2011 has been an eventful year with exciting legal reforms coming into effect as well as controversial issues under discussion among practitioners. Just to name a few:

(a) in March , the electronic incorporation of companies and one-stop service for electronic company incorporation and business registration was launched;
(b) in May, the hotly debated Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap 608) finally came into operation;
(c) in June, the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap 609) came into effect, abolishing the distinction between domestic and international arbitration regimes;
(d) in July, the controversial proposed arrangements for filling vacancies in the Legislative Council was open to public
consultation;
(e) in September, the much awaited judgment on the issue of right of abode of foreign domestic helpers was delivered;
(f) in December, Supplement VIII to CEPA was signed granting further liberalisation in the collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland lawyers; and
(g) throughout the year, debates on the controversial Competition Bill continued.

Some developments, on the other hand, have regrettably let us down. The profession started with high hopes:

(a) that permission to allow solicitors to operate as limited liability partnerships which we have fought for since 2006; and
(b) that permission to allow solicitors to have higher rights of audience which we have lobbied for since 2002, would be effected within 2011. However, both are yet to materialise.

Looking ahead

Shaping a sustainable future for the legal profession
With the steady growth of our profession, we are welcoming over 450 fresh elites every year. In three years’ time, the number of qualified solicitors is expected to hit the 10,000 mark. It falls heavily on us, as more experienced members, to ensure a sustainable future for our profession.

To maintain Hong Kong as a leading international financial centre, there must be top quality professional services that can meet the sophisticated demand of multinational clients. Hong Kong has ample legal talent to maintain the legal services industry at its highest standard. However, legal talent needs a modernised legal framework for it to flourish. We look forward to the materialisation in the near future of a sensible, practical and modernised mode of operation for solicitors in the form of limited liability partnerships to enable the legal services industry to compete with its overseas counterparts.

Expanding our legal services market is another important factor in maintaining sustainable development for our profession. Supplement VIII to CEPA has opened the gate to closer partnering between Hong Kong and mainland lawyers. No doubt, solicitors will be actively exploring and capitalizing on the opportunities arising from the new liberalization measure as well as the development of innovative models of practice in Qianhai in the coming years.

With the expansion of the legal services market in the mainland, there is a growing demand for ability to practise law in Chinese. Most Hong Kong solicitors are Chinese and are expected to have an advantage in cases involving transactions in Chinese. However, ironically, most solicitors find practising in Chinese a challenge. This is understandably caused by the fact that legal education is predominantly English-based.

The Government is urged to put forward a long term plan to strengthen the bilingual capability of students from early schooling. To be able to truly practise law in both English and Chinese, a solid foundation of both Chinese and English language skills built prior to entering law school is essential. Sufficient resources must be allocated to provide necessary support and training for practising law in Chinese and long term proposals must be formulated to build up a comprehensive supply of resources with respect to law books, precedents and judgments in Chinese.

Solicitors’ pro bono work not a replacement for government funding to promote access to justice

In recent years, the term ‘pro bono’ has become very topical. Nevertheless, solicitors have in fact been silently doing this for years – serving, giving and contributing selflessly to the community. In the Law Society’s recent 2011 Pro Bono and Community Service Award Programme, I was pleased to note that there were over 70 awardees, some of whom having completed over 100 hours of pro bono and community service!

Serving the community and engaging in pro bono work is becoming part of our professional life. It is not uncommon for law firms to form long-standing partnerships with NGOs and adopt a policy of giving staff time off for their pro bono participation.

There is absolutely no doubt that solicitors are in full support of contributing in whatever way they can to community. We will continue with our pro bono work and community service in numerous different ways as we have been doing in the past for years. However, solicitors’ pro bono work cannot and should not be exploited to absolve the responsibility of the Government from allocating proper funding for legal services support to facilitate equal access to justice. It is only fair
that solicitors, like everyone else, be recruited to public legal assistance schemes to provide professional services at a reasonable remuneration.

Allocation of adequate resources to manpower and facilities support for the administration of justice
The Judiciary has sought a provision of HK$1.1 billion for the financial year 2011/12. According to the Judiciary’s published statistics, there was a total caseload of about 400,000 cases in the courts of all levels excluding the tribunals and the Coroner’s Court in 2010. The average length of trial hearings for both criminal and civil cases has increased by about 8% in 2010. The average waiting time in 2010 for Civil Fixture in the Court of First Instance from application to fix
date to hearing was 215 days and for Criminal Fixture from filing of indictment to hearing was 166 days.

There are around 176 judges and magistrates serving in the courts. To address the undesirable long delays in securing a hearing opportunity, we can certainly do with more. Solicitors with a wide range of experience in different practice areas form a good source of candidates for the bench. Should proper resources be allowed for expansion in manpower and supporting facilities, there should not be any concern about attracting suitable candidates to join the permanent Judiciary team or to act as deputy judges on a temporary basis to deal with the increasing number of cases and to prevent  undesirable long waiting time.

In response to the Judiciary’s promotion of alternative dispute resolution, in particular mediation, solicitors have equipped themselves with the necessary skills to meet the changing demands in their practice. There are currently over 240 accredited mediators on the Law Society Panels of Accredited Mediators. However, the difficulty in securing a suitable venue for mediation at affordable charges proves to be an obstacle in making mediation a user-friendly avenue of dispute resolution. In the long term, more resources should be allocated by the Government to ensure that there is an adequate supply of good quality and affordable venues that are suitable for mediation and are conveniently located for public use.

I am hopeful of promising progress of our renewed wishes for the coming year. 2012 is certainly going to be another exciting year during which Hong Kong will welcome her new chief executive and a new legislature. May I take this opportunity to wish all a wonderful and prosperous 2012!

Junius Ho