Charlotte Kong
LLB (Hons) Law, 2015
About me
- Barrister-at-law at Cheng Huan SC’s Chambers
- Studied: LLB (Hons) Law, 2015
- Contact me on LinkedIn
About my career
I chose to study at Manchester Metropolitan because the CPE/LLB courses are reputable in Hong Kong and I have met a lot of legal practitioners and judges who also graduated from the Manchester Met law courses. It offered me the opportunity to study law with a timetable which best suited my own timetable - I was then working as a court interpreter with the Judiciary in Hong Kong on a full-time basis. My main job duties as a court interpreter were to conduct simultaneous and consecutive interpretation in Cantonese/ Mandarin/ English in court proceedings in different levels of courts in Hong Kong. The job also required the court interpreter to perform certification works on bilingual documents to be tendered in court as evidence.
I am now a practicing barrister in Hong Kong. My main responsibilities are to advise clients on the merit of their cases and act accordingly. On a daily basis, I attend court hearings (on the criminal side) to conduct trials and mitigation, and (on the civil side) obtain interlocutory injunction, settling draft documents such as pleadings, witness statements and affirmations, hold conferences with clients, conduct legal research, and give talks and seminars. I also assume the role of a legal advisor for a charitable organisation.
On the civil side, I have worked on a wide range of areas including personal injuries, family, shareholders’ disputes, conveyancing, probate, mentally incapacitated persons’ applications and injunction applications. On the criminal side, I have handled cases involving fraud, indecency, dangerous drugs, violence, industrial summons and traffic offences. I have also appeared in cases before disciplinary panels and regulatory bodies, such as the Medical Council’s Inquiry. I have been a part-time lecturer for Corporate & Business Law at the Hong Kong Management Association since 2020.
Since graduating from Manchester Met, I have continued my professional development by taking the PCLL course and am now a barrister-at-law as a member of the Hong Kong Bar Association. I have also attained an LLM degree with distinction, and am now planning to become a qualified mediator in the Hong Kong SAR.
My top tip for students
In progressing to a new career, it is always good to have a taste of the hands-on experience - do arrange for internships with firms or mini-pupillage with a barrister.
Even if it is not possible, at least try to find ways to observe by going to court or by splitting the experience at different times of the year for a shorter duration. This will give you lots of insight on whether the nature of the job is suitable, whether the areas of work are interesting, whether the income is attractive, whether the work atmosphere is good, etc.
I’m inspired by
Everyone around me who endeavours to make their dreams come true.
Why I love Manchester Met
I enjoyed very much the small group sessions and discussions - I have made some very good friends and we have achieved our goals to become lawyers together!