TVB's Lawyers

To all aspiring lawyers: Do you know what it takes to be a lawyer? Don’t worry, TVB has your back. There is no shortage of legal dramas, with more to come.

(scroll down for descriptions of the court system and the roles of different legal professionals)

Ghetto Justice I & II

The Other Truth


Friendly Fire
  

*See Friendly Fire Trainees


Survivor's Law I & II
  



When Rules Turn Loose



Bar Bender



Legal Entanglement




Upcoming...

Will Power


Arrogant Man of Justice



Lawyers in Non-Legal Dramas

Moses Chan - (advertisement) & Back to Square One
 

Kate Tsui - Lives of Omission


Nancy Wu - Forensic Heroes III


Linda Chung & Raymond Lam - Heart of Greed
 

Steven Ma - Brink of Law & Links to Temptation

Damien Lau & Kenneth Ma - Silver Spoon Sterling Shackles




Types of Legal Professionals

Solicitor
A solicitor’s job is not primarily focused on litigation. They oversee the transfer of assets, inheritances, employment, marriage, contracts and establishment of corporations, among many other things. In terms of litigation, they deal most directly with the client. In general, a solicitor’s job can be divided into four categories:

a)      Litigation

Solicitors have the right of audience (ie. they may speak on behalf of their client) in the lower courts, such as the District or Magistrates’ courts. However, in the higher courts, such as the High Court or Court of Final Appeal, solicitors must retain the services of a barrister to represent their client. The solicitor is still responsible for making trial preparations, such as sorting through the evidence, contacting witnesses, drafting statements and conducting preliminary hearings.

b)   Transfer of Assets

Whenever a house or other property is sold, a solicitor will need to draft the relevant documents and then have it signed and sealed before the transfer of ownership is complete.

c)   Consultation

Solicitors spend the majority of their time providing legal guidance for their clients. Almost any matter can become a subject of inquiry. The solicitor’s job is to acquaint the client with the legal issues of that particular subject area.  

d)   Other Legal Matters

Solicitors are involved in everything from corporations, products and trademarks to wills, trusts and inheritances to divorces, alimony, and other walks of life.

Barrister

A barrister’s main job is to represent their client in court. In their representation, they are expected to consider only their client’s best interests and ignore personal interests or consequences to other people. Barristers will also advise solicitors on complex cases or legal perspectives, thus they are often regarded as legal consultants. Their work includes:

a)   Consultation

Once they have been retained by a solicitor for a civil or criminal case, the barrister will give their opinion on whether to proceed with litigation or persuade alternative resolutions. They will make an evaluation based on their knowledge of legal procedures and remedies.

b)   Preparation

For civil cases, barristers must outline the arguments in the claim or defence statement. They will also need to instruct the solicitor on what evidence to bring to court. For criminal cases, barristers will prepare in advance the arguments, questions and tactics for the trial.

c)   Trial

The barrister will appear in court and make statements on behalf of the client. They will analyze the validity of the evidence and cross-examine witnesses in order to bring out the truth. Finally, they will summarize the case in the closing statements. After the trial, the barrister may have to represent the client in bail or sentencing hearings and guide them through the remaining legal procedures.

Legal Executives

Legal executives can be found in law firms, corporations and various government agencies, such as the Department of Justice and Correctional Services. Their job is to provide assistance to solicitors and barristers. They handle many different tasks for the lawyers, such as meeting with clients and witnesses, drafting documents, attending basic hearings and doing the preparatory work. They may also advise clients while giving police statements and assist them in applying for bail.

Legal Clerk

Legal clerks are responsible for the secretarial functions. Their main duties usually include handling the paperwork, such as mail, forms, court filings and other documents. They may also need to make inquiries to the Companies or Land Registries. Within government agencies, legal clerks will act as law enforcement in cases with set fines, which sometimes requires them to appear before the Small Claims Tribunal. 

(Adapted from source)

Court System

In accordance to British tradition, judges will wigs and robes. Symbolically, it is to disguise the judge’s own identity so that the judge can make impartial decisions.

