Individual Awards

 
Gold Award
Silver Award
Bronze Award
Having performed work of not less than 100 hours Having performed work of not less than 50 hours Having performed work of not less than 20 hours
Note : Participants will have to perform the Work in the Recognition Period to attain the specified Awards as above. There is no limitation as to the number of Award to be given out in the Recognition Period.

 

 
Pro Bono and Community Service 10-Year Achievement Award
Pro Bono and Community Service 10-Year Achievement Award is introduced to show our appreciation to member(s) who have supported and contributed to this Programme for 10 years.

The Award(s) will be given to member(s) who :-

  • have continuously joined the Programme and obtained Individual Awards (Gold/Silver/Bronze) consecutively in the latest 10 editions of the Programme; and

  • have not been awarded of the Pro Bono and Community Service 10-Year Achievement Award in the past.

 

 
Young Lawyer Special Award
Trainee solicitors and members (including registered foreign lawyers) with 5 years P.Q.E. or below (as at 30 June 2023) who participated in pro bono and community work of not less than 100 hours within the Recognition Period will automatically run for this Award. The Award will be given to the applicant(s) with the highest number of service hours.

 

 

Awards for Individuals and Law Firms

  Special Award for the Year
Special Award for the Year is dedicated to promote pro bono work on a particular service target set for the Programme of the current year.
The service target set for the 2023 Programme is "Joining hands for a better Hong Kong - People facing housing issues".

Individual applicants who performed all or part of its pro bono and/or community work by serving the service target set for the 2023 Programme during the recognition period will automatically run for this Award.

Participating law firms which performed all or part of its pro bono and/or community work by serving the service target set for the 2023 Programme during the recognition period will automatically run for this Award.

The Award(s) will be given to:-

  • the eligible individual lawyers with the highest no. of hours contributing to the service target set for the 2023 Programme; and

  • the eligible law firm(s) with the highest average no. of hours per lawyer contributing to the service target set for the 2023 Programme.
Note: The service target set for the 2024 Programme is "Joining hands for a better Hong Kong - Diversity and inclusion".

 

  Improvement Awards
Individual applicants who had joined the 2022 Programme and successfully obtained the Bronze or Silver Award will automatically run for this Award.
Participating law firms that had joined the 2022 Programme and successfully obtained the Bronze or Silver Award will automatically run for this Award.

The Award(s) will be given to the eligible individual lawyers / law firms who/that achieve advancement in the 2023 Programme :

  • from the Bronze Award in the 2022 Programme to the Silver or Gold Award in the 2023 Programme; or
  • from the Silver Award in the 2022 Programme to the Gold Award in the 2023 Programme.

 

 

Law Firm Awards

 

Gold Award

Silver Award
Bronze Award
Having achieved pro bono scores of not less than 40 scores Having achieved pro bono scores of not less than 20 scores Having achieved pro bono scores of not less than 10 scores

Note : Participating law firms will have to demonstrate that their legal professionals have performed the pro bono and community work as set out in the Entry Criteria of Individual Awards in the Recognition Period to attain the above specified Awards. There is no limitation as to the number of Awards to be given out in the Recognition Period.

Pro bono score calculation

Half of the scores come from the average number of pro bono hours per lawyer of a law firm in the Recognition Period, while the other half represent the percentage of lawyers who performed more than 10 hours of pro bono work. Calculations are based on the number of lawyers of a firm in its Hong Kong offices only. 

For example, Firm A has a total of five lawyers, among whom two performed 20 hours of Work each and two performed 5 hours of Work each. The average number of pro bono hours per lawyer of Firm A is 10, the score for this part is 5 (10 x 50%). The percentage of lawyers who performed more than 10 hours of pro bono work in Firm A is 40%, the score for this part is 20 (40 x 50%). The total pro bono scores of Firm A is 25, it will attain the Silver Award.

 

 

Distinguished Awards

 
Distinguished
Pro Bono Service Award
Distinguished
Community Service Award
Distinguished
Pro Bono
Law Firm Award
Distinguished
Community Service
Law Firm Award

Notes: 

  1. Individual applicants / law firms who / that participated in pro bono (for Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award / Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm Award) / community work (for Distinguished Community Service Award / Distinguished Community Service Law Firm Award) of not less than 100 hours within the Recognition Period are eligible to run for the Distinguished Awards.
  2. Individual applicants who apply for the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award and/or Distinguished Community Service Award will automatically run for the Individual Awards.
  3. Law firms which apply for the Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm Award and/or Distinguished Community Service Law Firm Award will automatically run for the Law Firm Awards.
  4. Individuals receiving the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award or the Distinguished Community Service Award for three times would not be eligible to apply for the same Distinguished Award for the three subsequent years (from the year when the individual last received that Distinguished Award), they would be eligible to apply for the award again after the three-year interval.

The Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award recognises individual(s) who has/have made an outstanding contribution in the provision of pro bono services. More than one individual may be eligible for this Award. The Committee and Judging Panel shall have the discretion on the number of such Award(s) to be given out.

Selection Criteria for Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award :

  • Number of service hours Note(1), number of service programmes and service recipients, diversity and level of volunteer participation in pro bono work;

  • Ability to mobilise and motivate others to participate in pro bono work;

  • Volunteering involvement, commitment, passion and initiative; and

  • Attitude and service performance related to the service recipients.

 

The Distinguished Community Service Award recognises individual(s) who has/have made an outstanding contribution in the provision of community services. More than one individual may be eligible for this Award. The Committee and Judging Panel shall have the discretion on the number of such Award(s) to be given out.

Selection Criteria for Distinguished Community Service Award :

  • Number of service hours Note(1), number of service programmes and service recipients diversity and level of volunteer participation in community services;

  • Service impact/benefit to society and/or service recipients;

  • Volunteering concepts and innovations; and

  • Ability to mobilise and motivate others to participate in community services.

 

The Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm Award recognises local/foreign law firm(s) that has/have made an outstanding contribution in the provision of pro bono services. More than one firm may be eligible for this Award. The Committee shall have discretion on the number of such Award(s) to be given out.

Selection Criteria for Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm Award :

  • Number of service hoursNote(1), number of participating lawyer, number of pro bono programmes and service recipients diversity and level of volunteer participation in pro bono services;

  • Whether the firm has made significant strides toward the establishment of policies and programmes that encourage solicitors to volunteer their service for pro bono work;

  • Whether the firm has demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of pro bono work to the society; and

  • Whether the firm has contributed significant work toward developing innovative approaches to delivering pro bono work.

 

The Distinguished Community Service Law Firm Award recognises local/foreign law firm(s) that has/have made an outstanding contribution in the provision of community services. More than one firm may be eligible for this Award. The Committee shall have discretion on the number of such Award(s) to be given out.

Selection Criteria for Distinguished Community Service Law Firm Award :

  • Number of service hours Note(1), number of participating lawyer, number of community service programmes and service recipients diversity and level of volunteer participation in community services;

  • Whether the firm has made significant strides toward the establishment of policies and programmes that encourage solicitors to volunteer their service for community work;

  • Whether the firm has demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of community work to society; and

  • Whether the firm has contributed significant work toward developing innovative approaches to delivering community work.

Student Awards (New)

 
Gold Award
Silver Award
Bronze Award
Having performed work of not less than 100 hours Having performed work of not less than 50 hours Having performed work of not less than 20 hours
Law Students will have to participate in pro bono or community work or projects in the Recognition Period to attain the specific Awards as above. There is no limitation as to the number of Award to be given out in the Recognition Period.