Competition is heating up in mainland markets for foreign law firms, who must increasingly compete with both one another and more than 19,000 local firms, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing industry observers and lawyers. Restrictions forbidding foreign lawyers from practicing law in China has resulted in a dependence on local firms by international outfits, and global law firm Dentons last week announced it would merge with China’s largest law firm, Dacheng, instantly adding 4,000 lawyers in the region. However people familiar with the Chinese legal market say Dacheng is a sprawling enterprise without much consistency from office to office.