The Law Society of Hong Kong is a professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong vested with statutory powers to regulate the professional conduct of solicitors, trainee solicitors and foreign lawyers. It was incorporated in 1907 as a company limited by guarantee.
The Law Society speaks for the solicitors’ profession in Hong Kong and ensures our voice are accurately and purposefully communicated to relevant parties
The Law Society is dedicated to providing relevant and effective support to our members including professional training and legal practice updates.
The Law Society is committed to facilitating the attainment and maintenance of the highest professional standards by our members in the interest of the community
The Law Society reaches out and maintains a wide local and global network for knowledge exchange, experience sharing and collaboration between our members and different sectors of both the local and international communities.
The Law Society strives to raise general public legal awareness, facilitate public access to legal services and promote a culture of giving back to the community among our members.
The RME Rules apply to trainee solicitors who commence their first trainee solicitor contract on or after 1 November 2008. If a trainee solicitor commenced his first trainee solicitor contract on 1 July 2008, the RME Rules do not apply to him. Accordingly, he is not subject to any RME obligations when he is a trainee solicitor. When he works as a solicitor in a Hong Kong firm after his admission as a Hong Kong solicitor, he will be subject to the RME Rules. During the first practice year that the Rules apply to him, he has to complete the non-principal’s core courses and then not less than 3 hours of RME electives within every subsequent practice year.
His first RME practice year commenced on 1 November 2010 and ends on 31 October 2011. As he has been in training for more than 100 days in the 2010/11 RME practice year, he will be required to complete the trainee solicitor’s core courses on or before 31 October 2011.
His first RME practice year commenced on 1 November 2010 and ends on 31 October 2011. As there are less than 100 days between 1 September 2011 and 31 October 2011, the first practice year is an exempted practice year and the trainee solicitor will not be required to complete the trainee solicitor’s core courses on or before 31 October 2011. However, he must complete the core courses on or before 31 October 2012 and the compulsory first elective by the end of his trainee solicitor contract on 31 August 2013.
His second RME practice year commences on 1 November 2012 and will end on 31 October 2013. He will be required to complete the compulsory first elective for trainee solicitors by 31 October 2013.
He must complete both the core courses and the compulsory first elective as a pre-requisite condition for admission as a Hong Kong solicitor.
The RME Rules apply to registered foreign lawyers practising as such in Hong Kong firms only. They do not apply to foreign lawyers working in foreign firms. Accordingly, a foreign lawyer working in a foreign law firm is not required to complete any RME obligations.
With effect from 1 November 2009, the RME Rules apply to registered foreign lawyers working in Hong Kong firms. If a registered foreign lawyer works in a Hong Kong firm in such capacity for 100 days or more in an RME practice year, he has to complete the core courses for foreign lawyers in the first year that the Rules apply to him and then 3 hours of electives every subsequent practice year that the Rules apply to him.
For the particular foreign lawyer in the question, he needs to complete the core courses for foreign lawyers on or before 31 October 2011. If he continues working in the same capacity in a Hong Kong firm, he will be required to complete not less than 3 hours of RME electives within every subsequent RME practice year that runs from 1 November to 31 October.
He must complete the core courses for foreign lawyers on or before 31 October 2011. His obligation to complete the core courses for foreign lawyers on or before 31 October 2011 is exempted on condition that he completes the core courses for non-principal Hong Kong solicitors on or before 31 October 2011 instead, even though he may not have been in practice as a Hong Kong solicitor for more than 100 days by then. Alternatively, if he chooses not to attend the core courses for non-principal Hong Kong solicitors, he must complete the core courses for foreign lawyers on or before 31 October 2011 even after his admission as a Hong Kong solicitor as the exemption will not be applicable to him.
With effect from 1 November 2007, on the basis that the participants have completed the non-principal’s core courses, the principal’s core courses comprise 4 half-day modules. Each half-day module lasts for about 3½ hours.
Each module will provide a series of seminars and workshops. A case study will be used throughout. The subject matter of each module will address a different aspect of the case study, as well as considering the relevance and impact of earlier modules. It is therefore recommended that the modules be taken in sequence with a gap of not longer than two months between each module.
The non-principal’s core courses comprise 2 half-day modules. Each half-day module lasts for about 3½ hours.
The non-principal’s core courses must be taken in sequence.
A solicitor is deemed to have attended all RME courses to the satisfaction of the Society in compliance with the RME Rules if
| 1. | he has attended all of the RME courses he is required to complete under the RME Rules; and |
| 2. | for each of those RME courses, he is awarded the CPD points accredited to the course, in accordance with the CPD attendance policy applicable from time to time. |
The partner has obtained a total of 39 points for the CPD practice year 2010/11. Assuming that the partner’s CPD requirement for the CPD practice year 2010/11 is 15 CPD points, after utilising 15 CPD points out of the 39 points to satisfy his CPD requirement for 2010/11, he can carry forward a maximum of 15 CPD points (out of the balance of 24 CPD points) to the next CPD practice year of 2011/2012.
Those to whom the RME Rules apply must attend the mandatory RME courses approved by the Society. There will be no exemption from the RME requirements other than under the circumstances specified under rules 8 or 8A of the RME Rules. Accordingly, a solicitor who has attended a risk management course other than the mandatory courses offered or accredited by the Society will not be deemed to have complied with the RME requirements.
No, a practitioner may satisfy his RME elective obligations by undertaking accredited RME activities other than course attendance. It includes writing dissertation, articles and books, doing legal research and participation in approved committees provided that the activity has been accredited as an RME elective by the Law Society.
Since he has not completed at least 3 hours of RME electives in 2010/11, he is required to complete not less than 6 hours of RME electives on or before 31 October 2012.
The solicitor is only required to complete not less than 3 hours of RME electives each year. Since he has completed 2 courses of RME electives and obtained 8 CPD points during 2010/11, he could use 3 out of the 8 CPD points to fulfill his RME elective obligations for 2010/11 and carry forward 3 out of the 5 excess CPD points he obtained from attending RME electives to satisfy his RME obligations for the following practice year of 2011/12. Accordingly, in 2011/12, he is not required to take any more RME electives.
