He was the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 2007 to 2010, as well as a member of the Guangdong Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, prior to his appointment as Secretary for Justice. His time in office coincided with various political controversies in which he played a central role. They include: the 2014–15 electoral reform which triggered the Occupy Central movement, the Legislative Council oath-taking saga which resulted in the disqualifications of six legislators, the 2017 imprisonment of Hong Kong democracy activists, and the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link project which is the subject of an ongoing judicial review challenge.