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II. The Status Quo and Basis of Cooperation of Hong Kong Legal Practitioners in the GBA

II. The Status Quo and Basis of Cooperation of Hong Kong

Legal Practitioners in the GBA

2.1 The status quo of legal practitioners in Hong Kong

2.1.1 An overview of Hong Kong law firms

(a) Year of establishment

Among the surveyed law firms, 58% of the Hong Kong law firms were established before 2010, with the

earliest one established in 1863. Compared to Mainland law firms, Hong Kong law firms generally have a longer
history. As of 2005, there were already 688 law firms in Hong Kong, which indicates that the Hong Kong legal
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services market is more mature than the Mainland.

(b) Number and composition of personnel

According to data from a 2023 survey, among 926 law firms, 46.4% are sole proprietorships, 41.5% has

2 to 5 partners, 5.5% has 6-10 partners, 4.9% has 11-20 partners, and only 1.7% have more than 20 partners.
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According to statistics from The Law Society of Hong Kong, as of February 29, 2024, there are a total of 924
law firms in Hong Kong. Among them, 46.3% are sole proprietorships, 41.8% are law firms with 2 to 5 partners,
including 59 limited liability partnerships formed pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Ordinance.

Among the 53 Hong Kong law firms surveyed on, sole proprietorships accounted for 20.8%, firms with 2

to 5 partners accounted for 32.1%, those with 6 to 10 partners accounted for 20.8%, those with 11 to 20 partners
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accounted for 5.7%, and firms with more than 20 partners accounted for 18.9%. In addition to partners, most

38 The Law Society of Hong Kong, Annual Report 2006,
https://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/-/media/HKLS/pub_c/annual_report/2006/report6.pdf?rev=f364411916e1461aa8e7e8ea24ba7415
39 Profile of the Profession, https://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/en/About-the-Society/Profile-of-the-Profession
40 One law firm did not provide information on this question, so the data sum is not 100%.

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