The HKU–ALSA Young Scholars Conference was successfully held at the University of Hong Kong from December 5 to 6, 2025. The two-day conference brought together early-career scholars and senior academics from diverse jurisdictions to engage in in-depth discussions on emerging frontiers in legal research. As the second installment of the ALSA Young Scholars Conference series, following its inaugural meeting at Singapore Management University in 2024, the conference reaffirmed the series’ longstanding commitment to supporting and advancing early-career scholarship.
At the core of the conference were presentations by twelve early-career scholars, whose papers were rigorously selected by the organizing committee from more than 130 submissions spanning five continents. The participating scholars represented leading institutions, including Tsinghua University, the University of Hong Kong, the University of Macau, the National University of Singapore, the University of Cambridge, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Brazil. Their research addressed a wide range of jurisdictions, including China, the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America. The organizing committee comprised Dr. Zhicheng Huang, Global Academic Fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong; Professor Akshaya Kamalnath of the Australian National University; and Professor Amnart Tangkiriphimarn of Thammasat University.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks by Professor Fu Hualing, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong, and Professor Tan Cheng Han, President of the Asian Law Schools Association and Professor at the National University of Singapore. This was followed by a leadership roundtable on Asian Legal Education, which brought together four law school deans, including Dean Fu Hualing; Professor Tan Cheng Han, former Dean of the law schools at the National University of Singapore and City University of Hong Kong; and Professor Sida Liu, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. The roundtable explored how Asian law schools can balance localization and internationalization, and how legal education should respond proactively to the challenges posed by artificial intelligence to both the legal profession and curriculum design.
Over the course of the conference, four thematic sessions focused on Empirical Legal Studies, AI and Law, Commercial Law, and Data and Information. Each session provided a supportive and intellectually rigorous setting for sustained exchange between early-career scholars and senior academics. The twelve presenters engaged in close and dynamic dialogue with their discussants, benefiting from detailed and constructive feedback on their research.
In the Commercial Law session, Dr. Guo Shuai, Associate Professor at China University of Political Science and Law, introduced his original comparative law concept of Interadaptationism and, building on this framework, examined the role of the Global South in reshaping the future of bankruptcy law. He noted that the conference was thoughtfully designed and particularly effective in fostering a scholarly community that encouraged deep engagement among early-career researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
Professor Cheng Jin-Hua of Shanghai Jiao Tong University served as a discussant in the Data and Information session, where he commended the overall quality of the selected papers and expressed his hope for closer collaboration between universities in mainland China and Hong Kong in the training of young scholars. Professor Wang Jiangyu of City University of Hong Kong acted as a discussant in the AI and Law session, emphasizing that mentoring early-career scholars is a core responsibility of senior academics and highlighting the unique value of young scholars conferences as platforms for sustained academic support.
In addition to the thematic sessions, three keynote addresses collectively outlined a clear pathway for scholarly development. Professor Benjamin Chen of the University of Hong Kong spoke on interdisciplinary research, illustrating how law and economics and empirical methods can be mobilized to address complex legal problems. Professor Wang Jiangyu, drawing on his experience as editor-in-chief of two leading academic journals, offered guidance from an editor’s perspective and underscored the importance of clearly articulating a paper’s original scholarly contribution. Professor Douglas Arner of the University of Hong Kong focused on impactful legal research, arguing that impact should be understood not merely as an ex post assessment, but as an ex ante research orientation that guides scholars in framing research questions and selecting materials.
In the closing remarks, the organizing team expressed its sincere appreciation to all speakers, discussants, and administrative colleagues for their dedication to academic mentorship and careful engagement with the presented work. The team also expressed its hope that future editions of the Young Scholars Conference will continue to provide sustained and meaningful support for the academic development of early-career scholars.
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