Aged 46. Mr Law joined the Administrative Service of the Hong Kong Government in September 1980 and rose to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A on January 1, 2001.

Over the years, Mr Law has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former Urban Services Department, the former Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, the former City and New Territories Administration, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, the former Lands and Works Branch, the former Constitutional Affairs Branch and the former Civil Service Branch. He was Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower from March 1996 to May 1997 and Private Secretary to Chief Executive from May 1997 to August 1999. He took up the post of Director-General of Trade (later renamed Director-General of Trade and Industry) in August 1999, and has been serving as Permanent Representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China to the World Trade Organization since September 2002.