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Suspension of solicitor challenged

The Law Society had been unfair to jailed solicitor Andrew Lam Ping-cheung by suspending him from practice without disclosing the contents of reports about two complaints against him, a court was told yesterday.

Philip Dykes, SC, made the contention in a judicial review of the suspension of Lam, who was sentenced to four years' jail in June for conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice by attempting to frustrate an ICAC investigation.

He was freed on bail three months later pending an appeal.

The court heard that the complaints concerned legal visits by Lam to prisoners after his release. A solicitor since 1985, he was suspended on November 7.

Mr Dykes said the first complaint had been laid by a district councillor on September 26, the day Lam was bailed. The society had made inquiries with the Correctional Services Department, which had confirmed Lam had been paying legal visits to prisoners.

The department said the visits had caused 'embarrassment' because of the difficulty in distinguishing between social visits to his former fellow inmates and legal visits to his clients.

Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung reserved judgment.

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