The task of implementing the Council’s policy on public relations falls on the Department of Communications and External Affairs (CEA) within the Secretariat. As a professional body representing the solicitors’ profession in Hong Kong, the Law Society must maintain a public image that is commensurate with its role and function, and ensure regular communication on matters of common interest with the Government, the Legislative Council, the Judiciary, local and overseas professional bodies and many other organizations.

2011 had been an eventful year. Projects to foster good public relations including the hospitality programme for guests attending the Opening Ceremony of the Legal Year 2011, the UIA Competition Law Seminar, the Cross Strait Three Regions Young Lawyers Forum, the Path Builder Mentorship Programme, the Mental Health Forum, the Law and New Generation Programme, Law Week, Teen Talk and Radio Programmes took place one after the other. Further, the Law Society had actively participated in international conferences throughout the year including the Commonwealth Law Conference, the IPBA Annual Meeting, the Law Asia Conference, the UIA Congress, the ABA Annual Conference, the POLA Conference and the All China Lawyers Forum. The CEA assists in organizing the logistics of all these projects and activities, and provide the necessary support to Law Society representatives.

As a representative voice of the legal profession and a socially responsible organization, the Law Society reflects the viewpoints of the profession on a wide range of issues affecting the profession or the community as a whole. To ensure that these views are effectively conveyed to the public, a major aspect of the CEA’s work is to arrange timely media interviews, briefings, press conferences and dissemination of press releases. Time is of the essence to the media, which is often under tremendous pressure to collate relevant views within the shortest time for reporting. Such pressure is often transferred through reporters’ persistent calls to the interviewees. Dealing with the media, hence, can be a very challenging task that demands the ability to work on speedy turnarounds at odd hours of the day. This is where the excitement lies for our CEA team!