E-book of HKU Law Conference on Experiential Learning and Innovations in Legal Education

The Conference on Experiential Learning and Innovations in Legal Education 2019 was a major teaching and learning conference held at the University of Hong Kong from 18-19 October 2019 as part of the HKU Law's golden jubilee celebrations.  The edited transcripts of the conference proceedings are now available for download from the conference website. They can be accessed here and below.  

Session 1 & 2 – Clinical Legal Education
If you build it, will they come? Innovation and Sustainability in Clinical Legal Education
by Professor Jeff Giddings, Monash University
Current and Future Challenges for Clinical Legal Education
by Professor Peter Joy, Washington University
Experiential Learning in China: A Case Study of Clinical Legal Education
by Dr Pan Xuanming, Sun Yat-sen University
The CLE Programme at HKU: Any room for an Inter-professional Approach?
by Ms Julienne Jen, The University of Hong Kong
Strathclyde Law Clinic: Plugging the Gaps in Access to Justice in Our Community
by Ms Kathleen Laverty, University of Strathclyde Law Clinic
Professionalism in an Age of Dynamic Change? Teaching New Skills via Clinical Legal Education
by Professor Tania Leiman, Flinders University
Advancing Human Rights through Experiential Learning
by Ms Lindsay Ernst, The University of Hong Kong

Session 3 – Simulations in Legal Education
‘Complicitous and Contestatory’: The Hermeneutics of Legal Education and Our Sisyphean Future
by Professor Paul Maharg, York University
Legal Design & Laboratory Models as Next-Gen Experiential Legal Education
by Mr Dan Jackson, NuLawLab, Northeastern University
Online Simulations and Inclusivity – Troubling “Authenticity” in Online Practice-Based Legal Education
by Dr Kristoffer Greaves, UNSW
Simulated Clients are “Live” Clients too! Integrating Standardized Clients into Law Clinic at HKU
by Mr Wilson Chow & Dr Michael Ng, The University of Hong Kong

Session 4 – Technology and Innovations in Legal Education
New Technologies and the Disruption of Legal Education
by Professor Daniel Rodriguez, Northwestern University
中國內地法學實驗教學活動的回顧與展望
by Professor Yang Jianguang, Sun Yat-sen University
The Integration of Technology into Clinical Legal Education: An Exploration of the ‘Virtual’ Law Clinic
by Ms Francine Ryan, The Open University
Using Technology and the Media to Cultivate Authentic Problem-solving Skills in Undergraduate Law Students
by Professor Rick Glofcheski, The University of Hong Kong
LITE Lab@HKU – Future Lawyering to Serve Hong Kong’s Tech Startups, Social Entrepreneurs and Access to Justice
by Mr Brian W Tang, The University of Hong Kong

Session 5 – Experiential Learning and Innovations in Professional Education
An International, Interdisciplinary, Innovative Discussion Platform for Real Estate & Legal Education in HK
by Ms Alice Lee & Dr L H Li, The University of Hong Kong
Experiential Learning and Innovations in Professional Education – Interdisciplinary Roundtable (Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine)
by Professor C S Lau, The University of Hong Kong
Experiential Learning and Innovations in Professional Education – Social Work Practice Laboratory
by Dr Elsie Chien, The University of Hong Kong
Experiential Learning and Innovations in Professional Education – Interdisciplinary Roundtable (Faculty of Education)
by Dr Gary Harfitt & Ms Jessie Chow, The University of Hong Kong
Experiential Learning and Innovations in Professional Education – Interdisciplinary Roundtable (Faculty of Dentistry)
by Professor Michael Botelho, The University of Hong Kong

Patricia Ho Recognised in Trafficking in Persons Report 2020

Congratulations to Patricia Ho who was recognised by the United States Department of State as one of ten 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes from around the world.  In the award ceremony, Patricia was awarded the honour, 

'In recognition of her dynamic leadership in defending the rights of human trafficking victims and marginalized groups by challenging government policies and laws and her relentless work to promote the better treatment of victims through elevation of survivor voices and a trauma-informed approach'.

