Are there high foreign language requirements for being a lawyer in Shanghai?

As we all know, competition in Shanghai is fierce and the requirements for English are very high. Generally speaking, if you are a new legal professional without any special background or connections, then you must pass the English test.

Let’s talk about CET-4 and CET-6 first. Looking at the overall background, the passing rate of CET-6 in key colleges and universities in Shanghai (schools whose names you can name) can generally reach 70%, while several prestigious schools ( For example, the pass rate of Fudan Jiaotong University and Tongji Shanghai International Studies University can reach about 95%. Moreover, we know from common sense that the passing rate of CET-6 for liberal arts students is higher than that for science students. In other words, in Shanghai, if you are an undergraduate law student, you should have a level 6 (some people say that those who do not have level 6 are scum, which is not a good thing to hear, but it is not an empty mouth). Therefore, if you have not even passed Level 6, I suggest you consider it carefully.

If your goal is a good place, such as King & Wood Mallesons Fonda Junhe, then level 4 or 6 won’t matter, because people won’t look at it at all.

The English requirement of King & Wood Mallesons should be TOEFL 640, because I have a friend who got BS in the English written test with a TOEFL 63. And a TOEFL 64 entered the interview, and an IELTS 7.5 seemed to be acceptable.

When Fangda was recruiting at a certain school, he would not accept resumes from those who were not excellent in Level 6.

The requirements of other major firms are basically the same.

For other medium-sized or small law firms, litigation generally starts at Level 6, with Specialist Level 8 being given priority; non-litigation firms require Specialist Level 8 as the basic requirement.

Of course, there are also those with low requirements, such as the leather law firms in residential buildings, which are not within the scope of the discussion. I believe that when you come to Shanghai, you don’t intend to enter such a firm.

Some people may ask whether it is really possible to use such English. It is not necessarily true. Some litigation firms do not use English several times a year. But since everyone has CET-6, why should we find one? That's the reason for those who don't have a Level 6 certificate.