1.

The Role of the Conduct Section of The Law Society of Hong Kong ("The Law Society") is to:


(i)
investigate complaints of *professional misconduct against
(a)
a solicitors' firm or a foreign firm;
(b)
a solicitor or a registered foreign lawyer; or
(c)
a trainee solicitor or any unqualified person
(1(i)(a), (b) and (c) above are collectively known as "respondent");
     
  (ii)
facilitate the adjudication of complaints by an Investigation Committee and the Standing Committee on Compliance.
     
  *(Please refer to the Guidance Notes to the Complaint Form (as attached to the Complaint Form) for examples of possible "professional misconduct".)
   

2.

The Conduct Section of The Law Society does not:


(i)
investigate complaints against respondents who are not acting in their capacities as solicitors;

(ii)
proceed with the investigation of a complaint if it involves an on-going litigation which directly relates to the complaint or the complaint is being investigated by other organizations or authorities;

(iii)
normally handle complaints which are not set out in the Complaint Form;

(iv)
give legal advice or adjudicate on legal issue(s) or disputes;

(v)
take proceedings on behalf of the complainant for negligence cases.
     

The Complaint Form and the Guidance Notes to the Complaint Form can be downloaded from the website of The Law Society at www.hklawsoc.org.hk.
   

3.

The Conduct Section seeks to ensure that:


(i)
the independence and impartiality of its investigative role is maintained;
(For this reason, the Conduct Section cannot provide legal advice and/or take proceedings on behalf of the complainant for negligence cases.)

(ii)
it is not perceived to be partial to one or other party to a complaint;
(For this reason, it is not the practice of the Conduct Section to meet complainants or respondents.)

(iii)
there are no misunderstandings or omissions and that the complaint is in a form that can be included in the report to an Investigation Committee or the Standing Committee on Compliance.
(For this reason, the complaint should be lodged by way of completing a Complaint Form.)

(iv)
all conduct investigation is confidential
(For this reason, the parties to a complaint should not disclose the content of the correspondence from the Law Society to a third party without the prior written consent of the Law Society.)



4.

Complainant should:


(i)
read the Guidance Notes to the Complaint Form;

(ii)
set out the complaint in full details;

(iii)
not make any defamatory statements or comments in the Complaint Form;

(iv)
send the Complaint Form together with copies of all relevant documents to the Conduct Section:

by post: The Law Society of Hong Kong
3rd Floor, Wing On House,
71 Des Voeux Road,
Central, Hong Kong
Attn: the Conduct Section

or by fax: 2845 0387

or by e-mail: complaints@hklawsoc.org.hk


(v)
note that copies of the Complaint Form and enclosures (if any) may be sent to the respondent that the complainant is complaining against for explanation and in some cases, to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, court, relevant government departments, related authorities and organizations, agencies which are authorized to receive information relating to law enforcement, prosecution or review of The Law Society;

(vi)
remain courteous throughout the investigation;

(vii)
assist The Law Society by acting as witness in the event that disciplinary proceedings are commenced against the respondent;

(viii)
avoid delay in making a complaint as it may be difficult to investigate the complaint properly;

(ix)
provide a written authorization from the person or the company whom the complainant is complaining on his/her/its behalf;

(x)
note that reports to an Investigation Committee and the Standing Committee on Compliance will not be disclosed.



5.

