Operations · Trust

Lawyer verification — operations checklist

Internal working checklist for staff. Public badge meaning is defined in the Lawyer Verification Policy and Listing standards.

Last updated: 1 August 2026 · China Law List Editorial

1. Tiers (do not skip)

1. Listed — profile published; may be incomplete; no badge claim of “verified”.
2. Claimed — control proven (account claim + email/domain match).
3. Verified — credentials checked per route (below); re-check cadence set.
4. Featured / Preferred — paid visibility only after Verified (or clearly separate from verification).

2. Into China (PRC counsel)

• Confirm full name matches profile; firm name if stated.
• Check practice credentials via official or firm sources available to staff (licence / directory / firm page).
• Confirm city/region placement matches claimed practice location.
• Languages: English/Chinese claims must not contradict public materials.
• Headshot: professional, not stock/irrelevant; replace if missing.
• Record: date, checker, evidence URLs, notes in ops log (spreadsheet or ticket).

3. Overseas (International Lawyers tree)

• Confirm host jurisdiction (country/city under region 517 tree).
• Bar / firm confirmation for host country when available; note jurisdiction on profile.
• Flag “China desk / Chinese clients / Mandarin” only when evidenced.
• Do not market empty corridors as dense networks.
• Link profile from the correct country corridor page after publish.

4. Before setting Verified badge

• Tier evidence complete and stored.
• No contradictory public complaints known to ops.
• Profile not a duplicate of another live listing.
• Contact path works (form/email) or “claim” path open.
• Set next review date (e.g. 12 months) in ops log.

5. Lead routing (matter_route)

• inbound → PRC counsel shortlist by city × practice.
• outbound → International Lawyers by country × practice.
• bridge → one China-side + one host-country shortlist; note both jurisdictions in handoff email.
• Never present introductions as legal advice; no attorney–client with CLP.

6. Escalations

• Impersonation / fake licence → unpublish immediately; note incident.
• Lawyer requests delisting → process within 5 business days.
• Material content error on guides → correct + touch “last reviewed”.

Related public pages: Verification Policy · Listing standards · Editorial · AI content · Disclaimer

7. CMS field (system)

• DJCF custom field verification_status (id 9): values listed | claimed | verified.
• Featured Lawyers module requires only_verified=1 and item field = verified (or profile.verified=1).
• Do not set Featured (items_ids / special) unless verification_status is verified.
• Newsletter export: php cli/cll-newsletter-export.php (CSV of Convert Forms #3).