Lawyers in Hong Kong

Esther Wai-Ling Ho

Partner.

Wilkinson & Grist

Ethan Chen

Ethan Chen is a partner based in Hong Kong. He focuses his practice on capital markets and other corporate matters, including representation of issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings in the United States (including SPACs) and Hong Kong, other U.S. registered equity and debt offerings and Rule 144A/Regulation S equity and debt offerings, and dual-primary/secondary listing in Hong Kong. Ethan has extensive experience in industrials, new energy, TMT, consumer, real estate and other industry sectors. He also advises private and public companies and financial institutions in pre/post-IPO matters such as mergers and acquisitions, financing, corporate structure, option plans and shareholder relationships, SEC compliance and corporate governance matters.

Norton Rose Fulbright

Eugene Low

Partner

Hogan Lovells

Eugene Man

Partner

White & Case

Eugene Wong

Eugene Wong represents corporations, institutional investors and investment and asset managers in a wide range of real estate, corporate and commercial matters. His experience includes domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, strategic alliances and corporate restructurings, with particular emphasis on the real estate sector. He also advises on real estate financing transactions and the sale of first-hand properties (including residential, office, commercial, industrial and other mixed-use composite developments). Eugene is a notary public in Hong Kong. Eugene speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Johnson Stokes & Master

Eunice Chiu

Partner

Oldham, Li & Nie

Eva Ying

Associate

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Evangeline Quek

Office Managing Partner, Greater China

Stephenson Harwood

Evelyn Lok

Evelyn Lok has experience advising clients in cross-border commercial aircraft financing and leasing. She has acted for banks and other financial institutions, lessors and airlines on a number of commercial aviation matters. She acts on general aircraft transactions, including the financing, management, sale and purchase of corporate jets, sale and purchase of commercial aircraft, and procurement of equipment for airlines and lessors.

Mayer Brown

Fandy Ip

Partner

Vivien Chan & Co

Fang Liu

Liu Fang focuses on both securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He represents issuers and global investment banks in Hong Kong IPOs, SEC-registered offerings, share placements as well as Rule 144A and Reg. S bond offerings. He also advises PRC state-owned and private companies, multinationals and private equity firms on China inbound and outbound acquisitions, investments, dispositions and related financings. His deal experience extends across a wide variety of industry sectors, including technology, new energy, healthcare/consumer goods and financial services.

Clifford Chance

Felix Ng

Partner

Haldanes

Fergus Saurin

Partner

Kirkland & Ellis

Fiona Chan

Fiona Chan is a partner in the corporate department of Appleby’s Hong Kong office, leading the Banking and Finance practice in the Hong Kong office as well as Appleby’s Technology & Innovation Group in Asia. Fiona has over 20 years of offshore and onshore experience in the Asian market and advises on the laws of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. Her broad offshore law practice spans banking and finance transactions including acquisition, leveraged and project financing, privatisation financing, shipping and aircraft financing, structured products, fund financing, bond issuance and restructuring of corporates and financial institutions. Fiona is routinely instructed by major international and Asian financial institutions, listed and private companies, securities providers and leading law firms.

Appleby

Fiona Chan

Partner

Hugill & Ip

Fiona Fong

Partner

Deacons

Fiona Loughrey

Fiona is widely recognised as one of the most experienced labour law specialists in the region, having been one of the first solicitors in Hong Kong to specialise in this legal area. With her more than 35 years of experience, there are few types of employment law problem or scenario which she has not encountered. Fiona founded the firm’s Employment practice in Asia, and advises on all aspects of the employment relationship. She deals with the cross-border labour needs of many clients and, in addition to handling Hong Kong cases and matters, is closely involved in the Singapore and mainland China arms of the practice. She works on regional projects and investigations, and on both contentious and advisory matters. Fiona has received multiple individual recognitions since the late 1990s to date. She has been, for many years, recognised as a Band 1 lawyer and Leading Individual for Employment Law in Hong Kong by Chambers Asia-Pacific, and is ranked in the Hall of Fame of legal practitioners for Labour and Employment in Hong Kong by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. Her Hong Kong team has also been consistently ranked as a Tier 1 practice by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific since 2001, and Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific since 2008, following the launch of the directory in the region. Fiona has chaired, for two two-year terms, and continues to sit on, the Employment Law Committee of the Hong Kong Law Society. Fiona headed the firm’s Hong Kong office during 2013-2021, and was a member of the firm’s board from 2013 until February 2022. She is a trustee of the firm’s Charitable Foundation, an active member of its Pro Bono committee and The Number One Club (TNOC), the firm’s women’s network. Fiona is a hands on practitioner and extremely interested in mentoring more junior lawyers; many in-house lawyers based in Hong Kong have worked with Fiona over the past three decades. Fiona was admitted as a solicitor in England in 1985, in Hong Kong in 1987 and in Australia (ACT) in 1990, and has been registered in Singapore as a foreign lawyer since 2020.

Simmons & Simmons

Flora Innes

Flora Innes advises clients on restructuring and insolvency matters. Flora has significant experience in complex corporate restructures, insolvency proceedings, and cross-border disputes, and has acted in many high-profile matters. She regularly advises banks, investment funds, insolvency practitioners, and corporate borrowers.

