Lawyers in Hong Kong were delighted to learn that from July 1st, following more than two years of intensive negotiations, many of their number will be permitted to qualify and practise in mainland China, in legal centres such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Although the agreement reached by the Chinese Ministry of Justice and the SAR's Law Society imposes limits on Hong Kong lawyers' access to the mainland market, it will allow Hong Kong-qualified and resident lawyers with a degree from mainland China to study for qualifications in mainland law with a view to practising there.
According to reports, foreign lawyers, SAR-based barristers, and Hong Kong lawyers working for overseas firms have been excluded from the deal, but this was expected by the local legal community.
Law firms based in Hong Kong are also unlikely to be permitted to merge with mainland firms under the terms of the agreement, full details of which have yet to be revealed. However, observers have suggested that they are likely to be allowed to work 'side by side' with Chinese firms.
Speaking to the Legal Week news service following the announcement that the agreement between the two regions will be signed on 30 June, an unnamed Hong Kong official revealed that:
'This is the biggest change for our lawyers in recent times.'
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