Recipient of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies in 2001/02
尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金2001/02年得獎者
Around twenty years ago, Mr. Jin Pao SC, the awardee of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies of the year 2001/02, chose to pursue his master degree in Harvard Law School where he was awarded Distinctions in Constitutional Law and International Law. It is this particular decision which nurtures his journey of developing a reputable practice in public law.
To realize his passion for public speaking and argumentation, Mr. Pao completed his LLB degree and PCLL at The University of Hong Kong. During the second year of his undergraduate studies, he went on an exchange programme to the National University of Singapore. It did not take long for him to realize that being a barrister was his life-long career aspiration. Upon returning from his LLM studies, he has been practising in Temple Chambers since 2002 specialising in civil and commercial cases. It was during one casual luncheon among barristers where Mr. Pao was invited as a junior member, he volunteered to research on the constitutional aspects of a visible case at the time. As a barrister, he realized the vital importance of expanding his personal network and accumulating his experience.
He took silk in 2018, which is indeed a highlight of his career. That said, he also took pride in the judicial review against the Town Planning Board’s decision to reclaim a part of Victoria Harbour to construct a trunk road involving the proper interpretation of the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance. The case went all the way to the Court of Final Appeal, which eventually found in favour of the Society for Protection of the Harbour represented by Mr. Pao’s team, holding that reclamation of Harbour would only be permissible if there was an overriding public interest. With the sentimental value that connects the Victoria Harbour to the historical and cultural heritage of Hong Kong, he reckons that this case has made significant contributions to society and to the rule of law.
The life as a barrister is a continuous battle with time, complexity of the cases and high expectation from judges and solicitors who expect a high standard of performance. Recalling his time as a junior barrister (as he then was), Mr. Pao once handled a case involving 20 box files at the Court of Appeal, which was very demanding and indeed very stressful. In light of this, he constantly reminds himself to strike a balance by enjoying movies, dramas and other interests after work.
With the number of law students increasing, some members of the public are concerned with the potential excess of legal practitioners. Mr. Pao, contrarily, reckons that with developing complexity in legal puzzles, our number of lawyers is at the right balance and pace. As the threshold of enrolling in PCLL remains high, a substantial amount of law students could not get into PCLL. Mr. Pao SC left the question on the possibility of a wider PCLL intake and resorting to leaving the matter to the market. Yet, his tips for aspiring lawyers are to prepare for their career at an earlier stage as it is a very competitive industry and the quality of law students has risen substantially over the 15 -20 years.
To pursue further studies, Mr. Pao applied for the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies. Mr. Pao still recalls the lengthy selection process back then, where he attended an interview in which Lady Youde was on the panel. The scholarship is symbolically and practically significant to Mr. Pao. But for this very generous scholarship, he could not have attended the LLM program at Harvard Law School. It was also very prestigious providing recognition and support for his further education. It has been more than 20 years since he was awarded the scholarship, today, Mr Pao spoke with delight about how the scholarship facilitated him to achieve his life goals. As a prominent senior counsel and a regular lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, Mr. Pao has taken up an additional responsibility not just to pay back, but to pay forward to the legal profession by nurturing the future generations of aspiring lawyers in Hong Kong.
大概二十年前，尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金2001/02年得獎者，鮑進龍資深大律師到哈佛大學修讀憲法及國際法領域。或許有很多人疑惑，為何他會選擇進修相關範疇。但正是這個決定，令他畢業後回到香港時很快就有一些相關領域的案件，在事業上發光發亮。
出於對公開演講和辯論的熱情，鮑大律師本科選讀了香港大學法學士。在本科第二年，他到新加坡國立大學交流，並在當地律師樓實習。但很快地，他就已經意識到他的志向是成為一名大律師，所以他申請並獲得了尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金到美國哈佛大學法學院修讀碩士學位。畢業後他回流香港，在Temple Chambers執業，專門研究民事和商業案件。當時，他透過一個午餐聚會向在席的資深大律師自薦參與憲法相關的研究，慢慢地開始建立了自己的專業及網絡。以上的經歷使他明白到大律師需要不斷組織自己的知識和經驗，並透過不同的途徑增加自己的曝光。
鮑大律師在2018年被委任為資深大律師，是他在事業中難忘的時刻。但最令他感到自豪的，乃是他早期處理的一個案件。在2003年，政府為中環灣仔繞道工程在維多利亞港內填海，而鮑大律師代表保護海港協會首次引用《保護海港條例》向法庭申請司法覆核。案件一直覆核到終審法院，法院最終裁定協會勝訴，認為除非有凌駕性的公眾需要，否則不應進行填海。鑑於維多利亞港一直與香港的歷史有著密不可分的關係，他深信此舉捍衛了社會利益及彰顯了法治精神。
回顧起整個大律師的生涯，案件的複雜性，自身的期望乃至法官及客人的高要求，使他體會到大律師的工作就是不斷地與時間進行競賽。在他大律師的早年，他曾經在上訴庭處理過涉及20箱文件的案件，使他感到非常吃力和沮喪。因此，他閒時會看電影、戲劇及以其他嗜好來保持平衡。
近年來，有聲音反映法律界人才供過於求，但鮑大律師卻認為現時法律轉趨複雜，因此現時法律界人數增長跟上社會的發展。另一方面，修讀法學專業證書的門檻仍然很高，很多法律學生未能修讀該課程而令法律界人才的供應保持在一定水平。鮑大律師反思到底透過法學專業證書來限制法律界人數，還是直接透過市場機制來進行篩選更有利行業的發展。他寄語有志於投身法律界的學生要早作準備，過去15-20年學生的質素大大提高，行業的競爭十分激烈。
為了到哈佛大學深造，鮑大律師申請了尤德爵士紀念基金的獎學金。他需要面對多輪的篩選，當中包括尤德夫人有份參與的面試。獎學金解決了鮑大律師財政上的壓力，使他能夠到哈佛大學專心完成碩士學位；而獲得這個享負盛名的獎學金的肯定，也使他對升學充滿信心。得獎至今將近二十年，鮑大律師仍是十分感激當年基金會的知遇之恩，而他過去幾年亦投身教育，在香港大學擔當講師，為法律界培養人才。