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

(b) The difficulties for Hong Kong law firms to set up offices or form joint ventures with

Mainland law firms in the GBA

39.6% of Hong Kong lawyers do not understand the operation of legal business in the Mainland. 35.9% of
Hong Kong lawyers think that there is little meaning to establish offices in joint operation with Mainland law

firms, believing that similar results can be achieved through alternative forms of cooperation. Some respondents

(33.9%) believe that the scale of their law firms is too small to establish a new one, while others (30.2%)
consider the operating costs of opening offices or joint ventures in the GBA to be too high. 24.5% mention that
Hong Kong lawyers who have obtained GBA qualifications need to cancel their practising certificates of their

representative offices or their Hong Kong Macao lawyers’ work permits for the partnership associations. As a

result, they are reluctant to set up offices and partnership associations with Mainland law firms. Some (26.4%)
believe that the level of openness in the Mainland’s legal services industry is inadequate.
As for the requirement that the capital contribution of the parties in a partnership association be no less than

RMB 5 million, 52.8% of respondents consider the requirement reasonable, while 43.4% think it is too high.

Regarding the view that “(lawyers) shall not undertake legal matters involving criminal procedural law applicable
to the Mainland”, 79.3% of Hong Kong lawyers consider it reasonable, 18.9% finds the requirement too narrow
and suggest that it be relaxed gradually and be expanded to other Mainland cities to facilitate the development of

foreign-related legal services in those cities.

(c) Views on the GBA Legal Professional Examination

As to the conditions for taking the GBA Legal Professional Examination, most interviewees (83.1%)
consider them reasonable; a minority (13.2%) think they are too strict, as the number of years of post-qualified

experience required is too long. They recommend lowering the threshold to allow junior lawyers to practise in
the GBA. One respondent considers the requirements too lenient, resulting in oversupply, vicious competition

and unsustainable development.
On the assessment method of the GBA Legal Professional Examination, if a similar format to the Judicial

Examination in the Mainland is adopted, that is, with Paper 1 on objective questions and Paper 2 on subjective
questions, 62.3% thinks the level of difficulty is reasonable, and suggest to provide an English version of the

exam questions based on the needs of the candidates. However, 30.2% of Hong Kong lawyers think that it is too
difficult or consider the subjective questions unnecessary. A very small number of respondents find the exam too

easy, and suggest incorporating substantive law to enhance understanding of the legal system.
In terms of the training for Hong Kong lawyers participating in the GBA Legal Professional Examination,

surveyed Hong Kong lawyers suggest: (1) arranging more cross-border exchange activities; (2) extending the

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