Hong Kong lawyers should not think of competing head-on with mainland counterparts in the Greater Bay Area, but instead position themselves as common law specialists and collaborators in cross-border legal teams, Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet has said.
His comments came during a fireside chat on the sidelines of the China Conference: Greater Bay Area event hosted by the South China Morning Post in Shenzhen on Thursday.
Recent policy measures allow Hong Kong lawyers to qualify for practice in parts of mainland China. In 2020, Beijing authorities introduced an exam pathway enabling solicitors and barristers to handle certain cases – including commercial matters – in nine Greater Bay Area mainland cities.
Maurellet described the arrangement as a positive development, but cautioned against viewing it as a route for Hong Kong lawyers to compete directly with mainland practitioners across the board, even if they passed the exam.
“We’re certainly not going to flood the mainland market because it’s very competitive,” he said. “In terms of the market perception between you and someone who has actually spent five years learning about mainland Chinese law, why would a client use you over that person, who really, has spent all of his career and studies just under that system?”
Maurellet said Hong Kong lawyers were more likely to contribute as part of joint legal teams in cases with both mainland and common law elements.
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