But at the same time, our civil and criminal procedure laws support civil agency, that is to say, anyone, whether qualified as a lawyer or not, can become a criminal defender or civil agent as long as he obtains the power of attorney from the parties. Of course, anyone here refers to an adult citizen with civil capacity, that is, a citizen with sound mind. See the Civil Procedure Law for details.
It is worth noting that although lawyers without lawyer qualification certificate can handle agency or defense business, their rights are restricted in the process of investigation and evidence collection. Especially in criminal proceedings, only lawyers can intervene at the first time after filing a case, and only lawyers have the right to visit detainees before the trial, and have greater authority in the investigation and evidence collection of relevant departments. Ordinary citizen agents need to apply to the court separately, or they may not be approved. See the Criminal Procedure Law for details.
Generally speaking, the interested party, that is, the lawyer who once worked as a judge, cannot return to the court of first instance within two years, but if he is a close relative of the party, he is willing to give up his lawyer status and intervene as a civil agent, then an exception can be made. See the Lawyers Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) for details.
To sum up, although ordinary people can also become agents or defenders, the parties need to take risks for this, so they need to be cautious. But if there are special circumstances, it is cheaper to be a citizen agent.