The Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region welcomes you to the fifth Hong Kong Legal Services Forum to be held in Guangzhou on 5 September 2018.
Since 2010, the biennial Hong Kong Legal Services Forum has been held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Nanjing to promote the international legal and dispute resolution services of Hong Kong to enterprises and other service users in the Mainland. The last Forum held in Nanjing was well received with over 860 participants from across the business and legal sectors in the nearby regions.
The success of the previous Forums has demonstrated the value of such Forums in promoting the international legal and dispute resolution services of Hong Kong to Mainland enterprises and other service users. Riding on the opportunities presented by the development of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Bay Area, we have decided to return to Guangzhou to host the fifth Hong Kong Legal Services Forum in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Asia Office of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center, the China Maritime Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center and the Asian Academy of International Law.
Featuring the theme of “From Bay Area to International Arena”, the fifth Forum will discuss issues of interest to enterprises in the Bay Area including sound risk management in the context of cross-border transactions in commerce, trade and investment and development of overseas markets. The Forum will also discuss the international legal and dispute resolution services which Hong Kong, as a “deal maker” and “dispute resolver”, can offer. The Forum will bring together Hong Kong legal practitioners and dispute resolution professionals who have extensive international experience to examine from different perspectives the legal issues faced by businesses.
The Forum will discuss practical legal issues commonly encountered by enterprises in the Bay Area in cross border transactions and investments, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and financing, tax issues and legal risk management. The new trends in dispute resolution and the advantages of diversity will also be covered. The Forum will feature speeches and panel discussions by eminent speakers. Two breakout sessions will be held concurrently in the afternoon. A mock arbitration will be staged to demonstrate how disputes can be resolved effectively through arbitration. The major differences in arbitration practice between common law jurisdictions and civil law jurisdictions will be explored. There will be a session focusing on the strategic development of intellectual property and innovative technology as well as cross border legal risk management issues in the advent of the new economy. There will also be a panel discussion featuring the diverse range of legal services which Hong Kong legal services providers can provide to businesses in a one-stop service; as well as discussions on topical issues on legal and dispute resolution services. A Question & Answer time is set aside in each session of the Forum to allow time for exchange between participants and speakers. Participants may also consult the legal practitioners directly on specialized areas of law during the networking session to be held after the Forum. We look forward to seeing you at the Forum and facilitating exchanges and furthering the cooperation opportunities between the legal and dispute resolution sectors as well as businesses of Hong Kong and the Mainland.