Miscellany in Law: The Sharing of an Alumnus

by the Honourable Mr Justice Patrick Chan, NPJ, Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Date: 17 April 2026 (Friday)

Time: 17:30-18:30

Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong (In-person Event)

Language: English

This is the augural lecture in our lecture series on ‘Hong Kong’s Legal Journey’. Since HKU’s law school was founded in 1969, the legal system and legal culture — as well as the constitutional framework — of Hong Kong has undergone great changes. Many generations of graduates of our law school, working together with other members of Hong Kong’s legal community, have devoted their entire careers to contributing to and shaping the development of Hong Kong’s legal system and the evolution of Hong Kong law. In this lecture series, leading figures in Hong Kong’s legal community will share their reminiscences, reflections and insights on the basis of their own experience in legal and judicial practice in Hong Kong. We hope that their stories will inspire current students in planning their future careers, and also provide opportunities for alumni and friends of the Faculty to reflect on Hong Kong’s legal journey in the last half-century, and to think about the future of the rule of law in Hong Kong.

In this inaugural lecture, the Honourable Mr Justice Patrick Chan will share with us his experience, reminiscences and stories from the beginnings of his law school days to his subsequent practice at the Hong Kong Bar and judicial career in the Hong Kong courts.

About the Speaker

The Hon Mr Patrick S O Chan was among the third batch of students in the Department of Law. He obtained his LLB in 1974 and PCLL in 1975. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1976 and practised as a barrister from 1977 until 1987 when he was appointed a District Court Judge. He also served as a Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court. In 1992, he was the first graduate of HKU, the first locally trained lawyer, to be appointed a High Court Judge. Upon the resumption of sovereignty on 1 July 1997, he became the Chief Judge of the High Court of the HKSAR and was elevated as Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in 2000. He retired in October 2013 and has been serving as a Non-Permanent Judge of that Court since then. He had contributed to the setting up of the bilingual court system in Hong Kong. He was closely involved in legal education having served as chairman of the Standing Committee on Legal education and training for 6 years. He was a member of the Council of this University for more than 10 years. He is now chairman of the Higher Rights of Audience Board set up to oversee the admission of solicitors as solicitor advocates in the higher courts.