Barristers dismiss calls for solicitors to gain senior counsel status in Hong Kong

The professional body for Hong Kong barristers has dismissed as “premature and largely academic” calls by solicitors for legal changes so fellow lawyers can gain recognition as senior counsel and rights to represent clients in higher-level courts.

The Law Society, the governing body for the city’s solicitors, is calling for the higher status for its members as lawmakers scrutinise the latest round of omnibus legislative updates in Hong Kong.

But the Bar Association, the body for barristers, questioned the need for such changes, noting that the city had about 100 solicitor advocates with such representation rights, but most of them had not exercised the privilege in the past two years.

“A review of judgments handed down from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2025 shows that the number of judgments where a solicitor advocate has exercised higher rights of audience in open court as lead or sole advocate is fewer than 15 cases,” the association said.