For recidivists, it is impossible to say clearly how likely it is to seek a lawyer's defense to reduce the sentence, because the defense lawyer helps the parties from the plot of the crime and the attitude of pleading guilty, and strives to lighten or reduce the punishment, but whether the sentence is reduced depends on the court.
The commutation conditions for recidivists are as follows: A criminal sentenced to public surveillance, criminal detention, fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment in accordance with Article 78 of the Criminal Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), during the execution period, consciously abides by prison regulations, accepts education and reform, and can commute his sentence if he truly repents or performs meritorious service.