A comprehensive review of legal education and training in Hong Kong will be conducted to advise on the requirements of a system best capable of meeting the challenges of legal practice and the needs of Hong Kong society in the 21st century.

Announcing the plan at a press conference Tuesday, Acting Solicitor General Robert Allcock, who chairs a working group on the review of legal education, said the review would be carried out in two stages, a consultancy stage to be followed by a further study by a review panel.

The working group, established in July last year to decide on the way forward in reviewing the legal education in Hong Kong, includes representatives from the Law Society, the Bar Association, the University of Hong Kong, and the City University of Hong Kong.

In the light of best international practice and having regard to the unique characteristics of Hong Kong, the review intends to assess the current system of legal education and training in Hong Kong and to provide a set of benchmarks for measuring the quality and standard of legal education.

The working group will also provide suggestions and alternative models for a reformed system of training and make recommendations for improvements in the system of legal education.

Allcock said the consultants will arrive in Hong Kong in mid- January to meet with representatives of various bodies including the Consumer Council, law students, labor and social services groups and the financial services sector.

"These meetings will help them to draw up a comprehensive list of the issues concerning legal education and training in Hong Kong which will later be the subject of an issues paper for consultation among the legal sector and the public at large.

"The final report incorporating contributions from various sectors and recommendations will then be prepared and submitted to the working group in February 2001 for its consideration. The second stage of the review will then begin," he added.