Legal
Mentor: Ms. Kamina Lai (Barrister)
Tiffany Chow & Rachel Tse
The job shadowing opportunity engaged us into a programme which revolves around a case trial on committing and participating criminal activities within a triad. During the trial, our mentor, as one of the defense lawyers, established a contrast between the police officer’s flawed testimony and the physical evidence of the case, deeming him unreliable. Hence, why his prima facie was not enough to proof guilty of the defendant. After the trial, Ms. Lai held a debriefing with us, we discussed how questions should be formed and asked in cross examination, the fact that even minor and seemingly irrelevant questions can be crucial. We should always predict the answers to the questions beforehand and use it as a tool to develop a persuasive and powerful argument. She also shared her own experiences with us and how demanding the job could be. Thanks to her sharing, not only were we able to witness a real trial in action, we also acquired the fundamental knowledge for the work of barristers.
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Mentor: Mr. John Marray (Barrister)
Regina Cheung & Wing Yeung
From 16th to 26th July, 2019, we were delighted to have the opportunity to shadow Mr. John Marray, an experienced barrister, specialised in criminal law at Admiralty Chambers. In these 9 days, we attended several court hearings, with interesting cases from wounding to illegal drug possession, and from possession of arms and ammunition to employing illegal workers. We also had the opportunity to visit the Eastern Magistrates' Courts and Wan Chai District Court and the High Court to observe mention hearings. We gained a lot of insights into the operation of the legal system and the work of a barrister. We also have had many firsthand experiences of the law. The experience was truly eye-opening.
After the court hearings, Mr. Marray led us to his chamber and assigned us to help him in translating witness statements and describing a CCTV tape in detail. The legal jargons had been the most challenging yet rewarding part. But as time passes, with the help of Mr. Marray, we had gotten familiar with the unknown.
Overall, our job shadowing experience was indeed insightful and tremendously rewarding one to have Mr. Marray as our mentor as we had exposure to career as a barrister and received guidance. We are grateful for the school and Mr. Marray for this invaluable learning opportunity.
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Mentor: Ms. Karen Leung (Permanent Magistrate)
Betty Liang & Vanessa Yu
From 16th to 18th July 2018, we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to shadow Ms Karen Leung, a Permanent Magistrate at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court.
During the 3-day job shadowing experience, we attended various court hearings, with cases from the plea court, the summons court, as well as the trial court. We had the chance to witness a closing submission of an ICAC theft case. After each court session, Ms Leung would discuss the cases with us to clarify some legal procedures and explain her court decisions to us. She also introduced to us the book, Archbold Hong Kong 2019, which provides us a comprehensive knowledge of criminal law.
As an SPCS alumnus, Ms Leung shared her experiences at SPCS and offered us useful career guidance. Overall, we had a rewarding learning experience and gained a deeper insight into the legal field. We are grateful to the school and Ms Leung for granting us this invaluable opportunity.
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Mentor: Ms. Suzy Su (Linklaters)
Joanna Keung
In the two weeks I spent at Linklaters, my mentor was Suzy Su, while my buddy was Jessy Chen. I had the chance to experience what it is like to work as a solicitor on a day-to-day basis. For instance, I knew a lot about the different kinds of documents that go into a business deal (not only contracts but also conditions precedent and certain proposals). Moreover, by chatting with my principal, buddy and the other people who work at Linklaters, I learnt about the culture in the firm – it was quite friendly, and it allowed very open communication, but also required a level of professionality and precision. It was different from what I expected, as the media representation has always been about criminal court cases. It opened a door as to how solicitors work and how they impact people. Thus, I was very much enlightened by my time here.
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