Upon receipt of a complaint

  (i)
based on the information and documents provided by the complainant, the Conduct Section will conduct relevant searches from the public registry (if applicable) and review the relevant rules (if any), principles (if any), circulars (if any), policies (if any) and guidelines (if any) governing professional conduct in order to decide whether the complaint involves a prima facie case of professional misconduct and the appropriate way to handle the complaint;
  (ii)
if a complaint involves an assessment of costs or a negligence claim or a criminal allegation or a request for legal advice or a complaint against a barrister, a Notary Public, Legal Aid Counsel, Duty Lawyer, China Appointed Attesting Officer etc, the Conduct Section may, in appropriate cases, advise the complainant to refer the complaint to the relevant authority or organization or government body for their investigation and/or handling, and inform the Complainant to refer the matter back to The Law Society if there is pertinent observation from the above bodies upon conclusion of their investigation or decision. In some cases, The Law Society may refer the complaint to the relevant authority organization or government body for their investigation;
  (iii)
if a complaint does not reveal a prima facie case of professional misconduct but the complainant is not satisfied with the services provided by the respondent, the Conduct Section may, if applicable, advise the parties to resolve the complaints amicably between themselves. Where the parties succeeded in resolving the disputes amongst themselves, the complaint file can be closed without reference to an Investigation Committee. The Standing Committee on Compliance will be informed of the files closed in this way although it may, at its own discretion, call for more information and require an investigation to be conducted;
  (iv)
if a complainant is not satisfied with The Law Society's reply (as referred to paragraph 5(ii) above) or he cannot resolve the dispute with the respondent (as in paragraph 5(iii) above), and insists on The Law Society investigating the complaint, the Conduct Section may obtain background information about the complaint from the respondent in order to maintain the independence and impartiality of its investigatory role. Subject to the respondent's reply (if any), a report will be prepared to an Investigation Committee to decide whether the investigation should be proceeded or no action will be taken by The Law Society;
  (v)
if the complaint reveals a prima facie case of professional misconduct, the Conduct Section will, where appropriate, write to the respondent and send him a copy of the completed Complaint Form together with copies of all documents provided by the complainant (if any) and seek an explanation from the respondent, in which event:
   
(a)
a complainant will be given the opportunity to comment upon the respondent's explanation; 
(b)
if additional information or allegation is contained or raised in the complainant's written comments, the respondent will be given an opportunity to make representations; further correspondence may ensure that sufficient information is gathered; and
(c)
from the gathered information and documents, a report will be prepared for consideration by an Investigation Committee;
  (vi)
sanctions, which can be imposed by The Law Society, are the issue of a letter of regret or a letter of disapproval to respondents;
  (vii)
in appropriate cases, the Standing Committee on Compliance will refer a matter to the Convenor of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal with a view to appointing a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ("Tribunal"). A Tribunal has the power (inter alia) to order payment of fines or to censure, suspend or strike a solicitor's name off the roll.
     

6.

Respondent should note that:


(i)
explanations can be sought in respect of matters revealed during an investigation even if they are not the subject of the original complaint;

(ii)
failure to respond to a request for an explanation or delay in responding to The Law Society's inquiries is a matter of professional misconduct and can result in a separate and additional complaint;

(iii)
the tenor of the correspondence must remain courteous throughout the investigation no matter how strongly a respondent might feel about the issue under investigation;

(iv)
no references should be made to confidential information which it is not intended to be disclosed to the complainant unless privilege can be asserted over such information. If that is the case, this should be made clear in a separate letter and such information will not be treated as part of the explanation and will not lessen the responsibility to give a full explanation to a complaint upon which a complainant can comment;

(v)
a report will be submitted to an Investigation Committee for directions as to how the matter should be proceeded in the case of the respondent's non-disclosure of the letter of explanation to the complainant;

(vi)
when a case is submitted to a Tribunal, the Tribunal first has to decide whether a prima facie case has been made out against a respondent. As the rules do not enable a respondent to make further submissions before a Tribunal considers that point, respondents must ensure that a comprehensive explanation is provided from the outset.



7.

Investigation Committees


(i)
are ad-hoc committees of the Standing Committee on Compliance;

(ii)
are made up of solicitors and are not members of the Law Society Secretariat;

(iii)
are not performing a judicial function (on this basis, no reason will be given for their decisions);

(iv)
consider reports submitted to them by the Conduct Section together with the Complaint Form and all relevant documents and information provided by the parties;

(v)
consider and decide on complaints.



8.

Standing Committee on Compliance


(i)
its powers are delegated by the Council of The Law Society;

(ii)
is made up of solicitors who are not members of the Law Society Secretariat;

(iii)
monitors the work of the Conduct Section in carrying out its policies;

(iv)
considers of its own motion or upon recommendations from an Investigation Committee for submission of matters to the Tribunal Convenor of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel;

(v)
considers and decides on allegations of professional misconduct that are of particular sensitivity, importance or complexity;

(vi)
oversees the work and considers all requests for review of decisions of the Investigation Committees.



9.

Review


Either party to a complaint may seek a review of the decision of an Investigation Committee by referring the matter to the Standing Committee on Compliance.