Mediation is a voluntary process in which a professionally trained and neutral third party, the mediator, helps the parties to reach an amicable settlement that is responsive to their needs and acceptable to all sides.
The Law Society has a Panel of around 200 mediators who are practising solicitors and have undergone training in mediation skills and techniques.
You can select a mediator from the Law Society’s Panel of Mediators by:
The Free Legal Advice Scheme arranges volunteer lawyers to visit Legal Advice Centres in nine Home Affairs Enquiry Centres (Shatin, Central & Western, Wan Chai, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Yau Tsim Mong, Island, Eastern and Wong Tai Sin) to advise members of the public on legal matters. The Scheme has 25 referral agencies (with 154 branches), including all Home Affairs Enquiry Centres and Caritas centres. Lawyers participating in the Scheme do not charge for their time. Normally an applicant should be able to meet a volunteer lawyer within eight weeks of making an appointment. For urgent cases, the Free Legal Advice Scheme may arrange the appointments within two weeks.
The Duty Lawyer Service assigns practising lawyers to represent defendants charged with offences in the Magistrates Courts, Juvenile Courts and Coroners Courts. The Duty Lawyer Scheme has been expanded to cover contempt proceedings in the Labour Tribunal, Small Claims tribunal and the Competition Tribunal. The Service has a Court Liaison Office in all the Magistracies in Hong Kong. A defendant wishing to use the Service should go to the Court Liaison Office of the Magistrates' Courts at which he/she will appear. Defendants held in custody are automatically contacted by the staff of the Court Liaison Office offering the service on the day of their first court appearance.
The Duty Lawyer Service also runs a recorded legal information service called "Tel-Law", which provides recorded information on 80 topics in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. It is a fully-computerised system and operates 24 hours free of charge. The Scheme can be contacted by dialing 2521 3333 or 2522 8018.
For more details, please call the Administration Office of the Duty Lawyer Service on 2526 5969 during office hour or visit its website at www.dutylawyer.org.hk.
The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers a comprehensive scheme of assistance for persons of modest means involved in legal proceedings. The scheme is available for persons accused of serious crimes (excluding Magistrates’ Court cases, with the exception of committal proceedings) and for a wide range of civil cases including divorce.
Applications for legal aid, which is subject to a means test and merits test, can be made in person at one of the offices of the LAD below:
25/F Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong (near Admiralty MTR Station)
G/F, Mongkok Government Offices, 30 Luen Wan Street, Kowloon (adjacent to Mongkok East MTR Station).
If you are aged over 18 and have a non-urgent case, you can submit pre-application information form online as a first step towards making an application for legal aid through the Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal ("LAESP") via LAD’s website at www.lad.gov.hk
For enquiries, please call LAD on Tel: 2537 7677 or send an email to ladinfo@lad.gov.hk.
