In my further attempts to assimilate and become a true Hong Konger, I’ve been working towards becoming a locally qualified lawyer here. While it’s not necessary for an expat lawyer to be locally qualified (there are plenty of jobs that do not require you to practice local law), it certainly opens a lot more doors and I figured it might as well be one more accomplishment I attempt before I leave (yes — after my last visit to New York, I know deep in my heart I cannot stay here indefinitely).
The process is rather tedious. First, one must make an application to the Law Society of Hong Kong by early July to take the Overseas Lawyer Qualification Examination (OLQE), including any application for exemptions. The OLQE is comprised of five Heads, or subject examinations (Conveyancing, Civil and Criminal Procedure, Commercial and Company Law, Accounts and Professional Conduct, and Principles of Common Law). The world being divided into civil code law and common law (a far more tedious and boring subject than I can tackle in this post), only civil code lawyers with 5 years’ experience may even attempt at the exams, while common law lawyers (such as Americans) are instantly entitled to sit for the exams AND are automatically exempt from Head V. Further, common law lawyers who have 5 years’ experience, and can prove it, are exempt from Head II, and may submit “evidence” that they have the experience requisite to be exempted from Heads III and IV. No one ever gets out of Head I (or virtually no one).
The application itself costs $3300 HKD, is extremely tedious, requires a lot of running around (original certificates of good standing from each jurisdiction you are admitted!), nagging former employers to sign letters you, of course, draft yourself, etc. etc. Not nice. I managed to convince the Law Society to exempt me from 2 of the 3 exemptable Heads, and am now taking a prep course at IP Learning for Heads I and III. Obviously, these courses are not cheap.
In addition to costs for the application and preparation, you then pay the Law Society an additional $5500 HKD to take a Head, and an additional $1100 for each subsequent Head! This must be done by mid-August.
The exams are given just once a year in the Fall, with results not coming out until some time in February, and then once you have your hopefully happy results, you then make an application for admissions — which I believe involves yet another fee! What extortion!!!
And just to take up STILL more time, the admissions ceremony does not even take place until the following July! So all in all, the whole process for a foreign lawyer to get locally admitted is extremely tedious, time consuming and expensive.
So here I am — studying for two exams, attending classes 3x a week, but learning quite a lot of interesting things about HK (more on that in subsequent posts, obviously!) But is it all going to be worth it, especially in light of my new-found certainty that I belong back in New York one day??
(P.S. — I’m not sure what a civil code lawyer who doesn’t have the 5 years’ requisite experience has to do. Does one have no choice but to qualify as a brand new lawyer in HK? That is, obtain a law degree, take the one-year PCLL and then a 2-year traineeship?? Now that I’d never do!)
Pingback: CDotD: Your Security Deposit is NOT Guaranteed! | Because It's Time
I’m about to enter Law school in Hong Kong in September (lucky me, taking the shorter LLB- PCLL- 2 year route). I heard that apparently there are occasions wherein it is required that lawyers speak Cantonese or Putonghua? Have you heard anything about that? And how is your ordeal going so far?
Sorry, it just seems appropriate to ask you since I was doing my research right now anyway (2 months before entering Law school, I know I know, I am so organized and prepared) and I’m glad I came across your blog!
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Hi Shar – Congrats on your embarking upon the legal profession! I can only guess that not only are you a non-Chinese speaker, but you are a non-Hong Konger? If your reasons for going to law school in HK is to secure work in HK, despite not knowing Chinese, you can still certainly get a job here. There are plenty of expats and locals alike who don’t really know the language and work here, but that does not mean that (1) Chinese will not be highly preferred, and (2) that demand/requirement will continue to get stronger with time. Some employers will have such a strong preference for Chinese language (particularly Putonghua), that they would much rather hire someone who is lacking in experience for their fluency in what is a very hard language to learn. As one recruiter told me once, you can train a lawyer to learn legal skills, but you cannot train a lawyer to learn language.
Overall I see HK demanding more and more Putonghua (knowing Cantonese gives you an edge, but is not really considered a trait that is sought after), but I hope this won’t discourage you so much as it is useful to inform you as you face the job market ahead (perhaps you should touch up on any Chinese skills you have now, if any; perhaps consider how to become qualified at another similar jurisdiction while going through law school, e.g. England & Wales or Australia, or try researching practice areas that require Chinese least and explore them in law school to see whether they suit you). And stay tuned on my “ordeal,” I will do my best to blog more regularly, particularly on the legal profession in HK
Hi there – just stumbled upon this page and haven’t gone through the rest of your blog yet, but I thought I would ask anyway (cheeky, I know) – what do you reckon are the areas of law where Putonghua is least required? I am also a non HKer, non-Putonghua speaker and looking to enter the legal profession here through the HKU JD route.
All my HK lawyer friends seem to think Putonghua is not used that much in their circles – I personally find this hard to believe and suspect they 1) underestimate the extent to which they actually speak and use Putonghua, 2) work within an area of law that is perhaps less reliant on Putonghua than others (PE/funds) and 3) are just trying to get me to stay here. What do you think?
Hi Haoyan – good points. I will aim to do a post on the subject soon. Stay tuned, and good luck!