The fifth cross-Straits counselor conference convened in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Sept 26 and 27.

Lawyers associations from Xiamen, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong, and Kaohsiung, Changhua, Taoyuan, Taichung and Taitung organized this year's conference, which was centered on free trade issues.

The conference attracted 260 lawyers this year. It was inaugurated in Xiamen in 2010 and is primarily aimed at aiding exchange and cooperation in the industry.

During the conference, industry experts discussed a wide range of topics, including legal issues involved with the registration of firms, legal risk control related to financial innovation, dispute resolutions and legal service cooperation.

China has set up four free trade zones in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian to increase economic activity in areas of finance, trade, shipping and service. The legal service sector has been challenged to live up to global industrial standards to enable further economic growth in free trade zones and surrounding areas.

For example, in the Fujian free trade zone, the majority of cross-Straits legal issues has shifted from family-related cases to cases involving investment, business, insurance, medical care, consumer activity, copyright, finance, online transaction, tax, and cybercrime.

Since it was given the green light to operate in 2009, nine legal firms originating from Taiwan have established bases in the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province, according to Guo Jian'an, head of the Taiwan affairs office of the Ministry of Justice.

The firms had a collective annual operating profit of 629,000 yuan ($99,000) in 2014, up 6 percent from the previous year. They offer legal advice on cross-Straits marriage and inheritance-related issues, and conduct investment-related due diligence investigations.

A large number of Taiwan residents, mostly lawyers, have taken the mainland's judicial examination since it opened up to Taiwan residents in 2008. From 2008 to 2014, 1,585 Taiwan residents took the examination in Xiamen. Of those, 84 have passed the examination and attained licenses for legal practice.

The legal services sector is one area set to benefit from the cross-Straits service and trade agreement, which allows Taiwan law firms to expand their operations on the mainland.

The Shanghai free trade zone administration has constructed a pilot plan, which allows domestic and overseas law firms to establish joint operations. Chen Liling, a Taiwan-based lawyer, suggested that such moves be introduced to the Fujian free trade zone too.