HK Lawyer

HK$280
h k - l a w y e r . org
December 2015
Cover Story
Face to Face with
Teresa Cheng
GBS SC JP
Chair of The Hong Kong International

Arbitration Centre
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Experience in Enforcing the Unfair

Trade Practices Provisions of Trade
Descriptions Ordinance
FAMILY LAW
A Stern Warning from the

Supreme Court in England to
Spouses who Hide their Assets
INTERNATIONAL TAXATION
International Tax Reforms Target Tax

Planning Strategies
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Hong Kong Lawyer

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HONG KONG LAWYER

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF HONG KONG
Inside your December issue
THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF

HONG KONG
14 COVER STORY
President
Stephen WS Hung
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PROTECTION
32 CONSUMER
37 FAMILY LAW
4 EDITORS NOTE
6 PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
8 CONTRIBUTORS
11
12 FROM THE SECRETARIAT
14 COVER STORY
FROM THE COUNCIL TABLE

Face to Face with

Teresa Cheng GBS SC JP

Chair of The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre

GBS
22 LAW SOCIETY NEWS
32 CONSUMER PROTECTION
Experience in Enforcing the Unfair Trade Practices
Provisions of Trade Descriptions Ordinance
37 FAMILY LAW
A Stern Warning from the Supreme Court in

England to Spouses who Hide their Assets
December
2015
HK$280
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42 INTERNATIONAL TAXATION
International Tax Reforms Target Tax Planning

Strategies
48 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
61 CASES IN BRIEF
70 PROFESSIONAL MOVES
76 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Staying Relevant in the Age of Technology
80 LEGAL HISTORY QUIZ
82 CAMPUS VOICES
84 LAWYERS AT LEISURE

Driving a Plane?
A Change of Heart
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ANAGEMENT
76 PRACTICE M
84 LAWYERS AT
LEISURE
ALB 2016 EVENTS LIST

DATE*
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CITY
COUNTRY
TYPE
8 MARCH
MALAYSIA IP CONFERENCE
KL
Malaysia
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16 MARCH
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BK
Thailand
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23 MARCH
HONG KONG ANTI-CORRUPTION
HK
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29 MARCH
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30 MARCH
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7 APRIL
MALAYSIA LAW AWARDS
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Malaysia
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Singapore
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28 APRIL
PHILIPPINES IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
MN
Philippines
Summit
17 MAY
INDONESIA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
JK
Indonesia
Summit
19 MAY
JAPAN IP CONFERENCE
TK
Japan
Conference
24 MAY
SINGAPORE ANTI-CORRUPTION
SG
Singapore
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26 MAY
SE ASIA LAW AWARDS
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Singapore
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14 JUNE
JAPAN LAW AWARDS
TK
Japan
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28 JUNE
HONG KONG COMPETITION ORDINANCE FORUM
HK
Hong Kong
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30 JUNE
KOREA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
SL
Korea
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22 JULY
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Philippines
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24 AUGUST
MALAYSIA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
KL
Malaysia
Summit
6 SEPTEMBER
HONG KONG LAW AWARDS
HK
Hong Kong
Awards
8 SEPTEMBER
HONG KONG IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
HK
Hong Kong
Summit
15 SEPTEMBER
ASEAN INTEGRATION SUMMIT
SG
Singapore
Conference
29 SEPTEMBER
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TK
Japan
Conference
6 OCTOBER
VIETNAM IN HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT
HCM
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20 OCTOBER
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27 OCTOBER
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9 NOVEMBER
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15 NOVEMBER
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17 NOVEMBER
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December 2015
EDITORS NOTE
We are constantly bombarded with hype about technology and the ability
of artificial intelligence to transform the legal industry. While many new
inventions hold much promise to revolutionise the way legal services can
be provided, odds are new technologies wont big-bang most law firms
out of existence in the next five to 10 years. Rather, good firms that fail
to innovate and evolve will probably suffer a much more pedestrian fate:
they will simply cease to matter. Their client-bases will dwindle, their core
strengths will languish and opportunities to keep pace with or get in
front of changing client needs will pass them by.
While larger firms can and will likely devote considerable time and
resources to IT and re-engineering their business, small to mid-sized law
firms can also remain relevant without breaking the bank. To find out how,
check out the Practice Management feature (p. 76) in this months issue,
which provides 13 ways in which firms with limited IT budgets can still stay
relevant in the age of technology.
Elsewhere in the December issue is a feature on the Trade Descriptions

(Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (p. 32), which
took effect on 19 July 2013. As the Ordinance approaches its three-year
anniversary, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department reflects on
the effectiveness of its efforts to enforce the amended laws unfair trade
practices provisions. The Family Law article (p. 37) examines the findings
of two recent cases handed down by the Supreme Court of England,
which may well be endorsed by the Hong Kong Courts. These two cases,
which the English press has likely over-glamorised, resolve the previous
uncertainty surrounding whether one can bring an application to set aside
within existing matrimonial proceedings.
2013719
Also included is an article (p. 42) providing an overview of the OECDs 2015
Final Reports to the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project,
whose key recommendations, when implemented, are expected to have a
tremendous influence on the way countries tax multinational enterprises.
The main purpose of the BEPS project is to align taxation with economic
activities and value creation. Although the BEPS project focuses on MNEs,
its recommendations have the potential to affect smaller entities that use
structures that involve more than one country.
As we come to the years end, we would like to thank you, our readers, as
well as our countless contributors for your support and feedback in 2015.
We hope for the same in 2016.
5
10
:
------
(78)13
2012()()
(35)
(45)
(OECD)/(G20)
(BEPS)2015
BEPS
BEPS
2015
2016
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.
Cynthia G. Claytor
Cynthia G. Claytor
Editor, Hong Kong Lawyer

Legal Media Group
Thomson Reuters
Legal Media Group
4www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Role of Foreign Lawyers

The Legal Practitioners Ordinance
(LPO), the principal legislation
governing the legal profession, used to
provide a statutory framework for the
admission, regulation and discipline
of Hong Kong solicitors and barristers
only. There was no provision applicable
to foreign lawyers and foreign law firms
practising foreign law in Hong Kong.
In 1994, the regulatory regime for foreign
lawyers and foreign firms was added in
the LPO. Prior to the 1994 amendments,
foreign lawyers relied on an informal
procedure agreed between the Law
Society, the then Attorney General and
the Immigration Department whereby
foreign lawyers and foreign law firms
would enter into an undertaking with the
Law Society for the regulation of their
practice in Hong Kong. In the Guidelines
then published for foreign law firms,
it was expressly stated that a foreign
firm had to declare which jurisdictions
laws it would advise clients upon in
Hong Kong and affirm that it would not
advise clients upon or handle directly
or indirectly any matters other than
those subject to the laws of the specified
jurisdiction or matters which involved
private or public international law or
conflict of laws.
As the number of foreign lawyers
and foreign firms grew, the informal
procedure was considered inadequate,
and it was subsequently formalised into
a statutory regime in 1994.
6www.hk-lawyer.org
Provisions that apply to foreign lawyers

and foreign law firms were incorporated
in different sections of the LPO dealing
with a wide range of issues concerning
practice of foreign law in Hong Kong.
For present purposes, r. 12 of the Foreign
Lawyers Registration Rules entitled
Prohibition on the Practice of Hong
Kong Law is relevant in illustrating the
principle that underpins the regulatory
framework. Be it the pre-1994 informal
procedure or the post-1994 statutory
provisions, the principle has been that
legal practitioners should only advise
clients and handle matters relating to
the laws of the jurisdiction in which they
are qualified and entitled to practise in
Hong Kong. This is important for the
protection of public interest.
To safeguard this principle, s. 50B(4) of
the LPO expressly provides that a foreign
firm can only employ or take a Hong
Kong solicitor into partnership if he or
she does not have a practising certificate.
This is to ensure that the Hong Kong
solicitor, though professionally qualified
to practise Hong Kong law, will not be
entitled to do so while he or she is with a
foreign firm.
With this background, one can
easily understand the reason for the
ancillary requirements in relation to
the description of foreign lawyers on a
law firms letterhead or business card
or the signature of post with respect
to professional correspondence in the
course of a firms practice. They all

require foreign lawyers to specify their
jurisdictions of admission to ensure that
the matters they are handling are within
their proper scope of service.
In offering or indeed promoting ones
legal services, it is important to ensure
compliance with the relevant provisions
so that the public will, under no
circumstances, be led to believe that
foreign lawyers can also advise on Hong
Kong law.
There appears to be reports of cases of
foreign lawyers holding themselves out
as advisers of Hong Kong law or citing
experiences in advising matters involving
Hong Kong law in promotional websites
and CVs. The Law Society has recently
issued a Circular summarising the
relevant provisions in this area. It is time
for an urgent review to ensure immediate
rectification of any inadvertent mistakes
and full compliance with these
provisions. Any misrepresentation will be
viewed seriously by the Law Society.
Stephen Hung, President
December 2015
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
()
1994
1994
1994
1994
12
19941994
50B(4)
www.hk-lawyer.org 7
December 2015
CONTRIBUTORS
Albert Ho, CMSM CFE
Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong SAR

