingxiu, the Party Secretary of Beijing Normal University Law School
As a guest speaker of the Beijing Normal University Law School, President LU Jianping expressed warm welcome and thanks on behalf of the school to all the guests present. Dean LU gave a detailed introduction to the recent development of the Zhuhai campus of Beijing Normal University and the new Law School. Dean LU said that the cooperation between the new Law School and the law firm was the first time. Considering the influence of Dentons in the industry and the comprehensive strength of Dentons Criminal Professional Committee, as well as the advantages of our school and the characteristics of the discipline, we believed the cooperation with Dentons can be described as a "powerful combination".
Professor LU Jianping, the Dean of Beijing Normal University Law School
The Director ZHAO Yunheng, as a guest speaker of Dentons, was full of expectation for the cooperation with Beijing Normal University Law School. He said that Dentons criminal defense team has been committed to promoting the interconnection and mutual interaction with well-known universities and has been working hard to keep law education from being divorced from reality. The cooperation of schools and universities can not only provide a platform for Dentons criminal defense team to improve their professional ability, but also enable the majority of students to master hot yet difficult issues in academic and practical fields from more perspectives on campus, thus further enhancing the teaching, scientific research and practical abilities of both sides. Director ZHAO hoped that there would be a sustainable interaction which meaned lawyer entered universities and students came to law firms. With the help of such interaction, the win-win development of law firms and universities can be realized.
Lawyer ZHAO Yunheng, the Director of Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons
Subsequently, under the joint witness of many excellent criminal defense lawyers of Dentons and teachers and students of Beijing Normal University Law School, President LU Jianping of Beijing Normal University Law School and Director ZHAO Yunheng of Dentons Criminal Professional Committee jointly signed the cooperation framework agreement, which ushered in the cooperation for the common development of the institutes.
Signing of cooperation framework agreement
The second part of the activity is the first Dentons Lawyer Forum lecture on the theme of "Why Am I a Criminal Defense Lawyer". The guest speakers were ZHAI Jian, the honorary consultant, HAN Jiayi, the consultant, and lawyer ZHAO Yunheng, the Director from Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons.
First of all, Lawyer ZHAI Jian told the story of his growth as a criminal defense lawyer, and told the close connection between personal experience and the path of future development by the cases he received. At the same time, as a lawyer in the 1980s, he has witnessed the changes in lawyer's career development and the course of the country's rule of law. Lawyer ZHAI encouraged students to enrich themselves and have a solid knowledge of the subject in the pursuit of higher education in schools. Only by doing such efforts can they be calm, seize the opportunities and seek progress when the opportunities are coming.
ZHAI Jian, the Honorary Counselor of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons
Through three video clips, Lawyer HAN Jiayi showed the current situation of criminal defense lawyers and the pressures and challenges they were facing, which truly reflected the challenges lawyers would face in the court. Lawyer HAN stressed the importance of how an outstanding lawyer can ask questions with high quality and how to use professional knowledge and language to persuade the court to accept his own defense opinions. He commented, "Being a good criminal defense lawyer is a challenging job, which requires us to go all out to immerse in the case and further requires us to continuously improve our professional ability and skills!
Lawyer HAN Jiayi, the Counselor to the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons
Lawyer ZHAO Yunheng mainly focused on "why do I become a lawyer", "why do I want to be a lawyer in a famous law firm", "why do I want to be a professional lawyer", "why do I want to be a professional lawyer in criminal defense", "how can I do a good job as a professional lawyer in criminal defense", and "the challenges and difficulties faced by lawyers at present" six questions. Combining with his career development path, he explained to students what kind of superb professional ability should be possessed as an excellent lawyer in criminal defense, with detailed content and humor language.
Lawyer ZHAOYunheng, the Director of Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons Law Firm
After the wonderful speeches of the three criminal defense masters, the students on the scene and lawyers of Dentons had a great interaction. In the questioning and answer session, according to the questions raised by the students, such as "professional risks of criminal defense lawyers", "knowledge reserve requirements of criminal defense lawyers" and "views on the system of attorney of the day ", HAN Youyi, the Counselor, to the criminal professional committee of Dacheng Law Firm, and TIAN Fengtao, Members of the Committee from Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons, combined with their own experiences, and explained these questions in simple language patiently and carefully. They said that the "scientific spirit" should be used to solve the problems in criminal cases and the system of attorney of the day could be more more substantive, which needed the promotion of judicial organs and legal personnel as well as the public's attention to legal procedures.
Lawyer HAN Youyi, the Director of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons
Lawyer TIAN Fengtao, the Director of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons
After the intraction, Professor LIU Guang made a wonderful summary of the lecture. He believed that as an excellent criminal defense lawyer, working in the court was like a "performance", It called for having solid knowledge of legal theory, mastering language and behavior art, and knowing how to use psychological skills. He hoped that this cooperation could enhance understanding of Dentons’s lawyers to the BNU students, and that the students would have the opportunity to practice in famous law firms like Dentons in the future.
Professor LIU Guang the Law School of Beijing Normal University
In the last part of the activity, XUE Huogen, the director of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons , specially brought a book entitled "The New Route of Effective Defense" written by himself from Nanjing and presented it to the students on the spot as a gift, hoping that the students could "make friends with outstanding people and read good books".
XUE Huogen, the Director of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons, presented his book as a gift to the students
ZHANG Cheng, the director of the Criminal Professional Committee of Dentons , presented gift to Beijing Normal University
A group photo of the participants
So far, this activity has come to a successful conclusion. The signing of the cooperation agreement between the school and the law firm is an important reform and innovation in practical teaching. It is expected that this opportunity will strengthen the teaching of practical courses, provide guidance for the career planning of legal talents, and establish and perfect the joint cultivation system of off-campus practical instructors. On the basis of this, we will lay a solid foundation for the construction of "Double First-class" legal discipline and provide eternal power for the cultivation and development legal talents!