Success fees in arbitration

The Hong Kong Government has proposed legislation to permit success fees and other outcome related fee structures (“ORFSA”) for arbitration. The legislation will override common law doctrines of maintenance, champerty and barratry which prohibit lawyers from charging fees conditional upon success in arbitral proceedings. Should you wish to find out more about these proposals or if you would like advice or representation in respect of arbitration, please contact one of our dispute resolution lawyers.

On March 22, 2022, the Hong Kong Government introduced the Arbitration and Legal Practitioners Legislation (Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration) (Amendment) Bill 2022 (“Success Fee Arbitration Bill”). The Success Fee Arbitration Bill proposes to amend both the Arbitration Ordinance (“AO”) and the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (“LPO”) to provide for the validity and enforceability of certain outcome related fee structure arrangements (“ORFSA”) in relation to arbitration