Government, Assistant Commissioner
Mr. Ho is the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs

and Excise Department. Currently, he oversees all the
intelligence and investigation work in the Department
including narcotics, intellectual property crimes, smuggling,
illicit cigarette, organised crime and money laundering.
The investigation of unfair trade practices under the Trade
Descriptions Ordinance has been added to his portfolio since
2013. He is also the Senior Police Advisor of the INTERPOLs
International Intellectual Property Investigators College
Advisory Board, a Certified Fraud Examiner, a barrister of the
Middle Temple of England and Wales, and the High Court of
Hong Kong.
(
)
2013
Rebecca Lachno
Withers, Associate
Rebecca is a Hong Kong and English-qualified family

lawyer, who deals with all types of matrimonial and child
cases, along with providing general contentious advice
to the firms litigation clients. As a commercial litigator,
she has handled a wide range of litigation matters
and regulatory investigations, including high profile
commercial, corporate, banking and fraud litigation and
dispute resolution. She has a broad range of experience
in all aspects of litigation, including multi-jurisdictional
cases, worldwide injunctive relief, contempt of court
proceedings, complex financial disclosure, mediation, trial
and settlement.
8www.hk-lawyer.org
Rebecca Lachno
Rebecca
December 2015
Philippa Hewitt
CONTRIBUTORS
Philippa Hewitt
Withers, Professional Support Lawyer

Philippa has had extensive experience dealing with all
aspects of family law in Hong Kong and England, having
practiced in Hong Kong for a number of years. She is
responsible for the Hong Kong Family Law Reports 2005
to 2014 and is an associate editor for that publication,
is the co-author and General Editor for Family Law and
Practice in Hong Kong (1st edition 2011; 2nd edition
2014) as well as Atkins Court Forms [2012] and The
Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents (Family) [2012].
She regularly contributes articles for journals and
newspapers on the subject of family law in Hong Kong.

Philippa
20052014Hong Kong Family
Law Reports
Family Law and Practice in Hong Kong(1st
edition 2011; 2nd edition 2014)Atkins
Court Forms [2012] The Encyclopedia of

Forms and Precedents (Family) [2012]
Richard Weisman
Richard Weisman
Baker & McKenzie, Partner

(Registered Foreign Lawyer)
()
Richard Weisman is a senior tax partner in the Hong

Kong office of Baker & McKenzie, specialising in US
and international tax matters. He has occupied various
leadership positions within the firm, including as Head of
Baker & McKenzies Global Tax Practice Group and as a
member of Baker & McKenzies Global Executive Committee.
He advises corporations with respect to international
tax aspects of direct foreign investment, mergers and
acquisitions, transfer pricing, permanent establishment
concerns, tax treaty issues and dispute resolution. He also
advises financial institutions and high net worth individuals
on international wealth management matters. He
graduated from Yale College and Harvard Law School, and
is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and New York.
Noam Noked
Baker & McKenzie, Associate

(Registered Foreign Lawyer)
Noam Noked is a tax associate in the Hong Kong office of
Baker & McKenzie, specialising in US and international tax
matters. He advises on US and international tax planning
for cross-border businesses. He also advises financial
institutions and high net worth individuals on compliance
and international wealth management matters. He has
published articles on international tax issues in academic
tax journals. He obtained a doctorate degree in law (S.J.D.)
at Harvard Law School. He also holds bachelor degrees in
law and accounting, and he passed the CPA examinations.
He is admitted to the bar in Israel and New York.
Richard Weisman
Noam Noked
()
Noam Noked
(S.J.D.)
(CPA)
www.hk-lawyer.org 9
December 2015
Tony Williams
Tony Williams
Jomati Consultants LLP, Principal
Jomati Consultants LLP
Tony Williams is the principal of Jomati Consultants

LLP, the leading UK based international management
consultancy specialising in the legal profession.
Jomatis services are designed to support law firms,
barristers chambers and in-house legal departments on
a range of strategic issues. Prior to establishing Jomati
Consultants, Tony had almost 20 years experience at
Clifford Chance as a corporate lawyer, his last role as
Worldwide Managing Partner. In 2000, he became
Worldwide Managing Partner of Andersen Legal. He
established Jomati Consultants in October 2002. In
2012 Jomati was awarded the Queens Award for
Enterprise in International Trade.
Tony Williams
Sindy Wong
Jomati
Consultants
Jomati
Jomati Consultants,Tony
20
2000
Andersen Legal2002
10Jomati
Sindy Wong is a family lawyer of Withers. Her practice

focuses on all aspects of family law, including divorce,
nuptial agreements, children and financial matters.
She represented the wife in the 2013 Hong Kong Court
of Final Appeal landmark case of SPH v SA. Sindy is a
member of the Hong Kong Collaborative Practice Group.
2013
SPH v SA
Hong Kong Collaborative Practice Group
Sindy speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
Sindy
Sindy
10www.hk-lawyer.org
Consultants2012
Jomati
Withers, Family Lawyer
Sindy graduated from the University of Hong Kong with

an LLB and PCLL. Prior to obtaining her law degree, she
got a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and
Chemistry from the University of British Columbia.
LLP
December 2015
Consultation on Draft Leniency Policy for

Undertakings Engaged in Cartel Conduct
Under s. 80 of the Competition Ordinance, Cap. 619 (the Ordinance),
the Competition Commission (the Commission) may enter into a
leniency agreement with a person that it will not bring or continue
proceedings in the Competition Tribunal for a pecuniary penalty
in exchange for the persons co-operation in an investigation or in
proceedings under the Ordinance.
On 23 September, the Commission published a draft leniency policy
for undertakings engaged in cartel conduct (Draft Policy) for public
consultation. The Draft Policy is said to be designed to provide clear
incentives for cartel participants to cease participating in cartel conduct
and to report that conduct to the Commission.
The Draft Policy consists of the following five key elements:
(i) leniency is only available for cartel conduct contravening the First
Conduct Rule;
(ii) only an undertaking may apply for leniency;
(iii) leniency is only available to the first undertaking that reports the
cartel conduct to the Commission and meets all the requirements
for leniency;
(iv) if the Commission decides to offer leniency to the undertaking
in question, it will enter into a leniency agreement with that
undertaking; and
(v) the undertaking receiving leniency must be prepared to sign a
statement of agreed facts admitting its participation in the cartel.
The Law Society has reviewed the Draft Policy and has prepared a
written submission. A number of suggestions were made to improve
the robustness, reliability and efficacy of the regime outlined in the Draft
Policy. The full submission is available at http://www.hklawsoc.org.
hk/pub_e/news/submissions/20151027.pdf.
619()
80()
923
()
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
http://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/pub_e/news/
submissions/20151027.pdf
www.hk-lawyer.org 11
December 2015
FROM THE SECRETARIAT

Ms. Heidi Chu, Secretary General
Solicitor Corporations
Two new operation models for law firms in Hong Kong are in the
pipeline, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and corporations.
Both models require legislative amendments.
LLP is expected to be introduced in early 2016.
For solicitor corporations, the necessary amendments to the
principal legislation, the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159)
(LPO), have already been passed. A new Part IIAA on solicitor
corporations has been added to the LPO. It sets out the principles
according to which a solicitor corporation limited by shares is to be
formed, administered and wound up.
These amendments however have not come into operation yet
because in addition to the amendments to the LPO, new subsidiary
rules are needed to put in place a regulatory framework for solicitor
corporations including, for instance:
(a) the approval procedure and criteria in relation to a company
applying to become a solicitor corporation;
(b) the requirements on the membership and directorship of a
solicitor corporation;
2016
(159)()
IIAAIIAA
(a)
(c) the scope of activities of a solicitor corporation;
(b)
(d) the requirements on the name of a solicitor corporation; and
(c)
(e) the transfer of shares and the exercise of voting rights by

members in specific situations.
(d)
Further, since the existing subsidiary rules cover legal practice

in the form of partnerships and sole proprietorships, they
require substantial consequential amendments in order to cover
12www.hk-lawyer.org
(e)
December 2015
corporations. The Law Society has a dedicated working party

on solicitor corporations and we are working closely with the
Department of Justice on the legislative amendments in 16
sets of rules, out of which six have been finalised. Most of the
remaining ten sets are near the final stage of drafting. We will
keep members closely informed of the progress.
FROM THE SECRETARIAT
166
10
No reminders for December

except warmest wishes from
the Secretariat of joy, health
and prosperity to all readers in
the year to come!
2016
Monthly Statistics on the Profession
(updated as of 31 October 2015):
(20151031)
Members (with or without practising certificate)

Members with practising certificate
Trainee Solicitors
Registered foreign lawyers
Hong Kong law firms
Registered foreign law firms
Civil Celebrants
Reverse Mortgage Counsellors
Solicitor Advocates
Student Members
Registered Associations between Hong Kong
law firms and registered foreign law firms
(including Mainland law firms)
9,773
8,554 (out of whom, 6,377 (75%)
are in private practice)
850
1,274
(from 30 jurisdictions)
851 (48% are sole proprietorships

and 42% are firms with 2 to 5 partners)
79
2,083
426
37 (32 in civil proceedings,
5 in criminal proceedings)
458
34
()
(75%) )
850
1,274
9,773
8,554 (6,377
(30)
851 (48%25
()
42%)
79
2,083
426
37 (32
5)
458
34
December 2015
Face to Face with
Teresa Cheng GBS SC JP

Chair of The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
By Cynthia G. Claytor
Teresa Cheng, GBS SC JP, Chair of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
discusses trending issues and developments in international arbitration and tells us why 2015
has been such an exciting year for Hong Kong and HKIAC in the disputes resolution realm.
Introduction
What do cyberattacks, sanctions and the
Hague Convention on Choice of Court
Agreements have in common? They all
raise issues that Teresa Cheng, GBS SC JP,
Chair of the HKIAC, has likely considered
before eating breakfast.
As HKIACs Chair, Ms. Cheng deals
with a host of issues making waves in
international arbitration circles, but her
primary responsibility is to work with
the HKIAC Executive Committee under
the supervision of the HKIAC Council
to develop Hong Kongs position as an
eminent arbitration and dispute resolution
centre. She is specifically tasked with:
working with the Council to set the
vision and tone of the institution;
furthering the policy objectives of
the institution through collaboration
with other bodies, representing the
institution at necessary functions and
connecting the institution with relevant
opportunities; and
working with the leadership of the
Secretariat to ensure the proper
running of the institution.
Of the issues and pressures Ms. Cheng
faces on a daily basis, she says the main
challenge has been ensuring she fulfils
her duties while connecting them with
the future development of arbitration and
dispute resolution internationally, amidst
the growing competition in other areas.
14www.hk-lawyer.org
Major Trends and Challenges

Facing ADR in Asia
With Asian economies growing, so have
transactions and naturally disputes.
Ms. Cheng predicts international
arbitration will continue to be the main
mode of dispute resolution in cross-border,
multi-party and complex transactions, but
notes a growing trend of parties resorting
to mediation either before or during the
arbitration process.
In light of these trends, Hong Kong and
the HKIAC have maintained up-to-date
arbitration laws and rules, which have
made the City an attractive regional and
international arbitration hub, as has its
independent judiciary as a supervisory and
enforcing jurisdiction. Ms. Cheng observed
that Hong Kongs soft power - its people
- has also played a vital role in maintaining
its status as an international disputes
resolution centre through establishing a
solid foundation and developing available
legal and arbitration services.
While challenges lie ahead with the
growing number of arbitration and ADR
centres in the region, Ms. Cheng believes
Hong Kong can stand out amongst
competitors by being even more forward
thinking, and concentrating its energy
and resources in constructively developing
its legal and arbitration services
internationally. Hong Kong must also
be outward looking and appreciate its
strengths, as well as its limitations, she

said. In that way, it can move in line with
international developments, such as the
belt and road initiative, the role played by
the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
in international infrastructure projects and
cross-border investments, as well as the
opportunities that arise from the impact
of sanctions by EU and the US on certain
states.
Staying Ahead of the

Competition
Jurisdictions and institutions must
constantly evolve and adapt to the needs
of users to stay ahead of the curve.
Innovation is thus vital in growing and
maintaining an edge on rival hubs and
institutions.
With the aim of providing the best
arbitration experience to its users, HKIAC
has undertaken various initiatives that
have led to its recognition as a leading
arbitral institution. In 2013, HKIAC
revised its administered arbitration rules
to provide users with the best practice
of international arbitration, ranging
from detailed provisions on complex
arbitrations to the use of an emergency
arbitrator. The revised rules also
introduced a unique dual fee regime to
remunerate arbitrators (either on an hourly
rate basis or based on the sum in dispute),
which Ms. Cheng noted was recognised by
the Global Arbitration Review in 2014 as
December 2015
COVER STORY
December 2015
one of the most innovative features of

the year.
But the innovation did not stop there.
In recognising the need for certainty
in arbitration agreements, Ms. Cheng
pointed out that HKIAC had published
a new set of model clauses in 2014
prompting parties to consider the
choice of governing law for their
arbitration agreement. In the same
year, HKIAC announced the roll out of
its Tribunal Secretary Service, whereby
members of the HKIAC Secretariat
are available to act as secretaries to
an arbitral tribunal, further enhancing
arbitrations efficiency. Together with a
brand new set of guidelines governing
various aspects on the use of a tribunal
secretary, HKIAC was given the 2015
Global Arbitration Review Award
for Innovation by an Individual or
Organisation in 2014. These innovations
not only distinguish HKIAC from the
other arbitral institutions in the region,
but more importantly provide parties
with an efficient means of settling their
disputes, Ms. Cheng explained.
As other arbitral institutions in the
region are on their way to becoming
prominent players in the market,
Ms. Cheng indicated that HKIAC will
continue to observe the trends in
international arbitration going forward,
as well as the demands of its users.
HKIACs newly unveiled tribunal
secretary accreditation programme,
as well as the opening of its Shanghai
Office, are some of the exciting steps
HKIAC is taking in order to maintain its
position as a leading arbitral institution,
she said.
Strategically Important
Markets
To meet the growing need for arbitral
services in Asia, HKIAC has been
outward looking in promoting their
services to parties in a variety of
markets. While China is important to the
success of the HKIAC and many other
organisations based in Hong Kong,
Ms. Cheng indicated that South Korea,
India, Southeast Asia and Russia are
also strategically important markets to
HKIACs future development.
16www.hk-lawyer.org
South Korea
Given Hong Kongs geographic proximity
to Korea, our increased number of
arbitration cases involving Korean parties
and HKIACs strong and collaborative
relationship with the Korean arbitration
community,HKIAC is very committed to
South Korea, Ms. Cheng said.
She also indicated that HKIAC plans to
continue to strengthen its profile in South
Korea and provide on-the-ground support
to Korean law firms and companies in
relation to HKIACs dispute resolution
services.
India
India is another jurisdiction that HKIAC
finds strategically important, as it is one
of the largest disputes markets in the
region. Ms. Cheng noted that the Indian
Governments gazettal of Hong Kong in
March 2012 was an important development
for HKIAC, as awards rendered in Hong
Kong are now recognised and enforced in
Indian courts.
Given that Sino-Indian trade is projected
to exceed US$100 billion, Hong Kong is
seen as a natural and neutral alternative
to arbitration on the Mainland, Ms. Cheng
said.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is another important
region for HKIAC. Further developments
are expected as ASEAN countries
progress towards regional economic
integration. Intra-regional investments
and foreign direct investments from
major investor economies, including
China, are expected to further increase.
Commercial disputes are thus expected to

rise.Moreover, the ASEAN Comprehensive
Investment Agreement provides an
investor with recourse against a member
State through arbitration under any
arbitration institution.
Sitting right next to Southeast Asia,
HKIAC is strategically positioned as a
neutral, efficient and cost-effective dispute
resolution centre, with valuable experience
in disputes involving ASEAN parties,
Ms. Cheng said.
Russia
Triggered by the leading role played
by Asia in the recovery from the global
economic crisisand the current political
and economic climate arising from events
in Ukraine, Russian commercial activity
mirrors the general shift in the global
economic balance from West to East, Ms.
Cheng explained.
As recently as 2003, cross-border trade
between Russia and China amounted to
just US$12 billion. Over the last decade
that figure has increased more than sevenfold, reaching US$90 billion last year. Both
sides recognise the synergies between
the worlds largest energy exporter and
the worlds most populous nation and
biggest manufacturer, with both Russia
and China expecting trade between the
two neighbours to reach US$200 billion
by 2020.
Further, the ongoing events in Ukraine
and resulting sanctions imposed on
certain individuals and major state-owned
Russian companies have also worked to
alter the structure of Russias operations
December 2015
with its traditional commercial partners,

which include the USA, the UK, Canada,
Australia and Japan. As well as looking
East to seek the lucrative opportunities
now presented there, major Russian
businesses are also moving eastwards in
search of a safer and more stable business
environment.
Hong Kong and HKIAC are therefore the
natural nexus of these new strategies and
transactions, Ms. Cheng said.
Trending Issues
The needs of disputing parties are everchanging, requiring legal and arbitration
service providers to think creatively and
extensively about how to improve the
arbitral process to ensure the needs of
parties are met.
Current issues that are trending include
the impact of sanctions on cross-border
transactions, the development and
innovations in funding agreements,
cybersecurity in international arbitration
and the rise of instruments like the
Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on
Choice of Court Agreements (the Hague
Convention), which came into effect
1 October 2015.
Impact of Sanctions on Parties

