TNAG-2438-FCO40-3543-Hong-Kong-judiciary-appointments-1992 — Page 133

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(4)

(5)

Robert W.H. Wang and Co.'s letter dated 30th August 1991

Is the intention that Patent and Trade Mark Agents be caught by the regulations?.

No. The Committee recognised that patent and trade mark agents do not have to be admitted as solicitors in order to practise. Therefore their activities would not be categorised as "practising law" and they would not be considered to be foreign lawyers. A note has been made in the Final Report to this effect.

Letter from the U.S. Firms dated 31st August 1991

(a)

(b)

(c)

Will Foreign Firms be able to advise on the law of third jurisdictions without further restrictions?

See paragraph 1(c) above. The question of requiring insurance against negligence claims was also raised. It was decided that the revised proposals would require foreign lawyers to obtain insurance coverage comparable to the level of coverage required under the compulsory scheme for Hong Kong qualified

solicitors.

Should the foreign lawyer/Hong Kong lawyer ratio not be either removed or made less restrictive?

The Committee reviewed the objections to the 1:1 ratio. It decided that this requirement should not be changed. The reason for the rule was to ensure that the control of a local firm did not pass to a foreign firm.

Should not the requirement relating to the names of associated firms be changed so that firms in association can choose how to put themselves forward?

Although the Committee did not accept that firms should be allowed discretion in relation to their letterheads, the Committee agreed that the proposed rule should be amended. Two principles were involved. First, the acknowledgement of an association or letterhead was meant to ensure that the association is always stated. Secondly, the purpose of the letterhead is to identify for the client the firm with which he or she is dealing. Thus if the client were dealing with a foreign firm, then the name of the foreign firm should be more prominent on the letterhead. Similarly if the client were dealing with a local firm then the name of the local firm should be more prominent. This would require associated firms to use different stationery depending on the circumstances. The Final Report

reflects this.