The Cross Strait Four Regions Lawyers Summit

The Law Society will host the Cross Strait Four Regions Lawyers Summit at the Harbour Grand Hong King on 28 November 2009. Lawyers from the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau are expected to join the summit. Distinguished business leaders, lawyers and academics have been invited to join proceedings as speakers.

The theme of the summit is ‘Global Economic Force: Strategy for
the Synergy of Cross Strait Four Region Legal Services’.

The objectives of the summit are to identify areas of common interest for fostering closer cooperation between the legal professions in the region and to provide a platform whereby members can expand their networks with their counterparts.

More information can be found at the Law Society website: www.hklawsoc.org.hk.

Joint Statement by the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong

On 28 September 2009, a joint statement was issued by Mr Russell Coleman SC, Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, and Mr Wong Kwai Huen, President of the Law Society of Hong Kong. The Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association and the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong noted the recent debate about the conviction rate in Hong Kong. They have agreed that any consideration of this topic requires full and proper information (information including but not limited to the correct statistical analysis and comparisons which have so far been unavailable). They have, therefore, requested a specialist
committee in each of the Bar Association and the Law Society to consider the matter. It is anticipated that when that process is complete, but not before, the two professional bodies will be able to make an informed and proper contribution to the debate.

Law Week 2009

This year’s Law Week will be launched on 28 November. Now in its 19th year, Law Week represents the Law Society’s major effort toward public education about the law. Details of the Law Week programme are as follows.

Opening Ceremony Television Special
The Opening Ceremony of Law Week 2009 will be presented in a televised programme. The ceremony will be pre-recorded and scheduled for broadcast on ATV Home Channel in the evening of 28 November, and will be repeated on ATV HDTV service on 3 December.

Taping of the TV Special will take place on Saturday 14 November 2009 from 3pm to 6pm at ATV’s studio at Dai Shing Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, New Territories. Solicitors and trainee solicitors of the Law Society are cordially invited to participate in the opening ceremony as members of the audience. Interested members may reserve up to two seats online.

For more details about the arrangements for the taping session, please contact Ms Ho of the External Affairs Department at 2846 0587 or 2846 0583.

Special advertising package for Law Society members inside the TV Special
As producer of the TV Special, ATV is offering special advertising package for law firms to promote their professional services when the TV Special is broadcast in the evening of 28 November 2009. Please visit the Law Society website at www.hklawsoc.org.hk for more details, or directly contact Ms Ally Chan of ATV at 3168 2212 or 9282 8515.

Recreation and Sports Night 2009

The 4th Annual Recreation and Sports Night was held on 19 September at the Hong Kong Football Club. The gala dinner is fast becoming one of the calendar’s premier social events, this year bringing together over 400 team members and supporters to celebrate ‘friendship first, rivalry second’.

After the preliminaries of cocktails and photo-taking, a special video presentation was shown to mark the 60th anniversary of the PRC by paying tribute to the development and success of sportsmen and women in China. This was followed by welcoming speeches by President Huen Wong and Chairman of the Recreation and Sports Committee Ambrose Lam where glasses were raised to all team members from the past year.

A sumptuous banquet was next, and once hunger was sated it was time for the audience’s competitive spirits to receive the same treatment. Judgment was delivered, first for the best team performance summing up its team spirit and the year’s activities, then for the best team page in the programme booklet.

Following up from their strong performance last year, the champions in the best team performance category were none other than the Golf Team, led from the front by their guru Fred Kan. Hot on their heels, as you might expect, came the Dancing Team. The Volleyball Team bounced into position as the second runner-up.

In the best team page category, the form sheet remained true, with the Golf Team and Dancing Team proving it was no fluke by coming home in exactly the same order. The effervescent Badminton Team dashed home in third.

To share around that winning feeling, prizes continued to be distributed to all and sundry throughout the night, as revellers danced away the hours in the high spirits well-known to all victorious teams. The spirits of competition, teamwork and good healthy fun were very much in evidence at the 4th Annual Recreation and Sports Night. New members are always welcomed with open arms, so whether your preferred pursuit is sporting or artistic, land or water-based, using bats and racquets or just your own four limbs, the Law Society recreation and sports teams have something for you.

Law Society Recreation and Sports activities: badminton, basketball, calligraphy, chess, cooking, food and wine appreciation, dancing, dragon boat, football, golf, live band, singing, snooker, swimming, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling, trail walking, volleyball.

Soccer team ends seven-year trophy drought

The Law Society soccer team took part in a one-day tournament organised by the Hong Kong Doctors Union at Sir Philip Haddon-Cave Sports Field, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories on 27 September. We played a round robin against three other teams: Hong Kong Dental Association, Hong Kong Doctors Union and Lockton Companies (Hong Kong) Ltd (an insurance
company). Around 100 players, family and friends attended the event.

In the first game against the dentists, we dominated possession and territory without reward in front of goal, and the result was a 0:0 draw. We then went on to win the remaining two games against Lockton: a 2:0 win with David Tse scoring both goals and a 4:0 victory against the doctors with David Tse netting a pair, Anthony Lai scoring one goal and an own goal from the opponent.

The atmosphere was tense when we finished our last game with the dentists still playing their final match against Lockton – they needed to win by a margin of five goals in order to edge us out as champions. The crowd, including our players, clearly enjoyed themselves, cheering Lockton every time they won a tackle, a corner, even a throw-in, not to mention the added incentive provided by the three gorgeous models who posed for photographers in the stands. In the end, we were crowned the champions without losing a game and without conceding a goal!


 
After the tournament, Ambrose Lam, Chairman of the Recreation and Sports Committee, expressed his delight that the team maintained a rare perfect record after three games, noting that ‘team solidarity won today’. CM Chan reminded the players it was their first championship since 2002, when they won the first Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau Lawyers Athletic Meet Soccer Tournament.
The squad: Vincent Leung, Charles Mo, Brian Kwok, Tony Luk, Adam Au, Jonathan Wong, Eugene Yeung, C M Chan, Derek Poon, David Tse and Anthony Lai.

If you are interested in our soccer activities, please contact Florence Tsang (florence@hklawsoc.org.hk) or Tony Luk (lukk@netvigator.com).

CM Chan
Recreation and Sports Committee member
 

Newly established dragon boat team wins trophy at HKICPA Finance Cup

Under the beaming sun in Shau Kei Wan, the newly established Law Society dragon boat team powered through its maiden competition to win the second place trophy at the HKICPA Finance Cup Bronze Division on 4 October.
Led by team captains Gary Chui and KC Tai, the team competed with 96 other teams and put on three electrifying performances of 310 metres each to win the trophy. Team members had been practicing at twice-weekly land and water training sessions for months and were energised and ready for this PRC National Day commemorative race. The team aims to compete in several competitions every year and invites all those interested to join us to keep fit in our team environment. The team especially thanks Mr Ambrose Lam, Ms Eliza Chang, and Mr TC Chan for their gracious support in the team’s establishment. As you can see, our members emerged with more than just a trophy and good memories: we scored a galvanising workout, a fantastic story to tell and a great team of new friends. Congratulations to the Law Society Dragon Boat Team, and we hope you’ll join us soon!

Gary Chui
Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson