More and more high-quality legal service talents from Hong Kong and Macao are coming to Guangzhou to participate in the construction of the Bay Area and integrate into the overall development of the country. From May 29th to 30th, the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 16th Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress listened to and reviewed the report of the municipal government on the practice of lawyers in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (referred to as the "Report"). Deng Zhongwen, Director of the Municipal Bureau of Justice, pointed out in a report that since July 2022, Lawyer He Junyao, one of the first batch of lawyers in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area in China, has preferred to practice in Guangzhou. As of May 22 this year, there are already 112 lawyers in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area in the city. On August 11, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress authorized the State Council to carry out a three-year pilot program for practicing lawyers in the Greater Bay Area, which was the first in the province to issue guidelines for lawyers in the Greater Bay Area. On September 1, 2023, the 5th meeting of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee decided to extend the pilot period until October 4, 2026. The report mentions that the Guangzhou Municipal Government attaches great importance to the pilot work of Hong Kong and Macao lawyers practicing in Guangzhou, studies and formulates multiple measures in legislation, law enforcement, and other aspects, continuously optimizes the practice environment, and attracts more and more high-quality legal service talents from Hong Kong and Macao to participate in the construction of the Bay Area and integrate into the overall development of the country. In order to strengthen policy guidance, Guangzhou has successively issued decisions on strengthening legal services to promote the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, eight measures to support the development of foreign-related legal services in the Nansha New Area (Free Trade Zone) of Guangzhou, and several measures to promote the high-quality development of the legal service industry in the Baiyun Central District of the Guangzhou Bay Area, enhancing the overall plan for Hong Kong and Macao lawyers to practice in Guangzhou. At the same time, Guangzhou has taken the lead in issuing application guidelines for lawyers in the Greater Bay Area in the province, opening up a "green channel" for Hong Kong and Macao lawyers to apply for practice licenses, issuing ten measures to encourage and support lawyers from the Greater Bay Area to practice in Guangzhou, and promoting the reform of reducing the conditions for Hong Kong and Macao joint ventures. Local regulations such as the Guangzhou Municipal Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment, the Guangzhou Municipal Regulations on Science and Technology Innovation, and the Guangzhou Municipal Regulations on Supporting the Development of Private Economy have included encouraging exchanges and cooperation between Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macao, as well as strengthening preferential policy support, as important provisions to promote deepening cooperation between Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macao. In recent years, Guangzhou and the Hong Kong Department of Justice have continuously deepened exchanges and jointly promoted legal services in Guangzhou and Hong Kong by establishing the first Hong Kong and Macau lawyer practice incubation station in the country. They have deepened cooperation in areas such as foreign-related legal talent training, Greater Bay Area lawyer practice, and collaboration in the field of notarization. As mentioned in the report, Guangzhou has built the foreign-related legal service branch of the Guangzhou Lawyers Association, the Dawan District Lawyers' Working Committee, the foreign-related legal service center, the the Belt and Road Lawyers' Alliance Guangzhou Representative Office, the Guangzhou International Commercial and Commercial Mediation Center and other platforms as a whole, and built the Central Legal District of the Guangzhou Bay District with high standards, based on the advantages of each district, to strengthen the concentration of legal services. Through close cooperation with the legal community in mainland China, lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao provide one-stop legal services for Chinese enterprises to "go global", and provide legal protection for Guangzhou to continue to play a leading and locomotive role in high-quality development. In order to introduce and cultivate talents, Guangzhou has issued policies to encourage and support Guangdong Hong Kong Macao partnership law firms and Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area lawyers to practice in Guangzhou. The first Hong Kong and Macao lawyer practice incubation station has been established nationwide, incorporating lawyers from the Greater Bay Area into the leading talent pool for foreign affairs in Guangzhou. 42 lawyers from the Greater Bay Area have been recommended as provincial and municipal mediators and arbitrators. For the first time, the 135th Canton Fair has activated the resident services of lawyers in the Greater Bay Area, leveraging the advantages of foreign legal services provided by lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao. "Actively participating in the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and promoting the development and opening up of Nansha are Guangzhou's mission and development needs," Deng Zhongwen said. The report mentions that the municipal government will continue to strive to create an international and professional environment for foreign-related legal services, providing better professional conditions and development opportunities for lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao. At the same time, we will continue to deepen cooperation with the legal community of Hong Kong and Macao, and jointly contribute to the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area economy. On the specific measures, the municipal government will create a closer and more interconnected cooperation platform and a full chain legal practice cooperation mechanism, promote cooperation among departments such as commerce, trade promotion, the Federation of Industry and Commerce, and judicial administration, accelerate the development of the legal service market in the Greater Bay Area, build a legal service supply and demand docking platform, gather and integrate legal service resources in the Greater Bay Area, and enhance the international comprehensive competitiveness of legal services in the three regions. On the other hand, actively promoting the integration and development of legal services in the Greater Bay Area, by continuing to introduce and promote support policies, attracting more lawyers from the Greater Bay Area to participate in the Guangzhou legal industry, join Guangzhou law firms, and serve as arbitrators, mediators, and so on. Pay attention to leveraging the professional advantages of lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao in the field of foreign affairs, connect with China Unicom's high-quality international legal service cooperation resources, and propose creative and feasible cooperation measures in research and legal services in key areas of foreign affairs. Recommend outstanding foreign-related lawyers and lawyers from the Greater Bay Area to participate in major economic and trade activities and construction projects in Guangzhou, providing legal protection for high-level opening up to the outside world. Suggestions from members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress: Promote further integration of the lawyer industry rules and enhance the international competitiveness of legal services. During the review of the report, members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress pointed out that in order to maximize the role of lawyers in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, it is necessary to further improve the working mechanism and deepen the integration of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao legal service rules. The members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress suggest that the municipal government should coordinate the "one center and three areas" of the Guangzhou Bay Area Central Legal District, improve the development speed of the Nansha area, and implement relevant policy measures; Promote the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, Guangzhou International Commercial and Commercial Mediation Center, relevant labor arbitration institutions and courts at all levels in Guangzhou to attract more lawyers from the Greater Bay Area to serve as arbitrators and mediators; Coordinate and organize various groups with foreign-related legal service needs, deeply connect with lawyers in the Greater Bay Area, leverage the unique global experience and international perspective of lawyers in the Greater Bay Area, and create a more competitive foreign-related legal service brand; Strive to pilot some policies in Nansha, promote further integration of industry rules for lawyer services in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and jointly enhance the legal service level and international competitiveness of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. (Lai Xin She)