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Recruitment Notice

LEGAL AID DEPARTMENT (Civil Service Vacancy)

Legal Aid Counsel

Salary : Master Pay Scale Point 32 ($77,855 per month) to Master Pay Scale Point 44 ($119,650 per month) [See Note (3)]

Entry Requirements : Candidates should (a)(i) be solicitors admitted in Hong Kong; or (ii) be barristers with one year's professional experience since attaining the right to full practice in Hong Kong; (b) have attained Level 2 result in the Use of English paper, Level 1 result in the Use of Chinese paper and a pass result in the Aptitude Test paper in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE); (c) have a pass result in the Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST); and (d) be fluent in Cantonese.

Note :

  1. Barristers with right to full practice in Hong Kong but who do not possess one year's professional experience since attaining the right to full practice may also apply. If selected, they will enter at an appropriate point below the minimum of the Legal Aid Counsel pay scale.
  2. Experience in civil and/or criminal litigation will be an advantage. Applicants should set out in detail the nature of litigation experience they possess in the curriculum vitae (C.V.).
  3. Subject to the prevailing situation, candidates may be considered for the granting of increments with additional relevant post-qualification experience in the legal field above the stipulated minimum requirement. Please note that applications from serving civil service Legal Aid Counsel would not normally be considered.
  4. The results of the Use of Chinese (UC) and Use of English (UE) papers in the CRE are classified as Level 2, Level 1 or Fail, with Level 2 being the highest.

    For civil service appointment purpose, Level 5 or above in Chinese Language of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE); or Grade C or above in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), are accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UC paper of the CRE. Level 4 in Chinese Language of the HKDSEE; or Grade D in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the HKALE, are accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UC paper of the CRE.

    Level 5 or above in English Language of the HKDSEE; or Grade C or above in Use of English of the HKALE; or Grade C or above in English Language of the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) (GCE A Level), are accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. Level 4 in English Language of the HKDSEE; or Grade D in Use of English of the HKALE; or Grade D in English Language of the GCE A Level, are accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UE paper of the CRE.

    Applicants with an overall band of 6.5 or above with no subtest score below band 6 obtained in the same sitting in the Academic Module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) within the two-year validity period of the test result are accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. The IELTS test result must be valid on any date during the application period (i.e. 7 November 2025 to 21 November 2025).

  5. All applicants for civil service jobs will be assessed on their knowledge of the Basic Law and the National Security Law. A pass result in the BLNST is an entry requirement for all civil service jobs. Only those candidates who have passed the BLNST will be considered for appointment. For candidates who have not taken the relevant BLNST or have not attained a pass result in the relevant BLNST at the time of application, they may still apply for the job and arrangements will be made for them to take the relevant BLNST during the recruitment process.

Duties : Assist in the provision of legal aid services in civil and criminal cases; perform litigation duties as performed by solicitors; and act as advocates in certain civil cases in the District Court. A Legal Aid Counsel may be required to undertake duties outside Hong Kong.

Terms of Appointment : A new recruit will normally be appointed on civil service probationary terms for three years. Upon passage of probation bar, he/she may be considered for appointment on the prevailing permanent terms.

Enquiry Tel. No. : 2867 3033

Closing Date for Application : 21 November 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time

Newspaper(s) advertised (with date) : South China Morning Post (7 November 2025 and 15 November 2025) and Ming Pao (7 November 2025)

General Notes :

  1. Candidates must be permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the time of appointment unless specified otherwise.
  2. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, the Government is committed to eliminating discrimination in employment. The vacancy advertised is open to all applicants meeting the basic entry requirements irrespective of their disability, sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, family status, sexual orientation and race.
  3. Civil service vacancies are posts on the civil service establishment. Candidates selected for these vacancies will be appointed on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service and will become civil servants on appointment.
  4. The entry pay, terms of appointment and conditions of service to be offered are subject to the provisions prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made.
  5. The information on the maximum pay point is for reference only and may be subject to changes.
  6. Fringe benefits include paid leave, medical and dental benefits, and where appropriate, assistance in housing.
  7. Where a large number of candidates meet the specified entry requirements, the recruiting department may devise shortlisting criteria to select the better qualified candidates for further processing. In these circumstances, only shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend recruitment examination and/or interview.
  8. It is Government policy to place people with a disability in appropriate jobs wherever possible. If a disabled candidate meets the entry requirements, he/she will be invited to attend the selection interview/written examination without being subject to further shortlisting. Applicants who have declared disabilities found suitable for appointment may be given an appropriate degree of preference over other applicants whose suitability for appointment is considered comparable to that of the former. The Government policy and other related measures on employment of persons with disabilities are set out in the booklet "Employ People Based on Their Abilities – Application for Government Jobs by Persons with Disabilities" which is available for reference on the Civil Service Bureau's website at http://www.csb.gov.hk under "Administration of the Civil Service – Appointments".
  9. Towards the application deadline, the online application system would likely be overloaded due to large volume of applications. To ensure timely completion of your online application, it is advisable to submit the application as early as possible.

How To Apply : Applicants must apply online through the G.F. 340 Online Application System of the Civil Service Bureau (https://www.csb.gov.hk) on or before 21 November 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time. Applications which are incomplete or submitted in person, by post, by fax or by email will not be accepted.

After submitting the application through the G.F. 340 Online Application System, applicants should send a full C.V. by email to prappt@lad.gov.hk on or before 28 November 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time. The online application number should be quoted in the email. If applicants fail to provide the C.V. as requested, their applications will not be considered. The C.V. should at least include the following information –

  1. gradings of the subjects taken in public examinations from secondary education onwards (with exact dates of scoring the results);
  2. results in LLB, JD, CPE, PCLL, Law Society Final and Bar Final examinations and other relevant qualifications, listing the gradings of the subjects taken (with copies of transcripts and certificates);
  3. exact date and place of admission/call (with copies of supporting documents); and
  4. employment records with detailed description of duties.

As invitations or notifications will be sent to applicants by email, applicants should provide an accurate email address in their applications. Applicants are responsible for checking their emails to ensure that invitation(s) or notification(s) can reach them timeously.

Candidates who are selected for interview will normally receive an invitation in about six to eight weeks after the closing date for application. Those who are not invited for interview may assume that their applications are unsuccessful.