Buying or selling a property is a stressful business at the best of times. It requires the placing of trust in law firms, not only for their advice but for the handling of large sums of money. It is the clients who suffer if a firm breaches that trust and its bank accounts are frozen. This is the nightmare scenario facing thousands of innocent people caught up in a financial scandal at one of Hong Kong’s biggest conveyancing firms. The Law Society stepped in to freeze funds held by Wong, Fung and Co on December 24 after an investigation raised suspicions of dishonest conduct. A former clerk at the firm is alleged to have misappropriated money belonging to clients. The firm is also accused of breaching rules by overdrawing on client accounts and allowing unqualified people to be authorised signatories. The matter has been referred to police. The Law Society, in taking action, was fulfilling its legal obligations as regulator of the city’s law firms. It exercised powers given to it by the Legal Practitioners Ordinance to intervene in the firm’s business. The purpose of freezing accounts is to ensure all funds still held by the firm are kept safe. Steps must be taken to investigate and decide how the money is to be distributed. It cannot be paid out until approval is given by a court. The problem is that the clients have suddenly found themselves denied access to their cash. In many cases, they need the funds urgently to complete property transactions, meet mortgage obligations or pay stamp duty. They have done nothing wrong, yet face a desperate situation. The clients deserve more than sympathy. Law Society ‘unable to offer timeline’ for return of clients’ funds after firm’s closure Swift action is needed to help them recover their funds. The Law Society has encouraged other firms to help them. The Stamp Office, under the Inland Revenue Department, appears to be open to waivers on penalties for late payment of stamp duty. The Monetary Authority has asked banks to be flexible and understanding in helping clients. All of these steps should be taken. The government must ensure unfortunate clients of the law firm are not left out of pocket. They may even need financial help to enable them to survive this difficult period until funds held by the firm are released. Meanwhile, justice in this case should not be delayed any longer than necessary. The sooner the clients get their money back, the better.