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25.1
The context of these Proposals
The Interim Report pointed to three broad factors which have a substantial impact on
the costs of litigation: the complexity of the case, the number of court events in the
case and the charging practices of the legal profession.
Most of the reforms discussed in this Final Report address the first two factors,
seeking to change the rules with a view to lessening complexity, reducing the number
of court events and increasing the system's cost-effectiveness in dealing with the
relationship between costs and the charging practices of the legal profession.
The Interim Report acknowledged
that changing the rules will not in itself
necessarily result in reducing costs or achieving costs proportionality. Thus, while
statistics are not available, it seems clear that adverse economic conditions in Hong
Kong in recent years have markedly reduced the level of economic activity and
therefore the need for legal services. This is thought to have led to increased
competition among legal firms vying for a slice of the smaller cake and to have
resulted in lower fees. This was perhaps felt more immediately and directly by the
conveyancing and commercial departments of solicitors' firms. However, there has
also been a substantial reduction in the number of writs issued,
suggesting that there
has also been a shrinkage in the demand for litigation services and some reduction in
fees.
Notes
See Appendix 4.
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