Hong Kong’s court system is divided into four levels:

The Magistrates’ Court and special tribunals
There are currently seven Magistrates’ courts in different regions, presided over by magistrates (not judges). Magistrates are qualified lawyers or experienced legal personnel. They hear ~90% of criminal cases and can impose a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment or $100,000 fine. (In some circumstances, the limit can be increased to 3 years imprisonment and $5 million fine.)

There are special Tribunals for Lands, Labour, Small Claims and Obscene Articles, as well as the Coroner’s Court and Juvenile Court. Each tribunal is set up to quickly and effectively deal with a particular type of case. They are usually presided over by a magistrate or adjudicator. In some instances, legal representation is not allowed and the disputing parties must personally appear at the hearing.

The District Court
There is one amalgamated District Court in Hong Kong, presided over by judges (with no jury). They hear criminal cases passed on from the Magistrates’ Court, with a maximum sentence of 7 years imprisonment. They also hear civil cases with claims of up to $1 million. The District Court houses the Family Court, which handles divorce, alimony and child custody.

The High Court
The High Court is made up of the Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal. The Court of First Instance will hear the most serious criminal cases, such as murder or rape, as well as appeals from the Magistrates’ courts and tribunals. They have unlimited jurisdiction on criminal and civil cases. Criminal cases will be heard by a judge and 7 or 9 jurors.

The Court of Appeal will hear appeals from the District Courts, Lands Tribunal and Court of First Instance. Cases are generally tried by a panel of three judges (with no jury).

The Court of Final Appeal
The Court of Final Appeal is the highest court in Hong Kong. It will only hear cases that have be granted leave to appeal (ie. permission to appeal) by the Court of Appeal. Cases are decided by a five-judge panel. The court is headed by the Chief Justice of Hong Kong.

Related article: Inaccuracies in Legal Dramas

Tour of TVB City

Never visited TVB City and want to have a peek inside? No fear! All you need to do is watch TVB’s dramas. TVB effectively uses every part of its grounds for productions.

For example, the lobby of the main building is very versatile. In Tiger Cubs, it stood as two different locations – the hospital where Kenny Wong was hiding and the hotel housing the rich kids. In Ghetto Justice II, it was used as the corporate office of the pharmaceutical company that was selling tainted medication.





 

Meanwhile, a shot from above offered a refreshing view of main building. No one can whether it is TVB's office building or an hotel.

 

Another commonly seen place is the garden outside the second floor restaurant. It made an appearance in almost every episode of The Hippocratic Crush, where doctors and nurses went in and out of the hospital. In Ghetto Justice II, this is where KK Cheung punched Kevin Cheng when Christine Kuo was hospitalized.

 

The restaurants connected to the garden also make frequent appearances. The group of doctors in The Hippocratic Crush always hang out in the Western restaurant. On the other side, there is a Chinese/Western restaurant occupying two levels. In Wish and Switch, this was the fast-food restaurant that Johnson Lee worked at. The cafeteria of the police headquarters in Witness Insecurity is actually the top floor of the restaurant.

 

 

Article and Photos source

Kevin "Angry Birds" Cheng

Credits to @lyricalstars posted here


This is so funny! Wonder if that's the expressions Kevin goes through when he reads all his love rumours from the media.

Sequelmania

Nowadays, TVB’s philosophy is basically: Turn anything and everything into a sequel. Big hit? Sequel. Decent ratings? Sequel. We have no idea what to make next? Sequel. So let’s review some of the better and worst sequels/spinoffs plus many upcoming ones.

Good

No Regrets – Still intense and great acting, except the boring Fala and Raymond story.

Forensic Heroes III – Tried for a different feel with all the high-tech stuff, though the cases were not all that special.

D.I.E. Again – Unique in that there are all sorts of weird happenings not seen in other detective series.

The Academy spinoffs – All of the dramas were very good, but they should really stop now. Can’t keep having people die and then come back alive again.

Bad

Burning Flames III – Firefighting made up like 10% of the series. Wong He is in a coma for half of it. Did anyone watch the originals when making this?

Can’t Buy Me Love – The rhyming lines were not funny after the first few times. Urgh…

Moonlight Resonance – Okay, a lot of people liked HOG and MR. I’m in the minority because I didn’t like the yelling, crying and slapping.

Just Love II – Almost completely irrelevant to the legal theme except for the title.

Undecided

A Pillow Case of Mystery II – Wasn't paying much attention when watching this. Akin to D.I.E. ancient version.

