HONG KONG: THE FACTS-- 23 English law firms have offices in Hong Kong and more than 450 British solicitors work there-- 543 local law firms operate in Hong Kong-- Slaughter and May was the first English firm to open a Hong Kong office in 1974If the handover of Hong Kong to China on Monday meant nothing else to English solicitors working in the former colony, it gave them the chance to have a public holiday.

In a city where 'word hard, play hard' is a way of life, this was not an opportunity to be sniffed at.It also gave them the chance to contemplate what the handover means to their practices.

In recent years, English firms have been demonstrably bullish about their future, and nothing has changed now that the day has actually arrived.'It's business as usual,' says Chris Howse, partner in charge of Richards Butler's Hong Kong office.

'We won't even necessarily have much time off, because the rest of the world continues to work this week.'Mr Howse points out that it will be clients who determine whether Hong Kong, and the English firms that service it, will continue to prosper.

To that end, a survey of multi-nationals, conducted in June at a conference in Hong Kong by Big Six accountants KPMG, makes good reading.

It found that many companies thought they would need more staff to meet their needs after the handover.Perhaps the best indication of English law firm's determination to stay is the joint lobbying effort undertaken by eight City firms over the issue of requalification.

In their submission to the Hong Kong Law Society, the firms reiterated their commitment to Hong Kong and summed up the wider issue.

'There is a large body of international legal work .

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which does not have to be conducted in any particular jurisdiction,' the paper reads.

'At present this work comes to Hong Kong because of its position as a major international financial centre, international confidence in its legal system and the quality of legal advice available.

It is well known that there are other jurisdictions in the region which are envious of Hong Kong's pre-eminent position and would gladly replace it.'So will China, deliberately or inadvertently, kill the golden goose? Virginia Chan, a partner at Lovell White Durrant, says she is 'relatively confident there will not be any intentional policy that will hurt business'.

It would take something 'extraordinary', such as street riots, to force China to assert greater control over Hong Kong and knock confidence in the rule of law, she says.One thing the handover is changing -- and that the new requalification rules will accelerate -- is recruitment.

Solicitors need two years post-qualification experience to requalify, and there is a strong need for Chinese language skills.

As a result, many firms are altering their policies of rotating staff and sending out young solicitors.Andrew Skinner, head of legal recruiters Quarry Dougall's Hong Kong office, says the increasing importance of China work means firms are looking to recruit local lawyers.

However, there is still notably strong demand for good English banking and project finance specialists.As the eight City firms noted, there are other cities -- notably Shanghai and Singapore -- which would happily step into the breach of confidence in Hong Kong falls.

While Shanghai is not currently seen as having the infrastructure to compete with Hong Kong, it cannot be a complete coincidence that several foreign firms have, over the last couple of years, opened or expanded their Singapore offices.Martin Green, the head of Stephenson Harwood's year-old Singapore office, insists it was opened on its own merits and not as a Hong Kong bolt-hole.

'Of course, if any work came that way we wouldn't turn it away,' he says, 'but Singapore is a hub in its own right'.English firms have concerns that stretch back to the panic that gripped Hong Kong after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

But with the Hong Kong stock exchange reaching record levels, and governor Chris Patten leaving with a feeling of 'cautious optimism', now is not the time to voice them.

As long as there is profit to be made, English firms will stay.

When a magazine for English ex-pats surveyed its readership last year, asking for one reason to stay after the handover, there was a clear winner: 'money'.