Ten years ago, the rule of law was seen by many as an endangered species that must be preserved at all costs after Hong Kong returned to China. The legal system, so different to the one on the mainland, would therefore be judged by how much remained the same. A decade on, there are fewer worries about whether the core elements of the system that has served Hong Kong so well will survive.
Step into a courtroom now and you will find that little has changed since 1997. The common law is thriving, trials are generally fair and people are not afraid to take the government to court. Rights have been upheld and even the traditional wigs and gowns, such a striking symbol of Hong Kong's colonial past, are still there.
So when people look ahead to the next 10 years, they do so with more confidence than before. There is more of a focus on how the system might change - and change for the better.
The increasing use of the Chinese language in the courts, the dramatic rise in judicial review cases challenging the government, and the efforts by Hong Kong lawyers to extend their services to the mainland are all helping shape the way in which the system evolves.
Other changes and challenges lie ahead. These include a huge shake-up of the civil justice system, described by the chief justice as the biggest legal reform for a generation, and possibly an important extension of the rights of solicitors to present cases in the courts. The next 10 years will, therefore, be less about maintaining the status quo and more about improving and modernising our legal system while ensuring its fundamental features remain intact.
'Overall, people are satisfied with the way in which Hong Kong has maintained the legal system. The situation is much better than people thought it would be 10 years ago,' said Bar Association chairman Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung.
But the constitutional controversies of the past 10 years over the interpretation of the Basic Law have left their mark.