Latest news with #LawSociety
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Law Society swoops down on entire floor of offices at The Center at half price
The Law Society of Hong Kong has bought an entire floor of offices in what was formerly the world's most expensive tower at a 50 per cent discount, the latest among astute investors who are picking up property in the city at bargain prices. Advertisement The Law Society paid HK$345 million (US$44 million), or HK$14,000 per sq ft, for 24,980 sq ft (2,320 square metres) on the 26th floor of The Center from Gale Well Group. The property in the Central district was handed over to the Law Society on July 25, according to the Land Registry. The purchase price was half of the HK$693 million that Gale Well paid in 2021, when its founder and CEO Jacinto Tong Man-leung bought the property from the late Ma Ah-muk. Ma, dubbed Hong Kong's Minibus King, passed away in March last year. The Law Society is still gathering views from its members for the design of the office floor and has not decided on the date for moving in, a member said. An interview with property investment firm Gale Well Group's vice chairman and CEO Jacinto Tong Man-leung on February 25, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong The Center, a 73-storey office tower, was sold in 2018 for a record HK$40.2 billion (US$5.2 billion) by the city's wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing, to a group of 10 local tycoons in what was then the world's priciest property deal. Not long after the transaction, Hong Kong's economy was driven into a slump by six months of anti-government protests and three years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Advertisement
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Lawyer censured for slapping one colleague's bottom, touching another's back
By Al Williams, Open Justice reporter of File photo. Photo: 123rf A lawyer who slapped a junior male colleague on the bottom and touched a female colleague's lower back during a social function has been censured. The lawyer, a partner at an unnamed firm, urged a New Zealand Law Society standards committee to consider his behaviour in context, stating that more freedom should be allowed for conduct at an out-of-office social function than during the usual working day. However, the committee found his conduct was disrespectful and discourteous towards the employees, who were both junior to him. According to a recently released decision, the behaviour occurred in the context of socialising by some staff members after a team function arranged by their firm. The partner generally accepted that some of his behaviour was inappropriate, that he had blurred professional boundaries, and had consumed excess alcohol that night. However, he did not see that as a breach of professional standards or an abuse of power towards either colleague. According to the standards committee's decision, the lawyer submitted that slapping the male employee on the bottom was "paying [him] respect" and "blokey", and that he was behaving as a friend rather than a partner in the firm. "The committee sees absolutely no circumstance in which physical contact of this type towards any colleague could be described as respectful behaviour. "The committee also considers this behaviour risks perpetuating a workplace culture that the profession is at pains to transform in relation to interactions between colleagues." The lawyer accepted that he placed his hand on the female employee's lower back as she passed through a door. In his view, doing so was "an innocuous courtesy", and he intended "nothing sexual or sinister" by it. The committee did not ascribe any sexual intent to the lawyer's actions, but found it was clear that the female employee was uncomfortable at the time and afterwards. The committee considered that physical touch on the lower back carried an element of intimacy and overfamiliarity that may reasonably have been interpreted as inappropriate by her or a reasonable observer. While there were some contexts in which this would be acceptable to both parties involved, it was likely to be perceived as flirtatious and inappropriate in others, the decision said. The lawyer's evidence was that she approached him to show him a team photograph on her phone, and he assumed her reason for doing so was for him to comment on it. Referring to the photo, the lawyer commented that the woman was "beautiful" and said that, in that context, it was not intended to be disrespectful or discourteous. The committee accepted that the woman was anticipating a comment on the group photo, but not that she was inviting a comment on her own appearance to the exclusion of others (when there was nothing to draw attention to her over any other team member in the photo). The lawyer's contention that his comment was respectful and courteous in the context was not accepted. The committee considered it was more likely than not that the lawyer's judgement about what was appropriate was impaired. "When coupled with his admitted blurring of professional boundaries, his consumption of alcohol meant he was not well placed to exercise the judgement required of him." While the committee did not identify a specific abuse of any power imbalance, it said that didn't mean an imbalance did not exist "by virtue of their roles as partner and junior members of staff". The committee considered that the team's social function, including ongoing socialising that occurred after the formal portion of the function, was a professional, collegial occasion. It found that the lawyer's conduct across the three incidents demonstrated conduct towards both employees that was disrespectful and discourteous. It was generally conduct "that would be regarded by lawyers of good standing as being unacceptable and unprofessional". Due to mitigating factors present in the case, the committee said it did not consider it necessary to impose any penalty. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Eyewitness News
BT Football Academy yet to provide explanation for what went wrong with Europe trip
CAPE TOWN - BT Football Academy is yet to provide an explanation for what went wrong with the trip involving 34 teen footballers and 4 coaches. The group flew to Spain earlier in July to take part in an international football tournament. ALSO READ: - Jubilation and tears as last batch of BT Football Academy players who were stranded in Europe welcomed home - Last batch of BT Football Academy players who were stranded in Portugal land in Cape Town - Grandmother to one of the boys stranded in Portugal relieved he's finally coming home But they were left stranded after they discovered their flights home hadn't been booked, despite their parents forking out R50,000 for the trip. Law Society's criminal law committee chairperson, William Booth, said parents who wish to take legal action against the academy could be compensated due to the fact that return tickets were never booked. 'My view is that at least theft and or fraud would be applicable in this instance. Then what laws or regulations does the academy appear to have violated? "Well, look, obviously the common law of theft or fraud, and then you've got laws possibly in terms of the Immigration Act and the Child Justice Act.'