  Patricia has been advocating for the rights of persons from margialised groups through her work as a public law solicitor and founder of the non-governmental organisation, Hong Kong Dignity Institute. In the Faculty of Law, Patricia is a principal lecturer who teaches in the Clinical Education Programme (both General and Refugee Streams) and Administrative Law in the LLB programme.  HKU law students gain valuable knowledge and experience in working with Patricia who has been instrumental in bringing important human rights issues before the Hong Kong courts.

Human Rights Lawyer Patricia Ho Joins HKU Law's Clinical Legal Education Programme

HKU Faculty of Law warmly welcomes Mrs Patricia Ho who joins as a Principal Lecturer in the Clinical Legal Education Programme. Patricia is a public law practitioner who has been involved in many judicial review and personal injuries cases involving human trafficking and refugee matters, migrant worker rights, transgender rights, disability rights and child and family rights. She is the managing and founding partner of Patricia Ho & Associates and founder of the non-profit Hong Kong Dignity Institute. 

    Patricia is a co-author and presenter of the Crimes (Amendment) (Modern Slavery) Bill 2019 which has been introduced into Hong Kong Legislative Council in the same year. She regularly provides trainings and seminars to the NGO and legal community in Hong Kong on avenues to protect victims of human trafficking and forced labour. In 2018, she was a co-organiser and panelist at the International Conference on Combatting Human Trafficking. She is an advocate for a trauma-informed approach to client management. She was trained in Post Trauma Psychosocial and Mental Health Interventions for the Refugee Population, and in 2015, was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Symposium on Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Conflict-Induced Displaced Persons in Hong Kong. Patricia’s pro bono work has been recognized by the Law Society of Hong Kong through being awarded with the Pro Bono and Community Work Recognition Gold Award for six consecutive years as well as the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award in 2017 and 2018.

HKU Law Welcomes Two New Experiential Learning Teachers

HKU Law warmly welcomes Mr Carter Chim, Senior Lecturer and barrister, who joins the Clinical Legal Education Programme, and Ms Bella Liu, Lecturer, who oversees the Faculty's  Rule of Law Education Programme.

Mr Carter Chim

   Mr Carter Chim has been appointed a Senior Lecturer starting from September 2019. His responsibilities include teaching the Clinical Legal Education courses for upper year LLB  and JD students. His areas of expertise include competition law, constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law and general civil litigation.  Mr Chim is a practising barrister of Denis Chang’s Chambers. After reading political science and law in HKU, he obtained his LLM in Competition Law (Distinction) from King’s College London on the British Chevening Postgraduate Scholarship and the Peter Vine Postgraduate Law Scholarship in 2011. He also obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College London in 2016.  In 2015-2016, he was appointed as a legal counsel to the Competition Commission (Hong Kong). He is currently a member of the Hong Kong Bar Association’s Special Committee on Competition Law. In 2016-2019, he taught competition law as a Professional Consultant of the Faculty of Law of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since early 2018, he has been appointed as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network.

Ms Isabella Liu

    Ms Isabella Liu has been appointed Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Master of Common Law Programme. She is an MPhil and MCL graduate of The University of Hong Kong. She holds a LLB in Chinese Law (Southwest University of Political Science and Law) and a Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Laws (MMU).  For the past few years, Ms Liu has been administrating the Rule of Law Education (ROLE) project, a major KE initiative of the Law Faculty.  Ms Liu's teaching/research interests include jurisprudence, constitutional law, law and religion, criminal justice and Chinese public law.

Court Commends HKU Clinical Legal Education Centre in False Representation Case

The HKU Clinical Legal Education (CLE) Centre recently helped a client win his magistracy appeal (HCMA 259/2016) in the High Court on a charge of making a false statement. HKU's Communication and Public Affairs Office summarised the news reports as follows:

A man who had been convicted of making a false statement knowingly in an application for public housing was acquitted with the help of the Free Legal Advice Scheme on HKU Campus. HKU Law Principal Lecturer Mr Eric Cheung represented the man in court and argued that the man’s $1,440 income for two days’ part-time work should not be counted as part of his “current monthly salary”. The government’s Legal Aid Department had rejected the man’s legal aid application which was only granted after the scheme’s intervention. The judge commended the scheme, saying it had helped to clarify the rights and wrongs of the case for justice to be done. (Apple Daily, Ming Pao)​

HKU Legal Scholarship Blog interviewed Eric Cheung, director of the centre, about the case, which he argued in court.

