FROM DRAFTING an employment contract to finding solutions to labour disputes, companies and their employees need to know where they stand regarding the law.
And as the body of legislation governing employment and workers' rights and benefits grows, so too does the work for lawyers.
Cynthia Chung, partner, human resources and pensions practice group, Deacons, has been inundated with assignments related to employment since her return to Hong Kong from Australia in 1995.
A law and commerce graduate of the University of Melbourne, Ms Chung joined Deacons as an associate while Hong Kong was introducing the Occupational Retirement Ordinance, the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme and anti-discrimination ordinances.
The new legislation created opportunities for young solicitors such as Ms Chung, who came to Hong Kong fresh from her training with the Melbourne law firm Sly & Weigall. She was made a partner at Deacons three years ago.
Last October she was appointed to head a new division in the firm's commercial department set up to provide legal advisory services on human resources and pensions, and to work with litigation colleagues on labour disputes which go to court.
The division was created in response to a growing need over the past decade for legal advice on employment issues.