Choice of Seat
In conjunction with the increased
volume of China-Russia trade, recent
sanctions against Russia particularly
those imposed by the EU and the US
have boosted interest among Russian
businesses in Asian arbitration markets
and created new opportunities for Asian
arbitral institutions to administer cases
involving Russian parties.
HKIACs ability to administer cases
involving sanctioned parties is not affected
by the sanction regimes introduced in
other jurisdictions, Ms. Cheng explained.
In addition to dramatically increasing
their presence in the Russian market since
sanctions were imposed, HKIAC has also
implemented a number of measures to
enhance the appeal of HKIAC and Hong
Kong as attractive venues for Russianrelated disputes. Some of the ways in
which HKIAC has made themselves more
1.
Russian user-friendly includes:

hiring new Russian-speaking staff
members (eg, HKIAC recently hired a
new Secretariat member who is able to
administer cases in Russian);
providing Russian speaking tribunal
secretaries, transcribers and translators
to provide services in appropriate cases;
offering Russian translations of the
HKIAC Rules; and
expanding HKIACs pool of Russianqualified arbitrators.
Developments and Innovations in

Funding Arrangements
On 19 October 2015, the Hong Kong
Law Reform Commission published a
Consultation Paper recommending third
party funding be permitted for arbitrations
in Hong Kong.
In other jurisdictions, where third party
funding is allowed, it helps to provide
access to justice. It is also increasingly
used as an alternative financing option
for parties to mitigate the costs and risks
of pursuing disputes. As such, third party
funding can be a useful tool for parties to
help alleviate various financial pressures
and other risks they face when deciding
whether to pursue a claim.
Ms. Cheng indicated that HKIAC has
established a task force to address the
questions raised in the LRCs consultation
paper and to consider what role HKIAC can
play to support this initiative.
New Challenges Posed by

Information Technology and Security
Risks
With the ubiquity of technology and
computer systems performing important
functions in our day-to-day affairs,
establishing cyber-resilience and creating
plans on how to prepare for and respond
to cyber-threats is an integral part of many
national and corporate agendas, including
HKIACs.
Ms. Cheng indicated that HKIAC is actively
considering measures to deal with the
increasing cyber-threats in international
arbitration. We provide secure wireless
networks to parties to HKIAC hearings.
COVER STORY
Each party will be given a separate

Wi-Fi network and login details to secure
wireless privacy and to avoid unintended
sharing of confidential information. We are
also working to enhance our data privacy
and protection policy.
The Rise of Instruments like the

Hague Convention
The Hague Convention aims to ensure
the effectiveness of choice of court
agreements made between parties to
transnational commercial contracts and
also to radically streamline international
litigation that involves exclusive choice of
court clauses by eliminating the need for
lengthy argument on jurisdictional issues.
As explained by David Waldron, in terms
of enforcement, the Hague [Convention]
aims to do for litigation what the New York
Convention has achieved for arbitration.
Because the choice between arbitration
and litigation often hinges on the
ability of parties to enforce a judgment
internationally, the Hague Convention
goes a long way to resolving enforcement
uncertainties by significantly limiting the
basis on which courts in contracting states
may refuse to enforce a judgment made in
another contracting state pursuant to an
exclusive choice of court clause.1
Ms. Cheng views the introduction of
the Hague Convention as a welcome
development that will make court
litigation a more attractive means to
resolve international disputes, but notes
international arbitration still has its own
advantages.
In the latest Queen Mary University of
London survey (ie, a prestigious global
arbitration survey), Ms. Cheng pointed
out that 90 percent of respondents chose
international arbitration as their preferred
dispute resolution mechanism. Given
the level of competition in todays dispute
resolution market, HKIAC will continue
to improve and perfect its offerings to
maintain its competitive edge and better
address the evolving needs of users.
Looking Ahead to the Next

30 Years
This year marks the 30th anniversary of
HKIAC. As an organisation committed to
David Waldron, Hague Convention Choice of Court Agreements to Take Effect in October, LawFlash (13 Jul 2015), http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/hague-convention-choice-of-court-agreementsto-take-effect-in-october?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original.
December 2015
fostering the development of international

arbitration regionally and globally, this
anniversary year has been an opportune
time for HKIAC to talk about its vision for
the future.
Over the next 30 years, Ms. Cheng
expects two major trends developing in
the field of arbitration to continue. The
first relates to the key role played by Hong
Kong, as Asias premier dispute resolution
centre. With Asias ongoing role in
leading the global economic recovery
and the associated shift in investment
activity from West to East, Hong Kong is
experiencing a golden age of arbitration,
increasingly playing host to the resolution
of some of the most complex and highvalue disputes today, a trend which will
only continue to strengthen over time,
she said.
The second trend relates to the growing
complexity of disputes. Ms. Cheng
observed that international commercial
relationships increasingly involve multiple
parties and multiple contracts and so,
therefore, do the disputes which arise
from them (such cases accounted for a
third of new arbitrations filed with HKIAC
in 2013). It is imperative that institutions
are able to deal as flexibly as possible
with such disputes through, for example,
provisions on joinder, consolidation
and the ability for claims arising under
multiple contracts to be determined
in a single proceeding, she explained.
HKIACs state-of-the-art administered
arbitration rules introduced late in 2013
lead the field in this respect and provide
an excellent option for parties who wish
to put themselves in the best possible
position for effective dispute resolution.
As to HKIACs role in the next 30 years,
Ms. Cheng believes Forward Thinking
will be HKIACs guiding principle. It
describes the vision HKIAC holds as
we carry out our day-to-day work but
equally informs the community that the
next 30 years will not remain static. We
will continue to build bridges with the
communities and strengthen the dialogue
among users, innovate, create, and push
the envelope with arbitral practice, as well
as set a model for the growth of other
arbitration jurisdictions in the region. We
18www.hk-lawyer.org
also plan on continuing to cooperate with

other institutions to help them improve
their own services, she said.
Developing the Next

Generation of Arbitrators and
Advocates
Many arbitral institutions have young
practitioner groups, including HKIACs
own HK45 for practitioners under the age
of 45. The mission of HK45, Ms. Cheng
explained, is to promote interest in and
knowledge of issues relating to arbitration.
We would like to see the group play an
active role in continuing to supplement
HKIACs initiatives to promote Hong Kong
as a centre for dispute resolution.
Ms. Cheng observed that the group is
very active and has recently become
one of the beneficiaries of this years
Hong Kong Arbitration Charity Ball. She
indicated that HK45 will use the funds
received to support two key initiatives: the
HK45 Hong Kong Arbitration Roadshow
and in expanding the quantity and quality
of HK45s community and education
events without charging participants. We
would like to see HK45 spearhead these
two initiatives and continue to organise
arbitration seminars and social events for
young practitioners to develop the next
generation of arbitrators and counsel.
Message for Solicitors

Ms. Cheng believes Hong Kong solicitors
have huge potential. With the linguistic
ability, an understanding of Asian cultures
and Hong Kong solicitors international
exposure, they can play a pivotal role in
developing legal and arbitration services
in Hong Kong, she said.
She also observed the importance of
both transactional and disputes lawyers
in promoting Hong Kong as a regional
disputes hub. Transaction lawyers can
encourage parties to put in a Hong Kong
dispute resolution clause, and adopt Hong
Kong law as the governing law for the
contract. Dispute resolution lawyers will
be able to provide a service that is second
to none in the region.
Concluding Remarks
2015 has been an exciting year for
HKIAC and Hong Kong, filled with many
new developments and awards. Of the

achievements and advances HKIAC has
made, Ms. Cheng seemed most proud
of HKIAC being recognised as the third
preferred arbitral institution in the world
and first outside of Europe as well as
HKIAC being found to be the worlds most
improved institution over the past five
years.
It is comforting to learn that the efforts
that have been put into developing Hong
Kong as an international arbitration centre
are recognised by so many. I hope that we
will continue to reinforce Hong Kongs role
as the international platform for legal and
dispute resolution services in the Asian and
also the world economy. n
Teresa Cheng
GBS SC JP
Chair of The HKIAC
Teresa Cheng GBS SC JP FICE FCIArb is

a Senior Counsel, Chartered Engineer,
Chartered Arbitrator and Accredited
Mediator, with a distinguished record
of public service in Hong Kong. She is
the Chairperson of HKIAC, Past Vice
President of the International Council of
Commercial Arbitration, and Past Vice
President of the ICC International Court
of Arbitration. In 2008, she was the first
Asian woman elected through a global
election as President of the Chartered
Institute of Arbitrators. She serves as a
Recorder in the Court of First Instance
of the High Court of Hong Kong, and is
currently a member of the International
Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID) panel of Arbitrators,
designated by the Chairman of the ICSID
Administrative Council of the World Bank,
and an external IFC alternate member
of the World Banks Sanctions Board.
Ms. Cheng is a Fellow of Kings College
in London, and the Course Director of
the International Arbitration and Dispute
Settlement Course at the Law School of
Tsinghua University in Beijing.
December 2015
COVER STORY
GBS
Cynthia G. Claytor
GBS SC JP
2015
GBS SC JP
2013
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2014
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December 2015
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David Waldron
COVER STORY
2015
2013
30
30
Queen Mary
45
GBS
University of London(
4545
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30
45
30
45
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1.
David WaldronHague Convention Choice of Court Agreements to Take Effect in OctoberLawFlash

