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Stephenson Harwood enhances PRC law offering
13/01/2023
Law firm Stephenson Harwood has recently expanded its PRC law offering for clients, with Hong Kong-based partner Alexander Tang passing the inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) legal professional examination – a key programme which allows Hong Kong legal practitioners to practise PRC law in the GBA.
Launched in 2020, the pilot scheme enables legal professionals who pass the exam to deal with civil and commercial legal matters, including litigation and non-litigation matters, in the nine mainland cities of the GBA. Stephenson Harwood's involvement with this programme demonstrates its long term commitment to the GBA, and to supporting clients in the region, as it enhances its cross-border capabilities and expands its services in the GBA.
Alexander, who is part of the first cohort of lawyers in Hong Kong to pass the exam, has obtained the GBA practice licence and is registered with Wei Tu*, a Guangzhou-based law firm in association with Stephenson Harwood.
The GBA comprises the two special administrative regions – Hong Kong and Macao – and nine cities: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province. Based on the latest figures provided by the Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (SARG) and the Macao SARG, the total population in the Greater Bay Area is more than 86 million.
Stephenson Harwood offers multi-lingual and multi-disciplinary services from its two Greater China offices – which are based in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm has provided English and Hong Kong law advice to clients within and outside Greater China since 1979, working across a range of practices including: dispute resolution, commercial, outsourcing and technology, competition, corporate, employment, finance, intellectual property, marine and international trade, projects and infrastructure, private wealth, real estate, regulation and restructuring and insolvency.
* Wei Tu (a PRC law firm registered in Guangzhou) and Stephenson Harwood (a law firm registered in Hong Kong) are in a CEPA association under the name “Stephenson Harwood - Wei Tu (China) Association”. CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) is a free trade agreement concluded between Mainland China and Hong Kong. Under CEPA, Hong Kong based law firms are permitted to operate in association with PRC law firms to provide comprehensive legal services in Mainland China governed by PRC and non- PRC laws.