Legal analysis: lawyers are invited in the first instance, but not in the second instance. It is entirely your personal freedom to hire a lawyer. You don't have to hire a lawyer for litigation. If you think you can correctly quote the law and explain the facts in court, there is no need to hire a lawyer, otherwise it is necessary. For example, in criminal cases, there is little hope of changing the sentence on appeal, such as a good attitude of pleading guilty and being on call. These are discretionary circumstances of sentencing rather than legal circumstances. Discretionary circumstances are different from legal circumstances such as voluntary surrender and meritorious service, and judges may or may not apply discretionary circumstances in the trial. If the second trial takes the form of a written trial, that is, to see if there are any mistakes in the applicable laws and procedures of the first trial, there is little hope of winning the appeal.
Legal basis: Article 169 of the Civil Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). The people's court of second instance shall form a collegial panel when hearing an appeal case. After reading papers, investigating and asking the parties, if the collegial panel does not present new facts, evidence or reasons, and thinks that it is unnecessary to hold a court session, it may not hold a court session. The people's court of second instance may try an appeal case in its own court, or in the place where the case occurred or where the people's court that originally tried it is located.