(2015713) http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/hague-convention-choice-of-court-agreements-to-takeeffect-in-october?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original.
GBS SC JP FICE FCIArb
2008
December 2015
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
Participation in the
International Legal
Conferences in October and
November Law Society Breakfast at the
IBA Conference
On 5 October, the Law Society held a
breakfast session entitled The Asian
Century: A Borderless Trade and
Investment Environment in Hong Kong
during the International Bar Association
Annual Conference in Vienna.
It was well attended by over 90 delegates.
We were honoured to have Mr. Wesley
Wong, Solicitor General, on our Panel,
explaining the unique features of Hong
Kongs legal system to our guests.
Sincere gratitude also extends to our
other Panel speakers, Council Member
Mr. Huen Wong and Mr. Robert P for
their excellent presentations on the
advantages of doing business in Hong
Kong and what Hong Kong can offer as an
international arbitration venue.
Panel discussion.
22www.hk-lawyer.org
The President presents the plaque of appreciation to the speakers for their contribution to the event.
Left to right: President Stephen Hung, Mr. Wesley Wong, Solicitor General of Department of Justice HKSAR,
Council Member Huen Wong, and Mr. Robert P, Partner of Gibson,Dunn& Crutcher LLP.
Gibson,Dunn&
Crutcher
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December 2015
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
UIA 59th Congress in Valencia, Spain

The UIA 59th Congress was held in Valencia, Spain from 28 October to
1 November. President Stephen Hung, Vice President Melissa Pang, Council
Member Joseph Li and Mr. Fred Kan represented the Law Society in attending
the Congress.
Vice President Melissa Pang was one of the panel speakers for two of the
sessions during the Congress, namely Impact of Globalization and Mobility on
Immigration Law and Food Law:A Specialist Area for Lawyers on 29 and 30
October, respectively.
The Law Society also took advantage of the opportunity to meet with
representatives from overseas professional bodies namely the Hungarian Bar
Association, the Madrid Bar Association and the National Council of Legal
Advisors in Poland to discuss collaboration opportunities and to exchange
updates in the legal profession.
The President met with Ms. Maria Slazak, Chairperson of the Foreign Committee
of the National Council of Legal Advisers and the President of the Council of Bars
and Law Societies of Europe.
Maria Slazak
Vice President Melissa Pang shares her insights with the audience.
Meeting with the Madrid Bar Association.

(From left to right): President Stephen Hung, Ms. Sonia Gumpert, President of the Madrid
Bar Association, Council Member Joseph Li.
Sonia Gumpert
59
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The Law Society delegation meeting with the Hungarian Bar Association.
December 2015
Hong Kong Academy of Law

The Hong Kong Academy of Law (Academy)
and the Law Society organised a total of 28
seminars in October.
One was a joint seminar entitled Belt and
Road Role of HKs Legal and Dispute
Resolution Services hosted by the Law
Society with the Hong Kong International
Arbitration Centre and Hong Kong Bar
Association on 23 October.
Of the remaining 27 seminars, two were
conducted by the Academy to familiarise the
audience with new laws and guidance and
each of them had an audience of over 200.
The two seminars were:
1. New Probate Checklist on 14 October.
The new Checklist will replace the existing
Checklist with effect from 1 January 2016.
2. Seminar on Competition Law which
was re-run on 15 October. The seminar
examined the Competition Ordinance
which will come into operation on 14
December.
Three other seminars organised by the
Academy relate to mediation. The three
seminars were:
1. Risk Management in Mediation Practice
on 12 October;
2. Representing Clients at Mediation and
Negotiation in Insurance and Building
Management Disputes on 14 October;
3. Mediation Advocacy Training on 16-17
October.
(From left to right): Speakers of the course Risk Management in Mediation Practice on 12 October were Mr. Iu
Ting Kwok (first from left), Consultant of Kwok, Ng & Chan; Ms. Sylvia Siu (second from left), Council Member
of the Law Society and Member of the Board of Governors of Hong Kong Mediation Centre; Mrs. Cecilia Wong
(second from right), Chairlady of the Mediation Committee and Council Member of the Law Society, and Mr.
Norris Yang (first from right), Partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm. About 160 participants attended the seminar.
()1012()
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10
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Members of the Probate Committee of the Law Society including Mr. Ng Kin Yuen (first from left), Partner of Liu, Chan & Lam, Ms. Tam Sau Hing (second from left),
Principal of S.H. Tam & Co., Ms. Viola Hung (third from left), Senior Associate of Deacons, Mr. Herbert Tsoi (fourth from left), Partner of Herbert Tsoi & Partners, Mr. Peter
Tsang (third from right), Partner of Tsang, Chan & Woo, Mr. Wong Tak Shing (second from right), Partner of Wong Shum & Co. and Ms. Au Miu Po (first from right),
Partner of C.P. Lin & Co. presented a seminar entitled New Probate Checklist on 14 October. Mr. Billy Ma (fourth from right), Council Member and Chairman of the
Probate Committee of the Law Society was the moderator of the seminar. The seminar attracted over 400 participants.
1014 ()()
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24www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
Training Courses for Social

Welfare Department
On 19 October, Mr. Anthony Hung and
Mr. Steven Leung, Ms. Sylvia Siu and
Ms. Cecilia Wong, members of the Family Law
Committee presented training courses for the
Social Welfare Department on the topics of
domestic violence and child custody.
1019
(From the left): Ms. Sylvia Siu (Council member and member of Family Law Committee) and Ms. Cecilia
Wong Council member and member of Family Law Committee).
()
Criminal Law Conference 2015
2015
2015 Criminal Law Conference, co-organised by the Law Society

of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Department
of Justice, took place on 24 October at the Function Hall of the
Justice Place (formerly Central Government Offices). Topical issues
were canvassed during the conference, such as bind-over, prospects
of conviction and hearsay rules. Veteran criminal law practitioners
shared their experience and view points in a lively debate, where
speakers for and against a motion took turns delivering their
arguments.
2015
1024(
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December 2015
The Cross Strait Four Regions

Young Lawyers Forum
The Cross Strait Four Regions Young
Lawyers Forum, an annually held event
jointly organised by the Greater China
Legal Affairs Committee and the Young
Solicitors Group of the Law Society, was
successfully held on 2223 October. As
the Belt and Road initiative proposed
by the Central Government will cover
more than 60 countries, it will inevitably
createahuge demand for Hong Kong
legal services. Therefore, the Forum
this year was entitled Belt and Road:
Unlimited Opportunity for the Cross Strait
Four Regions Young Lawyers.
With the support of lawyers associations
within the region, there were more than
180 participants attending the Forum.
Amongst them were 17 guest speakers
from across the four regions, with their
professional expertise covering the fields
of economics, law and arbitration.
During a roundtable discussion on
22October, the chief representatives of
the various lawyers associations indicated
that they would increase their members
ability to take part in the Belt and Road
initiative. Many thought young lawyers
had adopted a conservative approach
towards participating in non-local
internship programmes. They felt more
should be done to promote and encourage
young members to venture abroad, as
the experience could help them lay a firm
foundation for their career.
HKTDC, Mr. Nick Chan, Partner of Squire

