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

(b) Development opportunities for Mainland legal services

It is noteworthy that the proportion of Mainland-related legal services in the business portfolio is 32.1%,
with a small percentage (4%) of surveyed law firms considering it as among the top three profitable areas. At
the same time, nearly half of the law firms have more than 50% of their revenue coming from the Mainland and

overseas, and these firms typically have a significant number of foreign lawyers.

This phenomenon indicates a preference among Mainland clients to engage Hong Kong law firms to handle
cross-border cases, suggesting a considerable allure of the Mainland market for some Hong Kong law firms.
However, the survey findings show that the majority of law firms derive their income primarily from Hong

Kong, indicating yet untapped business potential in the Mainland market. Some law firms have a diversified

income source from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and overseas, with only a small number relying predominantly
on income from the Mainland.

2.2 Status of collaboration between Hong Kong law firms and GBA law firms

2.2.1 Business status of Hong Kong law firms in the GBA

(a) Concentrated business types with clear competitive advantages

According to statistics from The Law Society of Hong Kong, as of April 30, 2024, there are currently a
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total of 88 Hong Kong law firms with representative offices in the Mainland, and among them, 20 law firms have

representative offices in the GBA, mainly concentrated in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. It shows that Hong
Kong law firms are actively expanding their business in the GBA.

Regarding the types of business activities in the GBA, according to the questionnaire of the law firms,
20.8% of them indicated that they have not been involved in GBA-related business. Nearly half (49.1%) have

handled litigation cases in Hong Kong for clients from the GBA, 41.5% of the law firms have provided China-

43 Representative Offices of Hong Kong Law Firms in the Mainland,
https://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/en/Serve-the-Public/The-Law-List/Representative-Offices-of-Hong-Kong-Law-Firms-in-the-Mainland

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