Cap 159S s 5 Foreign lawyer with limited post-qualification experience (FOREIGN LAWYERS REGISTRATION RULES; LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ORDINANCE)

Contents of Section

Chapter:	159S	Title:	FOREIGN LAWYERS REGISTRATION RULES	Gazette Number:	L.N. 4 of 2010
Section:	5	Heading:	Foreign lawyer with limited post-qualification experience	Version Date:	22/03/2010

(1) This section applies to any person who, in applying for a certificate of registration as a foreign lawyer, does not satisfy the Society that he has had at least 2 years of post-qualification experience in the full-time practice of foreign law.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), it shall be a condition of a certificate of registration issued to any person to whom this section applies that he shall not practise foreign law as an employee of a foreign firm or a Hong Kong firm until he satisfies the Society that he has completed at least 2 years of post-qualification experience in the full-time practice of foreign law. (L.N. 163 of 2009)
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Society may, in respect of any person to whom this section applies, specify-

(a) a lesser period of practice to be completed by the person for the purpose of that subsection; or

(b) conditions as to supervision under which that person may practise foreign law as an employee of a foreign firm or a Hong Kong firm, and in such case any period of such supervised practice completed by the person shall be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the period of post-qualification experience under subsection (2). (L.N. 163 of 2009)

(4) Any period specified for the purpose of subsection (3)(a), when aggregated with the period of experience of the person at the time of the issue of the certificate, shall not exceed 2 years.
(5) Experience which the Society considers in a particular case to be equivalent to a period of post-qualification experience in full-time practice of foreign law shall, for the purpose of this section, be treated as such period of post-qualification experience.
(6) A principal of a foreign firm or a Hong Kong firm shall not permit a foreign lawyer to practise foreign law as an employee of the firm otherwise than in accordance with any condition applying under this section and endorsed on the foreign lawyer's certificate of registration. (L.N. 163 of 2009)
(7) If the Society specifies under subsection (3)(b) a condition as to supervision under which a person to whom this section applies may practise foreign law, the supervision is to be provided by-

(

) a solicitor who-

(i) is admitted to practise the foreign law to which the application relates, in the foreign jurisdiction concerned; and

(ii) satisfies the Society that the solicitor is competent to provide supervision to that person in the practice of that foreign law; or

(

) a foreign lawyer who-

(i) is admitted to practise the foreign law to which the application relates, in the foreign jurisdiction concerned; and

(ii) satisfies the Society that the foreign lawyer is competent to provide supervision to that person in the practice of that foreign law. (L.N. 163 of 2009)

(Enacted 1994)

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Note:
This section was amended by section 2 of the Foreign Lawyers Registration (Amendment) Rules 2009 (L.N. 163 of 2009). The transitional provision contained in section 3 of that Amendment Rules reads as follows-

"3. Transitional provision

Section 5 of the Foreign Lawyers Registration Rules (Cap 159 sub. leg. S), as amended by these Rules, applies to any application-

(a) for a certificate of registration as a foreign lawyer;

(b) made before the commencement* of these Rules by a person to whom that section applies; and

(c) in respect of which the certificate has not been issued as at that commencement.".

* Commencement date: 22 March 2010.