Hong Kong lawyers vote against Law Society president
Hong Kong solicitors last night passed a vote of no confidence against the city's Law Society president Ambrose Lam following comments he made in June in support a controversial Beijing phite paper.
August 14, 2014 at 10:48 PM
3 minute read
Hong Kong solicitors last night passed a vote of no confidence against the city's Law Society president Ambrose Lam following comments he made in June in support a controversial Beijing white paper.
Approximately 1,000 Law Society members are thought to have attended the extraodinary general meeting, which was called by a group of 50 lawyers earlier in the year who said Lam had caused "outrage in the legal community" and failed to defend Hong Kong's rule of law.
According to the final count, there were 2,392 votes against the president and 1,478 for him, while solicitors also voted for the president to withdraw his comments on the white paper and for the Law Society to issue a statement emphasizing the importance of the rule of law and judicial independence.
The vote marks a historic occasion for Hong Kong's legal community, it reported being the first time that a Law Society president has faced such a motion.
"The really important point is that the Law Society and future presidents are more likely to remain – at least outwardly – politically neutral," said one international lawyer.
"A strong marker has also been laid down to the legal and business community of Hong Kong of the importance of the Basic Law."
There are no rules which say the president must resign from his post, but those who instigated the motion have urged him to step down.
On their Facebook page they said: "We have witnessed one of the most unexpected results in the history of Hong Kong professional bodies.
"We call on Mr Lam to accept members' verdict against him and resign as president. If he refuses to do so, we call on the Law Society's Council to do the right thing and exercise its powers to remove Mr Lam as president."
However, supporters of Lam point to his hard work and contribution to the legal profession over the last 10 years.
Lam first came under attack in June after he made positive comments on a recently issued Beijing white paper, which lawyers say raised issues about Hong Kong's autonomy and judicial independence.
His views were said to have "touched on the nerves" of the city's lawyers, while he was also criticised for commenting on political rather than legal aspects and for speaking prior to the approval of the sub-committee.
In a letter the president defended himself by saying that he only responded positively to what was a work report rather than a legal document, and that he had "stood firm against the scare-mongers within [Hong Kong's] community who said that the white paper changed or attempted to change Hong Kong's basic law".
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBig Law Sidelined as Asian IPOs in New York Dominated by Small Cap Listings
Long Hours, Lack Of Boundaries: Associates In India Are Leaving Their Firms
Singapore Leaders Stress the Importance of the Rule of Law Amid Geopolitical Tensions
Can Law Firms Avoid Landing on the 'Enemy' List During the Trump Administration?
5 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250