The intellectual linkage between art and law is deeper than meets the eye. Legal training nurtures an analytical mindset, which allows one to shed new light upon traditional topics and dissect novel issues systematically. Meanwhile, a literary background brings colour into the seemingly bleak house of law, as an arts student can more easily identify the historic, philosophical and human side of legal rules.

The class of “Alaw-ers” may be small, but it is certainly the most closely-knit. I am fortunate to meet friends with very similar interests and character to my own.

Herman Wan

As an arts student, I took part in various arts activities. In my first year, I won third prize for a creative writing competition held by the English Society at HKU. I was a blogger for hKUDOS in my third year and had the opportunity to interview and write an article about Shax Theatre Group’s performance of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Being a volunteer for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival allowed me to assist with event coordination and guest registration, as well as to welcome authors from around the world. Moreover, studying French at HKU enabled me to join a summer school session in France, during which my fluency in French and understanding of French culture improved immensely.
Since I am a law student as well, I could experience internships in the legal field including those in law firms, chambers and at the High Court. I have been an Associate Editor at the Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies for two years. Last summer, I designed lesson plans and taught street law in Myanmar to university students there with Connecting Myanmar, a NGO co-founded by a BA&LLB senior. After returning to Hong Kong, I helped prepare lesson plans for future volunteers.
I could see how the skills required for succeeding in the legal field can be gained from the arts field, and vice versa. While a lot of reading and writing is involved for both degrees, the interchangeable skills go further than this. Arts equipped me with a quick eye for proofreading, which proved useful during my law firm internships. From law, I developed better critical thinking and analytical skills that improved the structure of my literature essays.

Vanessa Leigh

The programme provides a solid and interdisciplinary training in law and literary studies through interactive and dynamic teaching. Students are encouraged to think critically in multiple perspectives. Freshmen can immediately feel the warmth of our programme – we all share a strong bond!

Jacky Tam

Studying BA&LLB equips me with skills in both legal argumentation and literary analysis. In this programme, I can study art courses at my own wishes like comparative literature and Chinese history. This definitely broadens my horizon. Furthermore, the small intake of the programme also facilitates me to establish closer relationship with my classmates.

Joli Chan

In the BA&LLB programme, I have read courses on a wide variety of areas including Chinese and English language and literature, history and philosophy, above the many interesting law courses and electives.  I have been enjoying linguistics in particular, and the flexibility of the programme allows me to write a supervised linguistics extended essay, and eventually had it presented in a renowned international conference.  Thanks to the meticulously structured interdisciplinary courses, it took me little time to realise the close ties between law, literature, linguistics, history, and many other areas.  The intimate community built among teachers and peers has been crucial in stimulating thought-provoking academic and personal exchanges.  On career prospects, it seems clear to me that BA&LLB students, with complete command of the language and the law, achieved stellar performance in both legal and non-legal work positions, and are well liked by potential employers.  In this world of interdisciplinarity, there is perhaps nothing more important than knowing more of everything, and the BA&LLB programme provides exactly that opportunity.  Overall speaking, my five years in this programme has definitely been an fantastic journey, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who seriously hope to pursue further studies in both fields.

Wilson Lui Chi-yin