Hong Kong Bar Association chairman José Antonio Maurellet SC has travelled to London for a series of events surrounding the Opening of the Legal Year in England and Wales, using the gathering to engage directly with senior figures from the international legal profession.
Maurellet is accompanied by HKBA Deputy Honorary Secretary Alexander Tang and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Chiu. The delegation is taking part in discussions with lawyers and bar leaders from different jurisdictions, with Hong Kong’s common law system and international legal connections forming a central part of the visit.
The London programme brings together legal representatives from around the world and provides an opportunity for professional associations to exchange views on the rule of law, judicial systems and the work of legal practitioners across borders.
For the Hong Kong delegation, the meetings also provide a forum to explain the city's legal structure and its continuing role as an international centre for arbitration, mediation and cross border legal work.
Direct contact with international legal community
Maurellet has stressed the value of direct communication between Hong Kong's legal profession and its counterparts overseas.
His position is that face to face discussions can give international lawyers a more detailed understanding of how Hong Kong's courts and legal institutions operate. The HKBA has repeatedly stated that it seeks to promote Hong Kong as a centre for international dispute resolution while maintaining links with legal organisations outside the city.
The association's official description of its role includes promoting Hong Kong's justice system and its position as a centre for international dispute resolution, strengthening relations with lawyers overseas and supporting common law education.
That international engagement has become a recurring feature of the HKBA's work. Maurellet has also spoken publicly about judicial independence and the role of Hong Kong's courts.
In his speech at Hong Kong's Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year in January 2026, he addressed developments involving the Court of Final Appeal and the participation of overseas non permanent judges. The speech also dealt with the operation of the courts and the wider administration of justice.
The HKBA's current leadership structure lists Maurellet as chairman, with Martin Hui SC and Eva Sit SC serving as vice chairmen and Alexander Tang as deputy honorary secretary.
Meetings focus on rule of law
During the London visit, Maurellet joined a closed door roundtable for leaders of bar associations. Discussions focused on what members of the legal profession can do to support the rule of law and maintain professional standards.
Such meetings allow representatives from different legal systems to compare their experiences without the format of a public conference. They also give bar leaders an opportunity to discuss issues affecting lawyers across jurisdictions, including professional independence and the responsibilities of legal bodies.
The roundtable was followed by a formal dinner, extending the discussions beyond the scheduled session and giving the Hong Kong delegation further opportunities to meet international counterparts.
The importance of these professional links extends beyond ceremonial events. Hong Kong's legal sector has a significant international component, particularly in areas such as commercial disputes, arbitration and mediation.
The city also maintains a common law system under the framework of the Basic Law, and its Court of Final Appeal includes provisions allowing overseas judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit as non permanent judges.
Maurellet has previously pointed to that connection with the wider common law community when discussing Hong Kong's highest court. In his January 2026 speech, he noted the contribution of overseas judicial experience to the Court of Final Appeal.
Interest in Hong Kong legal services
Another part of the London programme is focused on business activity in Asia and the legal issues companies can face when expanding into the region.
The Hong Kong delegation is due to take part in a seminar organised by the Hong Kong Association, with discussions expected to address costly mistakes that businesses can encounter when operating in Asian markets.
According to the supplied account of the visit, Maurellet has observed strong interest among international participants in the overseas expansion of Hong Kong legal practitioners.
Arbitration and mediation are expected to feature prominently, along with commercial opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and the wider Asia Pacific region.
For Hong Kong lawyers, those areas represent established fields of international practice. Arbitration in particular allows commercial parties from different jurisdictions to resolve disputes outside traditional court proceedings, while mediation provides another mechanism for settling disagreements without a full trial.
The Greater Bay Area also creates a distinctive setting for cross border legal work because it links Hong Kong with cities in Guangdong and the wider Pearl River Delta economic region.
Introducing Hong Kong law to students
The delegation's programme also includes an educational event for university law students in the United Kingdom.
The session is designed to introduce students to Hong Kong's common law framework and explain how the city's legal profession is structured. It will also cover the role of the judiciary, routes into the profession and career opportunities available to aspiring barristers.
The initiative gives the HKBA an opportunity to speak directly to young people who may eventually consider working in Hong Kong or pursuing careers involving Asian legal markets.
Hong Kong's legal profession is divided between barristers and solicitors, with barristers generally focusing on advocacy and specialist legal work while solicitors undertake a broader range of advisory and transactional functions.
For overseas students, understanding those professional structures can be particularly useful when considering international legal careers.
Maurellet himself has an international legal background. HKBA material records that he studied law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 2000 and became Senior Counsel in 2016. He was also admitted as a solicitor of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the British Virgin Islands circuit in 2020 and is a registered foreign lawyer with rights of audience in the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Westminster Abbey ceremony
The London visit culminates in the traditional Opening of the Legal Year ceremony at Westminster Abbey, where Maurellet is expected to attend alongside Tang and Chiu.
The ceremony is one of the most recognisable annual events in the English legal calendar. The 2025 Opening of the Legal Year was held at Westminster Abbey on October 1, with legal and government figures taking part in a ceremony that retained many historic elements. The legal year itself is divided into four terms, beginning with the Michaelmas term.
The Westminster ceremony provides a formal setting for representatives of the legal profession to mark the beginning of a new judicial year. It also brings together participants from different parts of the legal system and from jurisdictions that share historical or professional connections with English common law.
For the Hong Kong delegation, the significance of the visit extends beyond attendance at a traditional ceremony. The programme combines professional meetings, legal education, business discussions and international networking.
The HKBA has said that strengthening relationships with overseas lawyers and promoting Hong Kong's role in international dispute resolution are among its continuing objectives.
Maurellet's London programme therefore places Hong Kong's legal profession directly within a wider international conversation, from the practical needs of companies operating across Asia to the role of courts, lawyers and professional bodies in maintaining confidence in legal institutions.
What opportunities could stronger links between Hong Kong and the international legal community create for lawyers and businesses across Asia?