The Law Society of Hong Kong welcomed leaders from overseas jurisdictions attending the Opening of the Legal Year

12 January 2009

(for immediate release)

At the invitation of the Law Society of Hong Kong, over 40 delegates from 10 different jurisdictions attended the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year at the City Hall yesterday. It was a rare occasion where leaders from law societies and bar associations in Australia, Czech Republic, England & Wales, Japan, Korea, Macau, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore and The Netherlands joined members of the Hong Kong legal profession in the audience.

At the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year, the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong Mr. Lester Huang extended a warm welcome to the overseas delegates. He also greeted the delegates at a lunch co-hosted by the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bar Association on the same day.

Among the delegates, 24 of them were members of the Czech Republic Bar Association with whom the Law Society has signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2008 to establish partnerships and co-operation across the legal profession in the two jurisdictions. The Chief Delegate of Czech Bar Association delegation Mr. Vladimir Jirousek affirmed their commitment to the partnership with the Law Society and future cooperation with its members.

As the host, The Law Society of Hong Kong has organized a series a programmes for the overseas delegates. Highlight of the programmes will be a lunch talk on 13 January featuring Mr. Stephen K Wong, Director of Economic and Trade Office (Central and Eastern Europe) as the keynote speaker. Mr. Wong will speak on the topic: “Hong Kong – the Cross-border/boundary Legal Services Centre”. The Hong Kong Bar Association is the co-host of the event.

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) is the sponsor of the lunch talk on 13 January. The Acting Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Mr Simon Galpin, will also address the audience at the occasion. InvestHK, as the department of the HKSAR Government responsible for attracting and facilitating inward investment into the city, provides services and support to help overseas, Mainland and Taiwanese companies establish or expand their business presence in Hong Kong. InvestHK is available to help at any stage of a company’s business development. All of its services are free, confidential and tailored to a company’s needs. For more information, please visit www.InvestHK.gov.hk.

For further information, please contact:
Ms. Katherine Yu
Tel: 2846-0528