Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes.
Photo: Sam Tsang
Legal professional body looking at change after lawyer
challenged decision to not allow him to also work as
‘neuro-beautologist’
Barristers will no longer need permission to have a second job
under proposed changes by the Hong Kong Bar Association, after a
challenge to the long-standing restriction almost went to the
city’s top court.
The association, the city’s top legal professional body, is
considering relaxing its rule so that barristers would only be
required to tell the Bar Council, its executive committee, that
they intend to start a second or part-time job.
However, if there are any concerns about the appropriateness of
their non-legal work, they will have to comply with any advice
given.
“The rule we have has been abolished in most other places,” Bar
Association chairman Philip Dykes said.
“The English Bar, for instance, abolished that 20 years ago and
they are seeing no problems there.”
The association is looking at changing its Code of Conduct after
a lawyer challenged its decision to not allow him to also work as a
“neuro-beautologist”, treating those with misaligned spines and
limbs, because it was considered incompatible with practising
law.
While the association is prepared to do away with the rule, it
still wants to keep an eye on the types of jobs barristers take up
on the side.
“The bottom line is – whatever you do, that must be compatible
with the profession of barrister,” Dykes said. “We’ll tell you what
our concern is, and if that proves to be right and brings the Bar
into disrepute, we’ll take disciplinary action.”
The association will decide on the proposal as early as
January’s annual general meeting. Other proposals include
introducing a monthly HK$6,000 (US$770) salary to all pupil
barristers who are unpaid.
There are about 1,500 practising barristers in Hong Kong,
including 150 freshly admitted in the past two years in a very
competitive legal market. Young barristers often struggle
financially as they do not have a base salary but must pay rent for
their chambers.
Barristers, considered to be self-employed, do not need prior
approval for some jobs, such as elected lawmakers, columnists, law
school teachers, or non-executive directors of companies.
Some take second jobs to pursue a personal interest, including
as private pilots or in the wine business, but for most, especially
junior barristers, it is a means to earn more.
Veteran actor Melvin Wong Kam-sang, 69, is prominent among
barristers who had two careers.
From the 1980s, Wong starred in television dramas and films and
was particularly well known for being in the popular soap A Kindred
Spirit. He was in his 50s when he studied for a law degree and was
admitted to the Bar in 1997. But he still acted occasionally,
including in a TV crime drama made by the Independent Commission
Against Corruption (ICAC).
“I was still a junior barrister at the time, so perhaps that’s
why the Bar Council granted me permission. And as the ICAC is a
government body, playing a part in the drama may have been seen as
doing public service,” said Wong, freshly retired from the legal
profession but producing films.
“I played the role of a senior investigator so I just showed up
in several episodes without taking up too much time.”
Alexander Wong Shing-tak, 38, has degrees in medicine and law
and was a doctor for six years before becoming a barrister in 2012.
He said during his first two years as a barrister, he still saw
patients at his clinic, but promised the Bar Council he would spend
only two sessions per week as a doctor.
Wong said money was one reason he continued as a doctor, because
he was not yet earning a regular income as a barrister. “I also
didn’t want to waste what I learned in medical school,” he
said.
The rule on second careers made the news in 2015 when barrister
Albert Leung Sze-ho challenged the Bar Council’s refusal to allow
him to practise neuro-beautology, a form of natural therapy.
Leung, then 45 and a barrister for more than 10 years, won his
judicial review in the High Court. The judge ruled the
association’s Code of Conduct was “unconstitutional” for
restricting Leung’s freedom of choice of occupation.
But the Court of Appeal overturned the decision one year later,
ruling that the freedom under Article 33 of the Basic Law, Hong
Kong’s mini-constitution, only meant a resident should not be
forced to work against his or her wish, but did not mean he or she
had the freedom to work in any occupation.
Leung was granted permission to take his case to the Court of
Final Appeal and a hearing date was initially set for January this
year. However, he did not pursue the case as he said he could not
raise the HK$200,000 needed and his personal financial problems had
“snowballed” over the years.
“Maybe if I could have worked concurrently as a
neuro-beautologist, I could have survived,” Leung, who is taking a
break from practising, said.
Having faced a legal bill of at least HK$100,000, Leung believed
his sacrifice paid off for a greater good.
“I think the proposal is good enough and a great improvement,”
he said.
Dykes would not say if Leung would be free to take up his second
career if the Bar Association changed its rule, or if he would
still be advised that “neuro-beautology” was inappropriate for a
lawyer. Each case has to be decided on its own, Dykes said.
Five barristers the Post spoke to felt it was time the
association dropped the rule on a second job.
“The profession is highly competitive, and junior barristers do
not have a lot of business at the beginning of their career,” Wong
said.
He said his medical background had helped his legal career and
he got some cases through it. “At least you know how to read the
medical report,” he said.
Culled from scmp.com
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