"
practising
must have
applicant
certificates and one of such persons been personally practising law with the
foreign law firm, in Hong Kong or
elsewhere, for at least 3 of the last 5 years immediately preceding the firm's application for registration.
The Committee
specific power
appropriate in
the
that
power
recommends
that the Council should have
to waive, to such extent as it thinks
any particular case, any one or more of
last three criteria. In particular, as far as the
last criterion is concerned, the Committee considers there should be a specific power enabling practice
as a partner in a foreign law firm in one or more
overseas jurisdictions to be taken into account. This
of waiver could be clearly stated to be
exercisable on a case by case basis having regard to an
individual's overall experience of the practice of law
in common law jurisdictions, the applicant's most
recent experience of practice in a common law jurisdiction and the affinity of that law (perhaps judged by reference to the accreditation scheme) to the
law of Hong Kong.
3. Once a foreign law firm
established a Hong Kong law certain specified respects
practice, then except in
(which have yet to be fully identified), that firm would be treated for all purposes as if it were a local law firm and the continuing obligations which it would
be required to observe would reflect that status. For
example, the 8:1 ratio rule would apply to the Hong
Kong law practice of a foreign law firm with local
practice rights as it does to Hong Kong law firms. This would mean that if a registered foreign lawyer
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