1. What was the main issue in the case? 

Client was charged with having "knowingly made false statement on 2 Feb 2010 in respect of an application for a lease under the Housing Ordinance (or, in layman's terms, in his application for public housing) by declaring that his average monthly income was $12,830". The prosecution case was that apart from his fixed salary earned for that amount, he had also earned $1,440 while working as a part-time employee for RTHK on 21 and 26 Nov 2009 at a rate of $80 per hour, with payment made to him by bank transfer from RTHK into his bank account on 5 Jan 2010, but he did not declare the same. D's case at trial was that he did not know that the payment from RTHK was received on 5 Jan 2010 because he had not checked his passbook, and he did not realise at that time that he had to declare such payment as his current monthly income. The Magistrate disbelieved him and found that he had knowledge of such payment but knowingly concealed the same when declaring his monthly income as $12,830. The grounds of appeal were that: 1. What he made was not a false statement because this one-off income from RTHK in the past was not his current monthly income, as the evidence at trial showed that he no longer expected to do any further part-time work for RTHK since 26 Nov, and in particular after he had found a full-time job on 5 Dec 2009. 2. The Magistrate erred in finding that he knew that he had to declare the RTHK income and/or knew that he did receive the same on 5 Jan 2010.

2. How did the centre assist the client and court on the legal point? 

D's application for legal aid was initially refused for not passing the merits test. He sought legal advice from us under our FLAS scheme. With assistance from our students on research etc, we took the view that there was merits in the appeal, and we wrote to Department of Legal Aid (DLA) accordingly. Eventually, legal aid was granted and I was assigned by DLA to represent him. 

3.  Who was the judge and what did he say?

It is before Deputy Judge Anthony Kwok. He allowed the appeal on my first ground, and decided that he did not need to deal with the second ground. He commended the scheme (see the above press summary). One interesting point is that the Acting Senior Public Prosecutor (Ivan Cheung) representing the Respondent is our past CLE student. He also said in open court that he found the CLE course very meaningful.

4. How do you feel about the centre's involvement in this case? 

Very pleased to help rectify another miscarriage of justice. Very moved when I saw D's wife crying with relief and joy after the appeal was allowed. She said they had been under great emotional stress over the year (N.B. If the appeal failed, they were likely be evicted from the public housing). See also a comment I received from a first-year law student who attended the hearing:

"Thanks for your real-life teaching today and I really enjoyed it. I have witnessed how the judge changed his mind after hearing what you have got and looking at the evidence in detail. I realize how important to get well-prepared beforehand because you always have to be alert in court and point out inaccuracies in information that the judge and the prosecuting counsel have in mind. And most importantly, it's really a kind of special fulfillment that you can hardly find in doing commercial work when it comes to helping with the clients to fight against injustice. The clients were very emotional after the judgment and it touched me. That's what I have learnt from you and I like working as a barrister like you (though you are technically a solicitor).​"

Eric Cheung and HKU Legal Clinic Helps to Free Police Informant (SCMP)

"Police informant incorrectly jailed for 33 months walks free"
Chris Lau
South China Morning Post
5 September 2016

“A” was a police informant and, more importantly, a free man before he was framed by the very person he was instructed to spy on by authorities. After serving 33 months behind bars for a crime he did not commit, A has finally been released thanks to the solicitor advocates’ scheme and the efforts of University of Hong Kong legal scholar Eric Cheung Tat-ming.

     A, whose identity could not be revealed for safety reasons, was arrested in 2012 for conspiring with Lam Hing to rob four people on various occasions in 2011. He was supposed to be spying on Lam for the police. But after Lam was arrested and pleaded guilty, the burglar then turned around and counter-accused A of being his accomplice.