Patton Boggs and Law Society Council
member, and Ms Marianne Zhao, Director
of Taiwan Bar Association, discussed:
the ways in which the Belt and Road
initiative is restructuring the order of
international trade and will balance the
world economy; the issues lawyers in
the four regions should pay attention to
(eg, foreign laws and regulations and
business codes) as a large amount of
foreign-related business will be brought
by the initiative in future; and facing
such challenges, how the young lawyers
should cope with the situation.
As trading activities between countries
are increasing and the use of arbitration
to resolve disputes has become a trend,
the Law Society, for the first time,
coordinated an Arbitration Moot
session, during which guests were
invited to introduce the features of the
Arbitration Law in their own jurisdictions
and share their views through a short
play.
Discussion topics in the other two
groups were Understanding the Most
Recent Development of Company Law
in the Cross Strait Four Regions and
Breakthroughofthe Siegeand Risk
Management: Soft Skills of Young
Lawyers.
In the session on Understanding
the Most Recent Developments of
Company Law in the Cross Strait Four
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen

encouraged the participants to
grasp the opportunity brought
by the Belt and Road initiative to
develop their careers.
Regions, the speakers discussed regional

developments, as well as the merits and
shortcomings of their regional laws .
Macau representative Ms. Vong Sok Hei
of Vong Hin Fai Lawyers & Private Notary
pointed out that there is no specially
enacted company law in Macau. Rather,
companies there mainly operate under
the Commercial Code, the Business
Registration Code and the Civil Code.
Mr. Henry Wai, a representative of Hong
Kong, who is also the Principal of the Firm
of Henry Wai & Co., Solicitors, discussed
Hong Kongs new Companies Ordinance
(effective from March 2014) and compared
it with the old one. He noted that the
new Companies Ordinance provides
more comprehensive protection and relief
to companies and their shareholders.
Accordingly, it has made Hong Kong more
attractive as a place of incorporation. The
Participants also visited the Legislative

Council and the Independent Commission
Against Corruption on 22October to gain
a better understanding of how Hong
Kongs legislature and anti-corruption
enforcement agency function.
On 23 October, Secretary for Justice
Rimsky Yuen, presidents and vice
presidents of various lawyers associations
delivered speeches during the opening
ceremony. Representatives from
organisations with a close tie with the Law
Society also came to support the event.
The main forum was held, as before, in
the morning and three panel sessions
were held in the afternoon. In the main
forum, Mr. Stephen Wong, Privacy
Commissioner for Personal Data, Mr.
Nicholas Kwan, Director of Research of
26www.hk-lawyer.org
(From left): Guests attending the Opening Ceremony: Mr. Du Chun, General Manager, China Legal Service (H.K.)
Ltd; Vice President Thomas So; Macau Lawyers Association General Secretary Paulino Comandante; Taiwan Bar
Association then-President Chia-Ching Lee; President Stephen Hung; Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen; All China
Lawyers Association Vice-president Ou Yongliang; Ms. Zhou Lulu, Director of Department of Treaty and Law, Office
of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in HKSAR; Mr. Yu Xuejie, Director of Department of
Law, Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the HKSAR.
()()
December 2015
other two speakers were Mr. Zheng

Jianjun, Partner of AllBright Law Offices
and Mr.Vincent Wang, Integrated
Partner of Tsar & Tsai Law Firm of
Taiwan.
Due to last years positive feedback,
the Forum hosted another session for
solicitors of different levels of seniority
to discuss their career journeys. Chen
Jingeng, Partner of Zhong Lun Law
Firm; Mr. Johnson Ho, Director of the
Taiwan Bar Association; Ms. Celina
Ling Lee of Rato, Ling, Lei & Corts
Advogados; and Partner of F.Zimmern
& Co. and The Forum Organising
Committee member Raymond Siu were
the featured speakers.
Mr. Ho pointed out that with more and
more people entering the legal services
sector, young lawyers will inevitably
be under a tremendous amount of
pressure. He encouraged attendees to
devote more of their time to serving
the lawyers associations, participating
in the cross strait affairs and pro bono
activities to make their lives and careers
more meaningful.
In the closing ceremony, Vice President
Thomas So thanked all parties for
their support. He encouraged the
attendees to continue to support
activities organised by their own
lawyers associations and contribute to
the development of the regional legal
services industry.
Witnessed by all the guests attending the event,

President Stephen Hung and Taichung Bar Association
Vice President Jason Wu together signed an Exchange
Agreement on behalf of the two professional bodies
to further put into effect the cooperation proposal
reached by them when their representatives met in
Taichung this April.
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
1 0 The Arbitration Moot short play was about the handling of a case concerning family
dispute by an arbitration tribunal, in which 10 young lawyers played the
22-23 property
respective roles of arbitrators, applicants, respondents and witnesses and received very
favourable comment.
10

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Integrated Partner
December 2015
Delegation from National Judges

College visit the Law Society
The President of the National Judges College,
Mr. Huang Yongwei, together with Professor
Peng Yonghe and Associate Professor Wang
Xiaofang, visited the Law Society on 28 October
and were received by Vice President Thomas So,
Ms. Catherine Mun, member of the Greater China
Legal Affairs Committee, and Secretary General
Heidi Chu. During the meeting, they discussed
the possibility of conducting short-term training
courses and other exchange programmes so as to
enable the mainland judges to better understand
the trial processes in Hong Kong and foreign
countries and to enable Hong Kong lawyers to
become more familiar with the operations of the
mainland courts.
Representatives of the Law Society and the visiting guests.
1028
Hangzhou Lawyers Association visit the Law Society
An 11-member delegation from Hangzhou Lawyers Association, led by President

Shen Tian-feng and six Vice Presidents, visited the Law Society on 30 October
and were received by Past President Ambrose Lam, Vice Chairman of Greater
China Legal Affairs Committee Wilfred Tsui, Member of the Greater China
Legal Affairs Committee Catherine Mun and Secretary General Heidi Chu. The
delegation showed great interest in topics such as: self-regulation of the legal
profession in Hong Kong; how to become a member of the Law Society; the
ways that Hong Kong law firms bill their clients; disciplinary sanctions imposed
on practitioners; and the cooperation and exchange mechanism between the
lawyers associations of the Mainland and the Law Society. Other related issues
were also discussed in depth during the meeting.
1030
Representatives of the Law Society and delegates of Hangzhou Lawyers Association in a group photo after the meeting.
Seminar Organised by ChinaUniversityof Political

Science and Law
At the invitation of ChinaUniversityof Political Science and Law, President Stephen
Hung, Vice President Thomas So and Chairman of the Criminal Law andProcedure
Committee Kenneth Ng delivered speeches to some 300 students and teachers of
the University on the topics of Professional Conduct and Operation of Law Firms,
International Commercial Arbitration Start from Hong Kong and Introduction
to Hong Kong Criminal Law on 16 October. The attendees responded positively
to the speeches, many of whom were Hong Kong students pursuing further
studies in Beijing, and the three speakers received many career-planning related
questions from them. Meanwhile, President Hung and Vice President So seized
the opportunity to meet Mr. Wang Jun-feng, the President of All ChinaLawyers
Association, and other representatives to exchange views and ideas with them.
28www.hk-lawyer.org
1016
300
December 2015
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
Networking Reception
on Islamic Finance 2015
On 30 October, the Islamic
Finance Working Party (IFWP)
organised its third annual
Networking Reception at the
Law Societys Clubhouse. The
Reception was well received and
attended by distinguished guests
and major Islamic Finance players
from different sectors, including
Consul Generals, government
officials, and representatives from
banks and corporations.
Mr. Amirali Nasir, Vice-Chairman of Standing Committee on Member Services and Chairman of the Islamic Finance Working
Party & Mr. Ip Shing Hing, Past President, with guests.
The networking reception began

with a short speech by Mr. Amirali Nasir, ViceChairman of the Standing Committee on Member
Services and Chairman of the IFWP, when he
gave a recent update on the issuance of sukuk
by the Hong Kong government and stressed the
importance of diverse participation in developing
Islamic Finance. The guests then mingled and
exchanged their ideas and updates on Islamic
Finance, while enjoying the delicious halal food
throughout the night.
2015
1030
The Law Society Bridge

Team: Professional IMP Pairs
Bridge Tournament 2015
The Law Society Bridge Team
participated in the Professional IMP
Pairs Bridge Tournament 2015 on
4 October.Sixteen pairs of bridge players
from five professional bodies, including
the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Hong
Kong Dental Association, Hong Kong
Medical Association, the Hong Kong
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
and the Law Society of Hong Kong, took
part in the tournament. After 15 rounds
of intensive bridge plays, Mr. W. K. Ng,
Convenor of the Bridge Team and
his teammate Mr. Cliff Ip, clinched
the championship by a comfortable
margin.The Hong Kong Dental
Association and Hong Kong Medical
Association came second and third,
respectively. The Bridge Team welcomes
all members who are interested in the
game of bridge, be it for leisure and fun
or for more serious practices.
The Law Society Bridge Team
(From left): Mr. Cliff Ip and Mr. W. K. Ng came out on top in the competition and posed with bridge players
from the Hong Kong Dental Association and Hong Kong Medical Association.
2015
1042015
16
15
December 2015
Swim for Charity The Community

