Complaints upheld against some Hong Kong solicitors linked to protest defence fund, Law Society says
- Law Society president says investigation has ended on 10 out of 16 fund-related complaints and some have been substantiated
- Bar Association earlier said it had cleared 38 barristers accused of wrongly accepting payments from now-closed 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund
Some lawyers who provided services to protesters arrested during the 2019 social unrest could face disciplinary proceedings and potential suspension after the Law Society of Hong Kong substantiated complaints over their links to a legal defence fund.
Law Society president Chan Chak-ming revealed the findings on Saturday, a day after the Bar Association said it had cleared 38 barristers accused of wrongly accepting payments from the now-closed 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund that supported arrested protesters.
Chan said an investigation by the Law Society, the professional body for the city’s 13,000 solicitors, had ended on 10 out of 16 fund-related complaints and some had been substantiated, with full results to be announced at a later date.
“Disciplinary action varies for the established cases, and the most serious cases may need to be transferred to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel,” Chan said.
He did not reveal the exact nature of the complaints or the number of solicitors involved as proceedings were continuing.
Under Law Society procedures, a panel formed under the Standing Committee on Compliance reviews and investigates a complaint. The standing committee will then consider whether to submit a case to the statutory disciplinary tribunal panel.