     A was found guilty and received an eight-and-a-half-year jail term for his involvement in the crimes. Lam received five years. Cheung, a principal lecturer at HKU who obtained the higher rights of audience in 2013, said the inmate came to the university’s free legal advice scheme after failing to secure funds to appeal his case from the Legal Aid Department where he was turned down for a lack of merit.

      “But there is a huge non-disclosure problem,” Cheung said, recalling the moment he took the case. After changing the department’s mind, Cheung decided to represent the innocent man in the Court of Appeal last year... Click here to read the full article.

Law Faculty Members Featured in HKU's Bulletin (May 2016)

This month's HKU Bulletin magazine (May 2016, Vol. 17, No. 2) features the accomplishments of several Faculty of Law colleagues: Douglas Arner (Cover Story, pp 8/9), Puja Kapai (Research, pp 32/33), Rick Glofcheski (Teaching and Learning, pp 40/41) and Eric Cheung and his team (Knowledge Exchange, pp 50/51).  Click here to read the latest issue of the Bulletin.  Congratulations to all of them.

HKU Clinical Legal Education Centre Helps Another Realise Justice in Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal

Gill Singh has worked in the insurance industry since the mid 1970s.  In late 2006, he met his former colleague and friend, Mr Wong, to discuss future opportunities.  Wong was the Chief Executive Officer of Dah Sing, an insurance company.  Eventually Singh was appointed a senior district manager of Dah Sing in January 2007. However, things did not go as well as expected and he was terminated in August the same year.  

      The insurance company then sued Singh in the District Court to try to recover back a $150,000 sign-on fee and two monthly allowances of $50,000 each.  The contract which Singh signed stated that the sign-on fee was repayable in full if Singh was terminated within three years of his appointment.  However it did not say anything about recovering monthly allowances that were paid.  With the assistance of legal aid, Singh counterclaimed for losses he suffered as a result of the company's failure to report his termination to the Insurance Agents Registration Board (IARB); he could not work for another insurance company as a technical representative or insurance agent until such termination had been registered.  He also counterclaimed for losses arising from the company's failure to report his continuing professional development (CPD) certificate to the  IARB, thereby resulting in his suspension from registration as an insurance agent for three months.  The company argued that it was not in breach of any duty owed to Singh and there was no right of action under the law for any of these breaches.

     On 18 May 2012, the District Court ruled in Singh's favour and held that the two months of paid monthly allowances were not recoverable and that Singh was entitled to damages for the company's breaches of duty in respect of the non-reporting to IARB of Singh's termination and his CPD certificate.  But the company appealed to the Court of Appeal, and on 23 December 2013 the Court of Appeal reversed the District Court's decision.  The Court of Appeal found that the legislation did not create a private right of action for the alleged breaches and the company did not owe a duty of care to Singh.  It also found that even if there was a breach, Singh did not suffer any losses.  After being advised by senior counsel that there was no merit in an appeal, it seemed like this was the end of the road for Singh.

      It was at this point that the HKU Clinical Legal Education Centre became involved when Singh made an appointment to seek legal advice from the Centre.  After an initial meeting in January 2014 with the two law students assigned to the case, Phoebe Suen (then Gov't & Laws 5) and Joel Lee (then LLB 3), the two students diligently researched and prepared a 17-page memo pointing out the likely errors of the Court of Appeal for the advising lawyer, Eric Cheung, principal lecturer and director of clinical legal education.  Cheung read the memo and immediately thought there was a case to take up to the Court of Final Appeal (CFA).  To confirm his beliefs, he sought the advice of the tort law experts in the Faculty of Law.  Eventually, after advising the client and obtaining his instructions, Cheung wrote to the Legal Aid Department and convinced them to change their decision and to fund the appeal to the apex court.  At this stage, Audrey Eu SC leading Kelvin Leung, took over the case but with the continued assistance of various law students up until the case was argued before the CFA in February 2016.  