Witness Insecurity – A spinoff of Miss Koo from Yes Sir, Sorry Sir, featuring a lot of the same cast. If comparing to the original, it’s 10x better, but that’s not saying much at all.

Upcoming



Ghetto Justice II – Sounding very good, except they just had to add in a love triangle, didn’t they? We shall see.

Triumph in the Skies II – I hope it’s not like Burning Flames 3: Love, love, love, and oh yeah, the occasional flying a plane.

Beauty At War – TVB couldn’t match War & Beauty success in other palace dramas and this one does not look promising.  

The Hippocratic Crush II – Didn’t watch the first one, so not sure. Great theme song though.

A Great Way to Care II – Didn’t watch this either, but makes it seem like people with mental illnesses will commit crimes.

A Chip Off the Block II – The first one was decent comedy except for Sunny Chan. Add Liza Wang, minus Sunny Chan = the second one should be okay.

Big Ifs…

Rosy Business III – Modern version with Wayne Lai and Michelle Yim (?) No doubts on the acting, but can the story be as good?

Gloves Come Off II – Isn’t there enough criticism to persuade TVB not to make a sequel? Not like the first one got very high ratings either (average about 30 points).

Sergeant Tabloid II – Really, are we getting a little ahead of ourselves? The original hasn’t even been aired in HK yet.

Moonlight Resonance sequel – Only hearing rumours in forums, but please don’t let it be true…

Pics:  {1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8}

Inaccuracies in TVB Legal Dramas

Translated Article:

There are many television legal dramas, but the fictional plots can falsely misled audience. For example, the simple line of “Objection, 法官大人” actually has two errors. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is concerned that the errors in TV court scenes will cause citizens to misunderstand their legal rights and has arranged to conduct classes for producers and scriptwriters, in hopes of rectifying the inaccuracies.

Beloved legal dramas are inconsistent with reality, so prosecutors will visit TVB City to explain legal procedures and the basic work of lawyers. One lawyer pointed out common errors in TV court scenes. Under the principle of equality before the law, there is no “大人” and “小人” (as this indicates the existence of a class system). The term “法官大人” has no longer been used since the Handover of HK. Court officials will often use the term “法官閣下” when referring to the judge as a sign of respect.

TVB emphasizes dramas are realistic

In court scenes where lawyers fiercely oppose each other, the sound of “Objection” is frequently heard. The lawyer will then walk in front of the witness and jury to argue their point. In reality, trials proceed in a polite manner; lawyers will only express their opinion, present evidence and rebut arguments from their seat and would not shout out “Objection”.

TVB Deputy Director of External Affairs Tsang Sing Ming said TVB’s legal dramas have never received complaints for being unrealistic. He confirmed that prosecutors are conducting seminars at TVB City, but it is not due to dramas being unrealistic. He explained that the Drama Department’s research team will often invite disciplinary forces, government agencies and other organizations to share their work processes and experiences so as to guarantee accuracy in dramas. “Every time we complete a lawyer, firefighter or police drama, a lot of people wish to join the profession. This proves that dramas are realistic enough and are beloved by the people.”

Last year, the legal drama Ghetto Justice was well-received and currently re-airing in a late night slot. The sequel is to be released at the end of this month. In regards to the DOJ’s seminars at TVB City, Ghetto’s producer Tommy Leung said “Always welcome learning. In fact, every time I shoot a lawyer or doctor series, I will always ask consult with the professionals, will not just make things up. But if the DOJ shows concern, it is a good thing, no reason to be unwelcoming of their advice.”

 Exaggerate reality to increase drama

TV court scenes often exaggerate reality, leading to doubts about the efforts put into proper research. But scriptwriters and producers explain that besides reflecting reality, court scenes must also be dramatic, therefore will be exaggerated. They welcome the seminars to provide more legal knowledge.

A TVB scriptwriter expressed that TVB has demanded higher quality of research in recent years. For court scenes, they will ask for lawyers’ advice or even personally attend court proceedings in order to increase the realism. But he explains that, in consideration of dramatic effects, some things will be exaggerated. For example, lawyers do not really have to shout out their objections, but doing so will increase the tension.

