Bokhary was called to the English Bar in 1970 and to the Hong Kong Bar the following year. He went on to establish a successful legal practice in Hong Kong and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1983. The following year, he also became a Justice of the Peace. In 1989, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court. He came to wide public attention in early 1993 for presiding over an inquest into the New Year's Eve stampede at Lan Kwai Fong, in which 21 people were killed. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal later that year. In 1997, upon the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to the People's Republic of China, Bokhary was appointed a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. He was known for his sense of humour and his talkativeness in court. In 2001, Bokhary was elected a bencher of London's Middle Temple.