     On 31 March 2016, the CFA unanimously allowed Singh's appeal and restored the District Court's decision (Dah Sing Insurance Services Limited v Gill Gurbux Singh, FACV18/2015).  Writing for the Court, Mr Justice Tang held that the company had a common law duty of care to make timely reports of termination and CPD certificates to the IARB so as to avoid foreseeable loss to representatives and agents like Singh.  The duties were found in the Code of Practice for the Administration of Insurance Agents.  The decision is an important precedent on the tort liability of insurance companies to their agents and representatives in respect of duties under the Code of Practice.

      This was not the first time for a client of the HKU Clinical Legal Education Centre to win a case in the CFA.  In October 2015, the CFA allowed the appeal in HKSAR v Law Yat Ting [2015] HKCFA 71, a case concerned with whether closing a car door constituted tampering with a motor vehicle.  The injustice had been so obvious that the Department of Justice conceded the appeal and the CFA decided the matter without an oral hearing.

HKU Legal Clinic Helps 71-Year-Old Defendant Win His Appeal in Occupy Youth Assault Case (HKEJ)

"HKU Law Lecturer Wins Reversal of Occupy Assault Conviction"
HKEJ
2 March 2016

A 71-year-old man accused of attacking a student activist during the Occupy Movement in 2014, walked free on Tuesday after the High Court overturned his earlier conviction, Apple Daily reports.

     Man Ho-chun received free legal assistance from the Department of Law of the University of Hong Kong, where the pro-democracy protests to which he was opposed ironically started.

     Man had been charged with common assault after he allegedly attacked the 19-year-old student, surnamed Chan, forcibly removing his yellow ribbon – a symbol of the protest movement – and stabbing his neck with his fingers outside the Bank of China Tower in Admiralty on Oct. 13, 2014.

    Last year a magistrates’ court found him guilty and sentenced him to seven days in jail, although he was granted bail.

     Refusing to accept the ruling, Man decided to appeal and asked for help from the HKU Law Department under its free legal advice scheme.

     He was introduced to Eric Cheung Tat-ming, principal lecturer at the department, who promised to assist him in filing an appeal before the High Court free of charge.

     At the hearing, Cheung told Judge Mrs. Justice Judianna Barnes that the lower court failed to take into consideration Man’s testimony as well as the time, place and other facts of the case, Ming Pao Daily reports.

     Cheung noted that the student did not report the case to the police, athough he claimed the injury was serious and troubled him for days.

     He also said the plaintiff used as evidence a picture purportedly showing Man attacking the teenager, but did not present any witness to attest to the photo’s authenticity.

     The judge agreed that the student did not report to the police immediately after the alleged attack and the authenticity of the online photos provided by Chan had never been verified, thus rendering the previous ruling questionable.

     The judge then overturned the earlier decision and said Man could get a refund of the litigation fee. Man thanked Cheung for helping him clear his name.

     Cheung said HKU’s free legal advice scheme is available for all people regardless of their political persuasion or religious belief.  The HKU Clinical Legal Education Progamme was awarded the Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award 2015.

Anita Wu (JD 2013) Defending Tenancy Rights in Chinatown New York

Anita Wu (JD 2013) is a graduate of HKU's 3-year joint JD and LLM programme with the University of Pennsylvania. In 2011-12, she was a student in our clinical legal education programme. After completing her New York bar exam, she interned at Manhattan Legal Services and is now a staff attorney.  In this interview with Robert Precht, founder and president of Justice Labs, Anita describes her work representing low-income tenants.  She is currently representing a 64-year-old disabled Chinese man who requires the use of his building's elevator to reach his seventh floor apartment.  However, the landlord has contracted to replace the elevator requiring a five-month shutdown.  Anita has assisted the client to bring a case in federal court to try to postpone the replacement work as reasonable accommodation for the many elderly and disabled residents in the building.  On 23 February 2016, Ming Pao (NY) Daily reported that the client had obtained a preliminary injunction to stop the cessation of the elevator service and settlement discussions are underway.  