Chest Wheelock
Swim for Millions
2015
The Community Chest
Wheelock Swim for Millions
2015, held in Repulse Bay on
25 October, was a meaningful
fund-raising event which has
gained similar recognition as
the Walkathon, a renowned
charity event in town.
On the sunny Sunday morning,
the Law Society Swimming
Team participated in both the
Golden Kilometer Race and
The passionate team members are ready to swim for charity! From left: Ms. Agnes Chan, Law Society Swimming Team Convenor
the Family Relay Race. The
and Recreation and Sports Committee Member; Ms. Karen Lai; Ms. Yangyang Chen; Mr. TC Chan, Law Society Swimming Team
Golden Kilometer Race was
Captain; Ms. May Tam; Mr. Allen Che; Mr. Pierre Lui and Mr. Kevin Ng.

a physically demanding race,
consisting of an initial 500

metres swim, followed by a
bare-foot run along the beach after which participants returned to the water to
-
swim another 500 metres to complete the course. The route was a real test of
2015
our teammates stamina, as the running-swimming combo caused all of us to
2015 1025(
experience muscle fatigue.
)
Ms. Helen Ho and her daughter Constance Leung participated in the Family
Relay Race in this event. Helen first completed a 200-metre swim, followed
by a beach run before Constance, the second leg, swiftly dived into the sea
for another 400-metre swim. This relay race reinforced the cohesive bonding
between the Leungs family. They displayed a high level of cooperation.
All the donations to this charity race went to Hong Kong Community Chest to
500
benefit the needy in the local community.
500
The Law Society Swimming Team
200
400
The Leungs family on completion of the Family Relay Race. From left: Ms. Helen Ho; Helens daughter
Constance Leung and Mr. Calvin Leung.
30www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
LAW SOCIETY NEWS
Cooking and Tasting Competition 2015

Teppan Hero
Itadakimasu!
Over 30 members of the Law Society gathered together on
Halloween this year at a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant in Tsim
Sha Tsui, not for trick or treating, but for a very special event
organised by the Cookery, Food and Wine Appreciation Group:
The Cooking and Tasting Competition 2015 Teppan Hero.
Led by our Council member Mr. Nick Chan, who is also the
Convenor of the Cookery, Food and Wine Appreciation Group, our
fellow members had the opportunity to taste the fine delicacies
of the Japanese teppanyaki cuisine including teppan-abalone,
lobster, foie gras, A5 Kagoshima Wagyu beef and much more!
Apart from the tasting corner, we also had five teams of pseudochefs consisting of 15 members participating in the cooking
competition. We were all given the opportunity to first watch
and learn from the master chefs demonstration and thereafter
cook at the teppan-station for our judges. In order to impress
the judges, our pseudo-chefs had to use all possible methods to
show their teppan-cooking skills, including the use of flames to
thrill the audience.
The event concluded after a four-hour marathon battle over five
dishes between the teams. The winners are:
Christina Kam (Teppan Hero), Karen Lam, Cami Leung and
Winston Yu (Champion), Nancy Leung, Christina Kam, Noven
Wan (1st Runner-Up), and Queenie Huang, Annivia Chiang and
Michael Lai (2nd Runner-Up).
Congratulations everyone!
Karen Lam
Member, Cookery, Food & Wine Appreciation Group
Champion team received the medals from Ms. Eliza Chang, Chairlady of the
Recreation and Sports Committee (second from right) and Mr. Nick Chan, Council
Member and Vice Chairman of the Recreation and Sports Committee (first from right).
()
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2015
Itadakimasu!
30
2015
A5
155
54
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Members enjoying the teppanyaki cuisine.

December 2015
Experience in Enforcing
the Unfair Trade Practices
Provisions of Trade
Descriptions Ordinance
By Albert Ho, Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence and Investigation)
32www.hk-lawyer.org
Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong SAR
December 2015
ince the Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade

Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance
2012 (Cap. 362) came into force on 19 July
2013 (the Ordinance), the Customs and
Excise Department has been taking rigorous
enforcement actions against rogue traders.
This amended Ordinance, which represents
an important improvement to consumer
protection law in Hong Kong, has created six
new offences related to unfair trade practices,
including false descriptions of services,
misleading omissions, aggressive commercial
practices, bail advertising, bait-and-switch and
wrongly accepting payment.
Under the provisions of the original Ordinance,
false trade descriptions and forged trade
marks in relation to goods were criminal
offences. The same is still prohibited under the
amended Ordinance, but the amendments
sweep away the distinction between goods
and services. The maximum penalty for any
violation is imprisonment for five years and a
fine of HK$500,000.
The amended Ordinance also introduces a civil
compliance-based mechanism to encourage
traders to comply with the law and to enable
Customs to obtain an injunction to stop
identified non-compliant practices in a timely
manner.
The Stats
The Customs and Excise Department is
charged with enforcing the Ordinance
and has 137 dedicated officers to carry out
investigations and enforcement actions. As
of September 2015, a total of 1,333 cases
involving suspected unfair trade practices have
been handled and evaluated by Customs.
So far, the evaluations have resulted in the
prosecution and conviction of 168 and 145
cases, respectively. Simply put, it translates
into an average of one to two convictions
per week for offences relating to unfair trade
practices. So far, it does not appear as if the
work will be easy, as the Ordinance covers a
wide range of goods and services.
Customs Investigation and

Enforcement Approach
Apart from robust legislation, what works to
ensure unscrupulous traders will not be able to
get away with unfair trade practices is strong
CONSUMER PROTECTION
enforcement. The enforcement approach

the Department has taken is a risk-based
one and priority is given to handling cases
involving unfair trade practices that may have
a significant detriment to consumers, the
trade or the community.
Case Studies
The case studies below, offer a glimpse into
our initial success in tackling false trade
description of services, misleading omissions,
aggressive commercial practices and wrongly
accepting payment.
Private Eye Case (2014)

The Private Eye Case is the first conviction
since the Ordinance was extended to cover
services.
The case concerned a private eye falsely
describing the services his company would
offer on his firms website. Namely, he used
inflated claims when advertising the types of
services on offer, indicating his firm had 30
years of investigative experiences and that all
investigations would be performed by former
police officers.
In reality, the company was founded in May
2008 and none of the staff were former
police officers. The company did occasionally
carry out investigations with unofficial advice
from a police officer, but the police officer
was never employed by the company, he was
merely a friend of the private eye.
The defendant was charged with using a
false trade description of service and fined
HK$30,000. The magistrate emphasised
that the monetary nature of the sentence
could not be used as a precedent for future
penalties. Rather, the sentence was imposed
on the grounds that it was the first ever case
involving false trade description of services,
but not the worse of its kind.
Dried Fish Maw Case (2015)

In this case, the defendant was convicted of a
charge of misleading omission in relation to
the sale of fish maw.
The Dried Fish Maw Case involved a
notoriously common deceptive trade practice
of fooling people by quoting one price for
goods, and then charging more based on
December 2015
another measurement. By refusing to

reply directly to questions concerning
the price of the goods, the defendant
deliberately created an air of confusion.
The deceptive trade practices occurred
inside a dried seafood store in Causeway
Bay where the victim, a Mainland
tourist, entered the store and saw 580
conspicuously written on a sign of a tray
full of fish maw. The victim asked the
defendant if that was the price for a catty
of fish maw. Despite repeated questions,
the defendants reply was 580 without
any reference to the unit. Only after the
victim agreed to purchase two catties,
was the victim told the price of the fish
maw was HK$580 for a tael, not a catty.
The victim was then put under pressure to
pay HK$18,560 to settle the bill because
the defendant had cut up the product.
The defendant was found to have
deliberately misled the victim with
respect to the measurement units and
was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment
the heaviest penalty to date for the
offence of misleading omission. The
defendant was also ordered to pay
HK$10,000 compensation to the victim.
The manager and consultant of the

beauty store were convicted for using
aggressive commercial practices, and
each was sentenced to three months
imprisonment. This is the first case in
which an immediate custodial sentence
was imposed on traders who performed
aggressive commercial practices.
School Fees Case (2015)

The School Fees Case involved the
defendant wrongly accepting private
tuition school fees.
The defendant in this case ran an
education business after retiring.
Despite knowing he could not deliver
the requested English, Putonghua and
Spanish courses on their designated
dates, he accepted tuition fees from
two students. The court found that the
defendant had no reasonable grounds
to believe that he would be able provide
the courses because the company was in
rent arrears and a court order had been
granted to vacate the premises.
Body Treatment Case (2015)
The defendant was sentenced to 14 days

of imprisonment, which was suspended
for one year after conviction, and ordered
to compensate the victims for the tuition
fees paid.
This case involved the use of aggressive

commercial practices in a beauty store.
Need to Ensure Compliance
The victim in the Body Treatment Case

was undergoing a beauty treatment at
a beauty store when one of the stores
consultants was visiting. The victim was
persuaded to allow the manager of the
store to examine her breasts, after which
she was advised lumps were found that
might become cancerous in due course.
The victim was then urged to buy a lymph
therapy package worth HK$140,000
to treat the problem. When the
victim repeatedly refused to do so, the
defendants relentlessly insisted she do
so for more than an hour. Eventually,
she acquiesced and paid a HK$70,000
deposit for lymph therapy. However,
when the victim later went for medical
check-up, she discovered she was healthy.
34www.hk-lawyer.org
The new provisions under the amended

