Attorney’s Antics Rattle Colleagues

It was hardly surprising two years ago when elders of Hong Kong’s staid legal community decided to discipline one of their own for bringing the entire group into disrepute.

After all, 42-year-old Paul Tse had appeared nude on the cover of a popular local magazine. Last year, he followed that caper by running for public office dressed in a pink Superman suit.

Those kinds of incidents led the Law Society, which represents the region’s 4,000 non-courtroom lawyers, called solicitors, to look more closely at Tse’s behavior, including an advertising campaign for his practice and the publicizing of his fee--something rarely done in a culture where discussing money in advance with doctors and lawyers is considered crass.

Established lawyers muttered about the profession’s tone being lowered to supermarket levels.

Allegedly nodding with approval during a 1998 TV talk show while a friend described the territory’s lawyers as “vampires” and “bloodsuckers” for charging such high fees apparently didn’t win Tse many friends among his colleagues, either.

But two years after the Law Society lodged its first disciplinary charges, the case drags on, and Tse holds out hope that the entire episode could generate pressure for the changes he champions, including lower fees and easier access to legal help.

At the opening of a disciplinary tribunal in February, he pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and then demanded that the closed-door tribunal be opened to the public. Armed with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees “a fair and public hearing” to all, Tse has taken the demand to a local court, which is due to hear the case next month. He is said to face more than 100 charges, including formal accusations of bringing the profession into disrepute. If found guilty, he could be disbarred or heavily fined.

“I’d like to see outsiders hear some of the ridiculous charges made against me,” he said. “That might have an impact on the entrenched interests of the older generation.”

A Law Society spokesperson who requested anonymity said the organization acted against Tse after receiving “a number of complaints” from members and concluded that he had “probably breached” the society’s code governing advertising practices.

“It all started with the magazine cover,” the spokesperson said.

Tse claims that there’s a serious message behind his actions. His decision to pose nude on the cover of the popular Next magazine, for example, was partly a personal prank and partly intended to draw attention to his message: that residing in Hong Kong is a birthright of all those born to legal residents of the territory--an issue that is one of the most emotional and controversial to confront Hong Kong since its return to Chinese sovereignty four years ago.

The Superman outfit, he says, was meant to inject a bit of fun into a dull Legislative Council election campaign and also to catch the interest of younger voters. Though he enlivened the campaign, the tactic failed to win him a seat.

As for his apparent tacit endorsement of the “vampire” and “bloodsucker” monikers, he says he can’t recall his exact reaction to the comments but adds now that “dinosaurs” is probably more apt.

“As a profession, we’re not adapting to the modern age, we’re not keeping up with the needs and demands of the consumer,” he said. “Our image is uncaring.”

He cites a catalog of more specific complaints against his fellow Hong Kong lawyers, including secrecy, arrogance and exorbitant fees that he claims put the courtroom out of reach of all but the very rich and the very poor, who receive legal aid. He claims that some consumers have even begun using his published fees as a “fair price” yardstick for handling such matters as wills, name changes, probate and divorce cases.

“The public is more aware of their rights now,” Tse said. “People may not be hiring me, but they are using my rates as a standard.”

High legal costs are already an issue in Hong Kong, and a government committee was formed last year to study ways to improve access to justice “at reasonable cost and speed.”

If Tse wins his case next month, an open tribunal will probably follow later in the year. Whatever the result, Tse says, his actions will do the profession good.

“What I’m doing will narrow the distance between lawyers and the public, and that’s a great service,” he said.