Special Needs Children Awaiting Adoption in Hong Kong (HKFP)

"More must be done for 'hard to place' children awaiting adoption in Hong Kong"

Human Rights in Practice
Hong Kong Free Press
11 November 2015

November 9 has been designated as World Adoption Day. The event, which is only two years old and has yet to be recognised by the UN, aims to raise awareness about adoption and to celebrate adoption worldwide.

      Adoption is more common in Hong Kong than many people may realise. According to statistics from the Social Welfare Department, at the end of June of this year the department was handling over 200 adoption applications. In 2015 alone, over 60 children were matched with families.

     However, despite the large numbers of children who are successfully adopted, there remains a sizeable number of children in Hong Kong who are still in search of permanent loving families to care for them. The majority of waiting children are those considered “hard to place,” including children with special needs, older children, or children who are part of a sibling group.

     As of June of this year, around 80 children were still waiting to be adopted, and 50 of these were children with special needs. A group of law students at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has received a unique opportunity to work on real life legal issues affecting local children.

     These students are working closely with the local partner organization, Mother’s Choice, a non-profit organization that provides support for young girls facing crisis pregnancy and care for children in need of a permanent home. The work has given them an eye-opening experience into this often hidden side of Hong Kong. Through their ‘Human Rights in Practice’ course, the students are assisting the NGO by undertaking research into the laws and issues around adoption, foster care, and children in need of care, not only in Hong Kong, but also internationally.

     There is growing awareness around the issue of special needs children in Hong Kong, but the problem is still one that needs to be addressed. One of the HKU law students participating in the class, Rebecca Morrison, reported being surprised by this trend and the difficulties faced by children with special needs. “More awareness is needed to reduce prejudice and promote acceptance of the need to find a stable home in Hong Kong for all children, regardless of their age or disability,” Morrison said.

     This trend is also true worldwide; an older child or one with special needs may struggle the most to find willing adoptive parents. As a result, these children often grow up in institutions or foster care.

     Growing up in institutional care has serious consequences for children’s development. Studies have shown that children who grow up in institutions rather than a loving home environment are more likely to suffer from poor physical development and lifelong physical, social, and psychological problems. The harm caused by institutional care inevitably falls not only on these children, but on society as a whole. Children who grow up in institutional care are statistically more likely to enter the criminal justice system or rely on social welfare services later in life.

     Through the course, the law students have been given the opportunity to delve into these complex issues and to conduct in-depth research on the laws protecting children in Hong Kong. “There is some good law already on the books, but more can be done to strengthen the adoption system and legal protections for children. Hopefully, after the course and working with Mother’s Choice, we’ll become stronger advocates for Hong Kong’s children, use our legal knowledge to support local families, and inspire others to do the same,” the students said.

     Human Rights in Practice is an experiential learning-based course at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law taught by Part-time Lecturer Lindsay Ernst, with the assistance of legal fellows Jennifer Cheung and Stephanie Persson. 

Legal Clinic Programme Wins HKU Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award 2015

Congratulations to Eric Cheung, Edmond Lam and Edward Chan for winning this year's Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award.  They are recognised for their work in the HKU Law Faculty's Clinical Legal Education (CLE) Programme, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong.  Since its introduction in January 2010, 

• more than 600 clients have received free legal advice and given positive feedback to students;
• miscarriage of justice was rectified in more than 10 successful appeals or legal aid applications upon free legal representation through the CLE programme;
• an erroneous approach to the merits test by the Legal Aid Department was rectified upon a successful case handled by the CLE programme; and
• wide media coverage (including in a TVB documentary series) and burgeoning demand from the public for CLE service has been received.

The programme's philosophy is to equip law students not only with competent lawyering skills and legal knowledge, but also with a heart to serve the needy with professionalism and dedication.  This programme adopts a learning by doing as well as a discipleship approach, which serves to supplement a lacuna in traditional classroom teaching in law.  It provides a unique learning opportunity to students to experience first-hand how the legal principles and system operate in reality and to provide meaningful service to the public, thereby inculcating a pro bono culture in their hearts.  The programme was featured in a China Daily article in September 2014.   Click here for more information about the CLE programme.