Features

Recently, there has been a lot of media coverage and discussion within the community about the post-80s generation. They have been generally depicted as a frustrated and angry group with extreme views, especially with regard to environmental and conservation issues.

Out of Hong Kong’s 7000 solicitors, about 10% belong to the post-80s generation. It is grossly unfair to stereotype a person’s way of thinking by his or her birth year. Every member of society is an individual and entitled to his or her own point of view regardless of age. The most important attitude is to respect the fact that there are bound to be different points of view on any issue. In the process of a major policy consultation, it must be ensured that there are available channels for views from different sectors of the population. These different opinions must be all thoroughly considered before a decision is made.

It is only through the process of consultation that different ideas can be gathered, and only through the process of debate that bad ideas are rejected and good ideas get refined and improved. This well-founded process is, I believe, the crux of democracy.

The first crucial step to establish this process is to kick off a two-way communication channel.

Communication via the internet

As regular web-users, the post-80s generation will definitely be more familiar with internet communication. Further, because of the wealth of knowledge available on the internet and the convenience by which one can get hold of such knowledge, even those who are not too internet-savvy have started using the world wide web as their main channel of communication.

The Law Society has been collecting views from the profession through online surveys and electronic bulletin boards. In addition, information is being disseminated through emails and postings on our website. 

Working on the basis of the normal admission route, a solicitor from the post-80s generation will have been qualified between one and five years. Most practising solicitors within this range seldom see daylight as they labour around the clock, trying to work their way up the social ladder and improve career prospects. However, this does not mean that they do not have any views to share on major issues affecting the profession. In fact, their views count heavily in the formulation of major policies as they are the future pillars of the profession.

With the recent popularity surge of social networking websites, people have become more open and willing to share all types of information. Facebook, the aim of which is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected, is a classic example of the changing culture of the younger generation. Facebook was founded only in 2004, and only six years later it has over 400 million active users. This shows that many people do enjoy sharing their views provided that they have a convenient platform to do so.

Face-to-face interaction

Although the internet is an effective channel of communication, faceto-face interaction must not be ignored.

The Law Society has long recognised the need to create a suitable forum for younger solicitors to share their insights. Our Young Solicitors’ Group (YSG) has been established since 2000. It aims to create a platform to facilitate communication among solicitors with practice experience of five years or less.

The YSG regularly organises Friday lunch gatherings where Council and Committee members meet with young lawyers in an informal social setting to foster a closer link between them. In 2009, the YSG members also participated in dragon boat races with its own team and organised special community projects like the ‘Say no to drugs’ project.

Through the various activities organised by the YSG, our younger members have become more engaged in the Law Society’s efforts to promote the interests of the profession, and have become more alert to the community issues which are relevant to legal practice.

Working hand in hand with the YSG is our Recreation and Sports Committee (RSC). There is no maximum period of practice requirement for joining the RSC. Solicitors of all ages and different years of standing are welcome provided they share common interests in particular sports and recreational activities. As such, the RSC creates another forum from which all solicitors can foster closer links with each other.

The RSC has set up 19 sports and recreation teams, bringing together solicitors from different backgrounds pursuing common interests, including tennis, bowling, volleyball, swimming, soccer, basketball, golf, table tennis, badminton, snooker, singing, dancing, chess, yoga, Chinese calligraphy, hiking, Cantonese opera and many others. I am sure that those who attended the Annual Sports Night in 2009 will agree with my view that the profession is seeing stronger bonds developed among members through these fun-filled activities.

The Law Society will continue to explore effective channels of communication with our members, in particular with our young members, as they hold the reins of the future of our profession.

Style of language

In this technological age, the sharing of information can be done instantly, even on a global scale. Because of the speed of information exchange, people expect immediate responses. This has caused the language that is used on the internet to be short and simple. A new language, made up of abbreviations, has thus emerged. Below is an example of a text conversation that may look familiar to some, but strange to others:

‘btw, thx 4 ur help’
‘np’
‘g2g’
‘cu 29’

(For those who need help deciphering the above conversation, see the end of this article.)

To our junior members, who hold the keys to our future development, I ask for your active support in the Law Society’s efforts to promote the interests of the profession. Your views, communicated in whatever manner and in whatever style of language, are always welcome and appreciated.

However, a word of caution – while the shorthand style of communication is perfectly fine with me and the Law Society, it will be frowned upon if used in the workplace. This is particularly so for solicitors because a major part of our work is about the professional use of language and our abilities to interpret and apply the law to protect the interests of our clients.

‘By the way, thanks for your help’
‘No problem’
‘Got to go’
‘See you tonight’

Huen Wong