Justice chief ‘matchmaker’ for Hong Kong, mainland and international lawyers

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam is leading a legal delegation to Guangdong that includes a record number of foreign lawyers

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Paul Lam (left) is leading a Hong Kong delegation to the mainland, with a visit to the Shenzhen Museum on their itinerary. Photo: Facebook/Paul Lam

Jess Main Shenzhen

Published: 11:18pm, 6 Dec 2024Updated: 12:17am, 7 Dec 2024

Hong Kong’s justice minister has pledged to match the city’s lawyers with their mainland Chinese counterparts and companies, as a record number of foreign legal professionals joined a delegation visiting neighbouring Guangdong province.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said on Friday that his department would continue to improve regulations and foster legal talent to provide services on the mainland to encourage more use of Hong Kong law in the Greater Bay Area.

“I think the main role of the Department of Justice is to act as a matchmaker, to ensure that lawyers in Hong Kong and their counterparts on the mainland and companies on the mainland can enhance their mutual understanding,” he said.

Lam was speaking to the media towards the end of his three-day trip to the mainland, where his delegation of more than 30 lawyers met counterparts in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The group also toured the facilities of a technology company in Shenzhen.

He earlier described the delegation as “star-studded”, as lawyers’ were leaders in at least six practice areas encompassing both transactions and dispute resolution.

Lam also lauded the diversity of the group, saying it represented the highest number of international law firm representatives and foreign lawyers to join a delegation to the mainland. A third of the delegation are non-Chinese-speaking lawyers.