The Changing Professional Identity of Hong Kong Women Lawyers: From Local to Transnational Practitioners

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of our empirical project on women lawyers qualified to practice in Hong Kong. Our study involved two participant groups: one currently working Hong Kong and the other in Australia. We conducted semi-structured interviews with these participants and asked them to reflect on the career trajectories of their own and their peers. The paper draws on the insights from the existing literature on women lawyers to explain the similarities and differences of Hong Kong women lawyers working at home and abroad. Our findings reveal that while women lawyers encounter similar gendered stereotypes about professional aptitudes and inclinations in Hong Kong and Australia, they experience a range of structural and cultural differences in the two common law jurisdictions. Finally, this study argues that not a few Hong Kong women lawyers have succeeded in transforming their professional identity from local practitioners to transnational practitioners due to the internationalization of legal practice and the growing influence of China and Chinese clients in the global legal market.