The Hong Kong Bar Association has dismissed solicitors’ proposals for legal reforms to grant senior counsel status and higher court representation rights as “premature and largely academic”.
The Law Society, which governs the city’s solicitors, is advocating for enhanced status for its members amid ongoing legislative scrutiny of Hong Kong’s latest omnibus reforms.
The Bar Association, representing barristers, has questioned the necessity of these changes, pointing out that while roughly 100 solicitor advocates currently hold such rights, most have not exercised them over the past two years.
A review of judgments from early 2024 through the end of 2025 reveals fewer than 15 cases where a solicitor advocate exercised higher rights of audience in open court as lead or sole advocate, the association reported.
