bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

A government recruitment drive for lawyers has drawn a more enthusiastic response than last year, with the number of applicants jumping by 50 per cent.

A total of 305 applications has been received for the job of government counsel with a pay scale between $35,285 and $73,815. Only 16 will be recruited.

About 210 people applied in the recruitment round last year and 17 were recruited.

A senior official of the Department of Justice said: 'The economic environment is much worse this year. Lawyers may resort to applying for government posts.'

He said three lawyers from the private sector had also applied for the post of court prosecutor.

The monthly salary of some solicitors has dropped to less than $20,000 amid the downturn.

Twenty-four law firms have closed in the first nine months of this year, compared with 29 in the whole of last year and 27 in 1999, according to the Law Society.

After the poor response to the last recruitment drive, Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie suggested to the Civil Service Bureau that the pay of government counsel should be adjusted to attract talent from the private sector.

But Secretary for Civil Service Joseph Wong Wing-ping has said the bureau would prefer to wait and look at the results of the latest recruitment drive.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said the department was always concerned about conditions for government lawyers.

'The department will review the level if there is a need, so that it does not deviate from the market trend,' she said.



50pc jump in lawyers applying for public posts