Latham & Watkins LLP

Flora Lam

Denis Chang’s Chambers

Flora On-Yin Lee

Partner.

Wilkinson & Grist

Flora Qian

Partner

Fangda Partners

Florence Lam

Partner.

Wilkinson & Grist

Florence Yim-Yi Chan

Partner.

Wilkinson & Grist

Francis Chung

Francis has a broad civil practice, with particular emphasis on securities and regulatory, insurance, land, trust and probate, arbitration and commercial crime cases. Qualified as an associate of the Chartered Governance Institute, Francis has acted for both the Securities and Futures Commission and senior management of Hong Kong listed companies in securities and regulatory cases, and has appeared before courts and specialist tribunals including the Market Misconduct Tribunal. He is also a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and has experience in arbitration proceedings under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules. He has also acted for multi-national insurers in different insurance litigation including public liability, personal injury and employees’ compensation cases. Besides his civil practice, Francis often acts for defence in different commercial crime cases. He also acts as a prosecutor on fiat for the Department of Justice in the District Court. RECENT HIGHLIGHTS Market Misconduct Tribunal Inquiry re China Forestry Holdings Company Limited (delisted): Acted for the CEO of a listed company engaged in forestry business for the alleged (i) insider dealing of HK$400 million and (ii) disclosure of false or misleading information inducing transactions. China Forestry Holdings Co Ltd (In Official Liquidation) v Top Wisdom Overseas Holdings Limited [2021] HKCFI 2761: Acted for the CEO of a listed company in striking out the proprietary claim in a sum of HK$400 million for the alleged breach of fiduciary duties to the company Wing Wo Lung Company Limited v Jam Moo Ching[2021] HKCA 472; [2021] HKCA 1734 :Successfully appealed for the landlord of a building on Des Voeux Road Central at the Court of Appeal against the defendant’s occupation of external wall. Sunbroad Holdings Limited v A80 Paris HK Limited (HCA 735/2020 & HCA 1174/2021):Acted for a company specialising in haircare products in defending a summary judgment application involving around HK$10 million arrears of rent on the grounds of (a) frustration and (b) the landlord’s failure to terminate the tenancy agreement in the outbreak of COVID-19. HKSAR v Fung Ping Fai [2021] HKDC 1578 :Successfully defended for the founder and managing director of a Hong Kong tourist agency in relation to the charges of (i) theft of HK$4 million and (ii) publication of false statements by company directors. OTHER NOTABLE CASES Securities and Regulatory Securities and Futures Commission v Superb Summit International Group Limited (HCMP 2305/2020): Acted for two company secretaries in a listed company engaged in forestry business in section 214 proceedings involving claims of over HK$200 million. Re a Listed Company under Suspension of Trading of Shares under section 9 of the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules (Cap. 571V): Acted for the Securities and Futures Commission in the application by a listed company to resume trading of its shares. Arbitration Arbitration under the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules Acted for a Hong Kong company in a cross-border sale of goods dispute involving a sum of US$7 million. Acted for a PRC company in a cross-border intellectual property dispute involving licensing of online games in Asian countries. Acted for a Hong Kong listed company in a debt claim of US$2 million. Insurance, Public Liability, Personal Injury and Employees’ Compensation Chan Ping Wah v Cayley Property Management Ltd [2020] HKCFI 3010: Acted for a multi-national public liability insurer in a case concerning a novel issue of applicability of the Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 71) to the deed of mutual covenant. Leung Hong Wah Andy v Shum Wang Chiu and The Prudential Assurance Co Ltd [2021] HKCFI 997.Acted for the employee of a multi-national insurer in the application for (i) release of implied undertaking and (ii) amendment of pleadings in an employment case. Naseem Abbas v Rising Aerial Platform Co Ltd;Mahmood Ansar v Rising Aerial Platform Co Ltd [2021] HKDC 387: Acted for the principal contractor on the compensation assessment under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282). Land, Trust and Probate Wong Kit Chee, the Executrix of the Estate of Tse Lai Ying, the Deceased v Wong Shiu Kwong [2019] HKCFI 1000:Acted for the son in resisting the executrix’s claim for constructive trust on a ground floor shop amounting to HK$30 million. Wong Ho Ching v Appeal Tribunal (Buildings Ordinance) [2020] HKCFI 2738; Re Appeal against the Building Authority’s Order before the Appeal Tribunal (Buildings Ordinance)(BA 150/2019): Acted for the applicants in the leave application for judicial review against a series of procedural decisions on discovery made by the Appeal Tribunal (Buildings Ordinance). Sin Chan Kam v The Incorporated Owners of Wai Sun Building [2019] HKLdT 32:Acted for the registered owner of a ground floor shop against the incorporated owners for the latter’s breach of deed of mutual covenant. PUBLICATIONS Legal Publications Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong, Vol 42, New Territories Annotated Ordinance of Hong Kong – Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap 371) Annotated Ordinance of Hong Kong – Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance (Cap 376) Seminars “Acting for Specified Persons in the Market Misconduct Tribunal: Procedure and Practice” (Nov 2021) “(Quasi-)Easements Litigation: Some Examples in the New Territories and Multi-storey Buildings” (Oct 2019)

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