Jobless and almost penniless, Yu was forced to find himself a profession. Within a 10-month period, he familiarised himself with all the "niceties" of the English common law, studying in the Bar Library at Lincoln's Inn. In 1949, he passed the bar exam of England and Wales and practised briefly as a chancerybarrister in London.[citation needed]
In 1950, Yu moved to Malaya for a short period to work in his uncle's (Yong Shook Lin) firm Shook Lin & Bok.[citation needed] He soon went back to Hong Kong, and in 1951 became the first Chinese person to be appointed Crown Counsel of that British colony.[1] Yu resigned in 1953 and commenced a private practice.[4]
He soon built up a sterling reputation as an advocate, and by the mid-1960s he had already become the top criminal lawyer in town. It was also during this time he helped to establish the first law school in Hong Kong, "The Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong". For that, he received an Honorary LLD degree from the University of Hong Kong.
In the 1970s, Yu was offered a judgeship on the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, an invitation he declined. Two similar offers were made during the decade. Yu declined both on the grounds of the discriminatory employment terms. Yu was also known for his refusal to apply to become Queen's Counsel,[1] a mark of distinction envied by many practitioners in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and in many other Commonwealth countries.
In 1983, after thirty years of private practice, Yu decided to retire. He became an autobiography author and story-teller, and has published two volumes of memoirs and stories since.
He became a life member of the Hong Kong bar association in 1994.[1]
He is a cousin of Yong Pung How, former Chief Justice of Singapore, and his younger daughter is married to the younger son of Sir Ti Liang Yang, former Chief Justice of Hong Kong.[citation needed]
^ abcdUniversity of Hong Kong (2003). Growing with Hong Kong: the University and its graduates: the first 90 years. University of Washington Press. p. 125. ISBN978-962-209-613-4.
^ abcLevens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 371.
^ abcdMatthews Clifford N.; Cheung Oswald (1998). Dispersal and renewal: Hong Kong University during the war years. University of Washington Press. p. 51. ISBN978-962-209-472-7.