Law Society of Hong Kong

The Law Society of Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港律師會) is the professional association and law society for solicitors in Hong Kong, established in 1907. The Law Society of Hong Kong is responsible for the classification and qualification of lawyers in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong law, all Hong Kong solicitors must be members of this association.

The Law Society of Hong Kong
香港律師會

Formation	1907
Legal status	Company limited by guarantee
Headquarters	3/F, Wing On House, 71 Des Voeux Rd Central, Central, Hong Kong
Region served	Hong Kong
President	Roden Tong
Budget	HK$105 Million (2017)
Website	hklawsoc.org.hk

Traditional Chinese

香港律師會

Simplified Chinese

香港律师会

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Xiānggǎng Lǜshī Huì
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Hēung góng leuht sī wúi
Jyutping	Hoeng1 gong2 loet6 si1 wui2

The Law Society is currently headed by President Roden Tong (湯文龍) and is located on the third floor of Wing On House in Central.

History

Early roots

The Law Society's history stretches back to 28 October 1854, when solicitor William Gaskell, addressing the Supreme Court, sought "the countenance and sanction of the acting Chief Justice [Paul Sterling] for the formation of a law society".

Records of a society between 1854 and 1858 are scant, but it appeared again in June 1858, when the law society petitioned Chief Justice John Walter Hulme and Governor John Bowring to oppose a fusion of the legal profession between solicitors and barristers.

Incorporation

The Law Society was incorporated on 8 April 1907 as a company limited by guarantee, and was then known as The Incorporated Law Society of Hong Kong. The present name was adopted in 1969.

In 2014, the society underwent its first-ever motion of no confidence in its president over his declared support for the white paper published by the PRC on the city's autonomy in which patriotism was a prerequisite for the territory's judges. Ambrose Lam's declaration appeared to be at odds with sentiment of its members, a thousand of whom marched in response to the white paper. Over 100 petitioners objected to Lam's politicisation of the Law Society, requesting that Lam withdraw his comments and reassert support for judicial independence. The tabler of the no confidence vote had expected Lam to be able to call on a large reservoir of proxy votes in his defence. At a meeting called for 14 August 2014, Lam suffered a surprising defeat in the non-binding vote calling for him to resign. The motion was carried by 2,392 votes to 1,478, with almost half its members voting in person or by proxy. There had been complaints of members receiving external pressure from Chinese companies, the central government Liaison Office, and members of the CPPCC National Committee. Lam resigned on 19 August 2014, with neither an apology nor a retraction.

President

On 5 January 2022, Carrie Lam announced new warnings and restrictions against social gathering due to potential COVID-19 outbreaks. One day later, it was discovered that president Chan Chak-ming attended a birthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests. At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing many guests to be quarantined.

In November 2022, president Chan Chak-ming said that he and 3 vice-presidents recently went overseas to dispel ideas that "there is no judicial independence, fair trials and free speech" in Hong Kong.

In January 2023, after the NPCSC gave the Chief Executive power to ban foreign lawyers in response to Jimmy Lai attempting to hire Tim Owen, Chan said the NPCSC's decision was a "good example" of the government's commitment to implementing One Country, Two Systems.

Structure

The society is divided into two bodies:

The Council – the governing body of the society and consists of 20 members with 2 vice-presidents and 1 president.
The Secretariat – the body responsible for the standing committees within the society and has around 100 staff.

Profile of the profession

As of 30 June 2024, the Law Society regulates 13,195 solicitors in Hong Kong with a current practising certificate.

Structure of the profession

11,553 solicitors were in private practice in 922 firms.
Of these firms:
- 46% were sole practitioners.
- 42% were firms with 2 to 5 partners.
- 64 were limited liability partnerships formed pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Ordinance.

Foreign lawyers

1,471 registered foreign lawyers in Hong Kong coming from 32 jurisdictions

Gender

Of all practising solicitors, 52% were male and 48% were female (as of 2023).

Finance

In 2006, the Society's income was HK$86.0 million, HK$46.26 million being raised through annual practising certificate fees and membership subscriptions.

In 2007, the Society's income was HK$91.6 million, HK$47.7 million being raised through annual practising certificate fees and membership subscriptions.

The fee for a practising certificate was HK$6,800 and the fee for membership subscription was HK$1,200.

The Society had an annual income budget of HK$80.6 million for 2007.

In 2017, the Society generated an income of HK$103 million, out of which HK$47 million was raised through annual practising certificate fees. The annual practising certificate fee in 2017 was HK$5,000 and membership fee was HK$800.

List of presidents

1950–51: C. Y. Kwan
1957–58: K. Y. Kan
1959–60: P. C. Woo
1962–6?: Peter A. L. Vine
1969–71: T. S. Lo
1971–7?: Brian Mcelney
1973–75: Peter C. Wong
1975–76: I. R. A. MacCallum
1976–77: K. L. Mak
1977–79: C. H. Wong
1979–81: Edmund Cheung
1981–83: P. S. Wan
1983–84: T. S. Tong
1984–85: Tim Freshwater
1985–87: Brian Tisdall
1987–89: Simon Ip
1989–92: Alfred Donald Yap
1992–93: Ambrose Lau
1993–96: Roderick Woo
1996–97: Christopher Chan
1997–2000: Anthony Chow
2000–02: Herbert Tsoi
2002–04: S. H. Ip
2004–05: Michael Lintern-Smith
2005–07: Peter C. L. Lo
2007–09: Lester Huang
2009–11: Huen Wong
2011–12: Junius Ho
2012–13: Dieter Yih
2013–14: Ambrose Lam
2014–16: Stephen Hung
2016–18: Thomas So
2018–21: Melissa K. Pang
2021-24: C. M. Chan
2024-Incumbent: Roden Tong