Wu Fengying: A role model of lawyers from Tianjin

Before becoming a lawyer about a decade ago, Wu Fengying worked in the construction industry in Tianjin, where she witnessed firsthand the hardship of migrant construction workers who live in terrible conditions and do the same laborious work every day.

What spurred Wu, who then possessed scant legal expertise, to start learning legal knowledge in a systemic way was a traffic accident which killed a young migrant worker of her construction company. 

Though Wu succeeded in helping the victim's family obtain compensation after a tough negotiation with the driver liable for the accident, she felt ashamed for her lack of legal knowledge which, sometimes, made her feel helpless during the negotiation.

As a result, she launched an intensive effort to study the law, earning herself a bachelor diploma and a lawyer's practice certificate before kicking off her career as a full-time lawyer

Now, as an experienced lawyer, Wu feels delighted with helping so many people without receiving any complaint at all during her career. 

The people who entrusted her range from a desperate entrepreneur who was heavily indebted after being framed by others to a woman who was afraid of going home because of domestic violence. 

"In handling these cases, my goal is always to pursue the best outcome for my clients instead of the biggest profit for myself," said Wu. 

Out of her deep understanding and sympathy, Wu always pays particular attention to the cases related to migrant workers. "Every time I saw the smile of those workers who got paid their arrears, I felt that being a lawyer is a great profession," she said.

Owners of small and medium-sized enterprises are another major focus of Wu's work. She knows that these entrepreneurs are barely better than migrant workers in terms of legal knowledge.

On one occasion, Wu accidentally identified a serious legal risk when she chatted with an entrepreneur who told her that he had leased his company's business license to his friends as a way to help the company shrug off its financial distress.

She explained the potential consequence of that practice to the entrepreneur who, after realizing the seriousness of the situation, hurriedly terminated the lease agreement.

"I learnt from this incident that entrepreneurs are also in desperate need of professional legal help," said Wu. As a result of her effort, the law firm she worked for began to provide free consulting and mediation services for all the member enterprises of the chamber of commerce of Shandong province.

What's more, Wu often holds training sessions for these enterprises in a bid to raise their owners' legal awareness.