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IV. Demand for Legal Services in the GBA

The geographical distribution of surveyed law firms

Other GBA cities
6 First-tier cities in the GBA:
Guangzhou, Shenzhen
13

Third-tier cities in the GBA:
Huizhou, Zhongshan,
Jiangmen, Zhaoging
19 Second-tier cities in the GBA:
Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan
22

First-tier cities in the GBA: Guangzhou, Shenzhen

Second-tier cities in the GBA: Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan
Third-tier cities in the GBA: Huizhou, Zhongshan,
Jiangmen, Zhaoging
Other GBA cities

(b) Mode of contact between Mainland law firms and Hong Kong legal practitioners

dominated by direct business dealings

Since 1992, when the Mainland’s legal services industry was officially opened up to the world,

communication between Mainland and Hong Kong law firms has become increasingly closer. According to
the findings of the survey, among the modes of contact between the Mainland law firms and Hong Kong legal
practitioners, straight-to-the-point business dealings accounted for 88.9%, while interactive activities and

personal contacts accounted for 74.1% and 51.8% respectively. 48

Mainland law firms possess local strengths, particularly in terms of their qualifications and ability to bear
legal risks. Hong Kong legal practitioners, on the other hand, have considerable advantages in terms of resources,
services, and handling foreign-related matters. The need to complement each other has fostered business contacts

between the two regions.

48 As there are various modes of contact between Mainland law firms and Hong Kong legal practitioners, the relevant question in the
questionnaire allows multiple choices, leading to a statistical result of more than 100%.

46