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Law Society Boosts Youth Education on Hong Kong's Rule of Law
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Launched at the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025, the illustrated book follows a bear family to a trial at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, introducing young readers to the true meaning of the rule of law and the common law system. Crafted with contributions from experienced solicitors, the book conveys complex concepts such as equality before the law and judicial independence in a clear and concise manner. President of the Law Society, Mr Roden Tong, said that, 'as the statutory self-regulatory body and professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong, the Law Society has a social responsibility to guide children in distinguishing right from wrong, especially when they encounter new ideas.' He added, 'by teaching legal principles early, a law-abiding mindset that shapes positive social values will be rooted in their minds. The book can be a tool for parents to teach the importance of the rule of law. We hope the public can easily learn the laws.' At its book fair booths, a five-year-old boy, Pak-kiu, shared that the book introduced him to new legal knowledge, such as the courtroom's prohibition on photography. 'Now I even know who Lady Justice Themis is!' he exclaimed. The animated illustrations immediately caught his eye, especially the legal bears with lovely smiles. 'Their grins are so beautiful—I love how cute they are!'Pak-kiu also raved about his joyous moments at the Law Society's interactive booths, where he won prizes from a short legal quiz. Thrilled to return, he has already planned a trip back with his classmates to try his luck again. The publication aligns with the Law Society's long-standing commitment to public legal education through programmes like the 'Teen Talk' GBA Study Tour, which has sparked an interest in law among young people. At the beginning of July, 'Teen Talk' held a GBA Study Tour to Shenzhen. This second annual tour, conducted entirely in English, aimed to deepen students' understanding of 'One Country, Two Systems' by introducing them to Hong Kong's unique advantages as the only Chinese and English bilingual common law jurisdiction, fostering cross-border legal understanding and cultural exchange.
CBC
19-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former Hamilton lawyer barred from practising after law society says she failed 'extremely vulnerable' clients
A Hamilton woman who for years has faced accusations of incompetence, abandoning vulnerable clients and misappropriating their money while she was practising law has had her licence suspended. The Law Society Tribunal made the decision Thursday in the case involving Victoria Bruyn, at the request of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), which regulates lawyers and paralegals in the province. As first reported by CBC Hamilton in 2023, and according to subsequent LSO investigations, Bruyn has a pattern of promising to help clients successfully navigate Canada's complicated refugee process, but then failed to complete their applications, show up for hearings or submit evidence, and in some cases lied about it. The LSO has received nine complaints against Bruyn since March 2024, said Gloria Ushirode, who's conducting the investigations. Bruyn has not co-operated with the LSO, including providing any materials, and the investigation is ongoing, Ushirode said. "The complaints allege, among other things, a failure to serve extremely vulnerable refugee claimants and serious integrity breaches that seem to demonstrate a pattern of dishonest conduct in an attempt to cover up ineffective service," Ushirode wrote in an affidavit filed with the Law Society Tribunal. On Thursday morning, Bruyn attended the tribunal's virtual hearing. She told the panel she isn't opposing her licence being suspended. She's no longer practising law and was appointed as an adjudicator to Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board last year, but is on a leave of absence. "I just want to put it on the record that I do have a response to these allegations ... I do intend to challenge these allegations." Clients seeking refugee status In some of the cases, Bruyn accepted payments through Legal Aid Ontario, a provincial agency that helps people who need but can't afford legal assistance. She was suspended from the roster last year, said Ushirode in the affidavit. In two other cases, clients paid her a total of $10,500 in fees without completing any work and Bruyn never provided refunds, LSO lawyer Kristin Bailey said at the hearing. "All the clients involved in this are extremely vulnerable and face potentially dire consequences," Bailey said. They include people fleeing Lebanon, Angola, Colombia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, according to case documents the LSO provided to the tribunal. Once they switched from Bruyn to different lawyers, they were granted permission to stay in Canada. One of the clients, whose name has not been released, was connected to Bruyn through legal aid, to assist her with her refugee application in 2021, said the documents. She'd fled Mexico after witnessing a neighbour's murder, and almost being kidnapped twice. She'd also experienced domestic violence in Canada and mental health issues connected to trauma and abuse. Bruyn never met the client before the hearing for her refugee claim and never advised her to gather evidence such as a report from a mental health professional about what she's experiencing — a service that legal aid would have pay for, the LSO said. Bruyn didn't submit any evidence on behalf of her client, even after the Refugee Protection Division gave her an extension, said the LSO. As a result, the woman's refugee claim was denied. Bruyn told her she'd file an appeal, but never did. The woman was almost deported back to Mexico, but a new lawyer, retained through a local refugee organization, intervened and helped her get a temporary resident permit, said Ushirode's affidavit. She's currently applying for more permanent status. Number impacted remains unknown Because Bruyn hasn't co-operated with the LSO's investigations, it doesn't know the true number of clients who've been impacted or the extent of misconduct, said Bailey. The complaints filed to the LSO concerned Bruyn's conduct between 2021 and 2025, and included CBC Hamilton stories about Bruyn, including one on client Sarah Arvanitis. Arvanitis's experience with Bruyn in 2023 almost left her stranded in the U.S., separated from her daughter and husband in Hamilton for months, she said. She filed a complaint shortly after, but LSO closed that file later that year, stating in its decision there was "insufficient evidence of professional misconduct to support further action." Arvanitis's complaint is not included in the nine the LSO presented to the tribunal this week.