The scriptwriter used the popular Ghetto Justice as an example, pointing out that a lawyer investigating the case was unrealistic, but it is simply a dramatic device. He added “Court is not a rigid place, sometimes absurd things will occur. Judges will laugh and insult people, so anything can actually happen.”

Will venture into grey areas

Producer Gary Tang of the hit series Files of Justice believes there must be a balance between realism and drama: “When I was shooting Files of Justice, I will consult many friends in the legal profession. If a particular event could not possibly occur under the law, we will give it up. But if there are grey areas, then we will go for it. If we were shooting real court scenes, it will bore people; filming must have drama after all.”

Common errors in court scenes

Error: References

Example: Dramas often refer to the judge as 法官大人 instead of 法官閣下; often calls “Department of Justice” as “Legal Department”

Error: Lawyer’s responsibilities

Example: Lawyers in dramas will take the role of detective and collect evidence, but this should be the responsible of the police

Error: Shouting “Objection”

Example: Hong Kong follows the British judicial system; even when lawyers believe the opposition’s arguments are wrong, they will not shout out “Objection”. They will only stand to express their opinion.

Error: Positioning in court

Example: Lawyers should stand at their seat to question witnesses and not walk in front of the witness or jury to speak.

Error: Order of questioning

Example: In proper procedure, the prosecution will first describe the case, call on prosecution witnesses and then defense witnesses will appear in court. The order of appearance for witnesses is often mixed up for dramatic effect.

Original Article in Chinese: http://www.ihktv.com/department-of-justice-to-teach-tvb-filming.html 
Photo Credits: TVB.com  

Comment:

In The Other Truth, Tavia was not approving about Ruco's habit of overstepping boundaries to investigate cases on his own. A lot of TVB dramas have lawyers, forensics, reporters, psychologists - everyone but the police - solving cases. TVB is currently filming Justice Attack (Michael Tse, Tavia Yeung). We will see how well TVB learns. 

Excited About...

TVB has several heavy-hitters lined up for the rest of 2012. Perhaps gearing up for the competition with the new TV stations?

Like TVB's sequelmania, there will be a Part 2 tomorrow with more highly anticipated dramas. Stay tuned!

Ghetto Justice II

Law Ba returns!! I loved Law Ba in the original series. He was so funny, yet was also a diligent lawyer. His bickering scenes with Kris (Myolie) were hilarious, but this time their relationship scenes might be more serious because TVB just had to impose their typical love triangle plot (WHY? WHY??). The cases in the original weren’t particularly unique (unlike The Other Truth), so hopefully there are more interesting cases in the sequel. Please have a better theme song too. So funny how they put the mop on George’s head in the trailer, who’s now a judge.

King Maker

After watching The Greatness of a Hero, so excited to see Wayne and Kent battle again. The sales presentation clip made it seem so intense. Plus Producer Leung Choi-yuen’s historical dramas always has unexpected twists and turns to it. (Can’t say I like his modern family dramas though.) I don’t think I’ve watched a palace series set in the Song dynasty, so hoping to learn more about that time period. The costumes are oddly similar to the ones in The Greatness of a Hero, even though it's two different dynasties.

The Confidant





















Another palace series with Wayne in it! He is really good in ancient dramas, probably better than modern ones. This series is set in the Qing dynasty during the rule of the famous Empress Dowager Cixi. Wayne and Michelle Yim are both terrific actors, along with a solid cast that also includes Maggie Shiu. The two Empresses rule over the weak Emperor (Oscar Leung). Interestingly, the role of Cixi was portrayed by Michelle in the sales's presentation, then offered to Maggie Cheung (after her partnership with Wayne in Forensic Heroes III), and finally given back to Michelle after Maggie C. declined. Personally, I think Michelle looks better as Cixi.

Beauty At War



The return of Yue Fei. Except the sequel sounds like it will focus a lot more on the relationships rather than the evil schemes of War and Beauty. There’s an infuse of new actresses, like Katy Kung, Christine Kuo, Tracy Ip. Hopefully, they won’t be too bad. Christine Kuo was not good in her previous ancient drama (The Life and Times of a Sentinel) because she needed dubbing. I want to watch this mainly because the original War and Beauty was so good. TVB, DO NOT RUIN THIS!!!

Photo Credits: TVB.com