Ordinance specifically regulate the
relationship between traders and
consumers in the promotion and
marketing of goods and services. The
above case studies highlight the need
for traders engaging in the sale and
marketing of products and services
to strictly comply with the legal
requirements in their commercial
practices.
Previous marketing experiences to
persuade customers verbally to make
a purchase may not be valid and may
need to be adjusted according to the new
requirements. It is in the best interest
of all traders to start, if they have not
yet done so, reviewing their sales and
marketing practices to identify potential
issues, as well as ensure customers are

well aware of all key information about
transactions. An important matter to
note is that the meaning of traders,
as defined in the Ordinance, is wide
and broad, covering not only agents
and employees who act on behalf of
the trader, but also directors, company
secretaries and managers if the offence
is committed with their consent or
connivance.
Trade with Integrity

Although a defence is available at trial
if the commission of an offence is due
to the act or default of a third party,
the Hong Kong Customs and Excise
Department strongly advises traders to
trade with integrity and honesty. Apart
from our enforcement efforts, we have
put equal emphasis on publicity and
public education to implement the
Ordinance. Since its passage, we have
held numerous seminars and outreach
briefings. In co-ordination with the
Consumer Council, we have undertaken
extensive publicity and education work
through various channels, with the aim
of enhancing the knowledge of traders
and consumers about their rights and
obligations under the Ordinance and
increasing awareness about the concept
of shopping smartly. Recently, we
launched a special Integrity Programme
to train store owners registered with the
Travel Industry Council on best practices
in honest sales and relevant legal
requirements under the Ordinance.
Conclusion
As we are approaching the three year
anniversary of the amended Ordinance,
there has already been good progress in
terms of enforcement, public awareness
and trade practices. We believe that
consumer rights are better protected now
than they were before. We will continue
to enforce the law indiscriminately
against rogue traders to preserve Hong
Kongs reputation as an internationally
well-known Shoppers Paradise. n
December 2015
CONSUMER PROTECTION
()
2012(
)()(362)(
)2013719
50
137
2015
91,333
168145
(2014)
30
20085
December 2015
70,000
30,000
(2015)
(
)
(2015)
580
580
14
580
18,560
10
10,000
(2015)
14
36www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
FAMILY LAW
A Stern Warning from the

Supreme Court in England to
Spouses who Hide
their Assets
By Rebecca Lachno, Associate

Philippa Hewitt, Professional Support Lawyer
Withers
Withers
December 2015
n 14 October 2015, the Supreme

Court of England (SC) gave
judgments in two different cases that
have been making headlines. The facts
and legal arguments were different, but
the takeaway was the same where a
party has been wronged by the material
non-disclosure of the other in reaching
a financial settlement, the court will
find a way to have the order overturned,
whether by appeal or by an application
to the lower court that decided the
original action (within the divorce
proceedings or by way of fresh action).
Gohil v Gohil
In Gohil v Gohil [2015] UKSC 61, W
successfully appealed the Court of
Appeals (CA) decision ([2014] EWCA
Civ 274) to overturn Moylan Js order to
set aside.
The Facts
The couple married in 1990, had three
children and divorced in 2004.
H was a partner in a law firm but told
the court and W he was impecunious.
In light of this, the parties agreed, with
the courts approval, that H would
pay W a lump sum of GBP 270,000,
plus GBP 6,000 per annum spousal
maintenance. By 2007, W had fresh
evidence and made an application in
the divorce proceedings to set aside the
order on the ground of Hs fraudulent
non-disclosure, which was ultimately
successful. Meanwhile, H was convicted
of money-laundering offences.
H appealed Moylan Js order to set
aside, citing lack of jurisdiction and
relying on Ladd v Marshall [1954] 1 WLR
1489 regarding the admissibility of new
evidence on appeal.
Jurisdiction
Before the CA, H contended that
Moylan J had no jurisdiction as a high
court judge to set aside the order,
saying the application should have been
38www.hk-lawyer.org
brought by appeal. The CA side-stepped

the issue by treating Ws application as
a fresh action per de Lasala v de Lasala
[1980] AC 546, which says that where
a consent order has finally disposed of
the issues raised between the parties,
the only means to have it set aside on
grounds of fraud or mistake is by way of
appeal or a fresh action.
The SC lifted that roadblock by saying
that in relation to financial orders in
divorce proceedings, an application
can be made within those proceedings
(endorsed by the SC in Sharland v
Sharland [2015] UKSC 60).
In so doing, the SC endorsed proposals
of the Family Procedure Rule Committee
(tasked with reviewing this issue) insofar
as they have said that (i) there should
be a power for the High Court and the
family court to set aside its own orders
in relation to financial remedies; (ii) such
applications should be made to the level
of judge that made the original order;
and (iii) where such application can be
made, permission to appeal is to be
refused.
Applicability of Ladd
The SC also gave a crystal clear ruling
that Ladd does not provide the criteria
that must be proved in an application
to set aside it merely provides the
evidential benchmark for what material
can be relied upon. The correct exercise
to undertake, is that mandated in
Livesey v Jenkins [1985] AC 424 W
must establish material non-disclosure
by H.
Moylan J, after a full fact-finding
hearing, had properly found that H was
guilty of material non-disclosure and the
SC reinstated his September 2012 order.
Lord Neuberger added (citing Lord
Brandon in Livesey) that if the nondisclosure was accidental or negligent,
W would also need to establish that
the effect was such that the original
order was substantially different from

that which would have been made if H
had made proper disclosure. However,
if the non-disclosure was intentional
(fraudulent), the order should be set
aside, unless H could satisfy the court
that it would have been made in any
event (per Lady Hale in Sharland ). As
such, the onus of proof shifted from
W to H where the non-disclosure was
intentional.
Sharland v Sharland
In Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC
60, the SC found for W, overturning the
CAs decision and ordering that the draft
order should not be perfected.
The Facts
The couple married in 1993, had three
children, and separated 2010 with
divorce proceedings ongoing.
H developed a highly successful software
business (AppSense), in which he holds
a substantial shareholding. H said that
there were no plans to IPO AppSense
and it was valued on that basis. Ws
valuer put it at GBP 88.3 million and Hs
at GBP 60 million. W wanted half of the
value of the liquid assets (ie, GBP 8.5
million) plus half the value of Hs shares
once sold, but instead she accepted GBP
10 million in liquid assets and 30 percent
of the future net proceeds of sale of the
shares. Sir Hugh Bennett approved this
agreement and a draft consent order
was drawn up.
However, before the order was sealed,
press reports indicated that AppSense
was being actively prepared for IPO,
valuing the company between US$750
and 1000 million, making the 20 percent
W had forfeited, potentially massively
valuable. The hearing was reopened
and the judge found that H had lied.
Had the judge known the true facts, it
was inconceivable that he would not
have regarded them as relevant to the
exercise of his discretion.
December 2015
But rather than direct that the case

be reheard, the judge made the order
in the original terms. Per Livesey, he
satisfied himself that the order was not
substantially different from that which
he would have made had there been full
disclosure originally. H had now given
evidence (which he accepted) that there
was no longer an IPO in contemplation,
meaning the original non-disclosure was
now not material.
The CA upheld the decision 2:1, relying
again on Livesey, even though that
decision had not dealt with a case of
fraud.
Briggs LJ vigorously dissented on the
basis that the fraud was material to
the valuation of Hs shareholding and
therefore Ws assessment of the offer to
settle; and once the judge had decided
that Hs fraud had undermined this
agreement, that should have been
the end of the matter because (i) Hs
conduct was fraudulent and fraud
unravels all; (ii) only truly trivial matters
of non-disclosure (per Livesey) will not
give rise to a right to set aside; and (iii) W
had a right to a fair hearing of her claim.
Setting Aside in Cases of Fraud

Upholding Briggs LJs dissent, the SC
made clear that if the consent of a party
to a consent order has been vitiated,
there may be good reason to set it
aside. Where setting aside has been
ordered in cases concerning innocent
non-disclosure of a material fact in
divorce proceedings and fraudulent
misrepresentation in an ordinary
contract case, it would be extraordinary
if W was left in a worse position in
the case of fraudulent non-disclosure
in divorce proceedings. H cannot be
allowed to deny the materiality of his
deception.
have influenced a reasonable person

to agree to it, nor, had it known then
what it knows now, would the court
have made a significantly different
order, whether the parties had agreed
to it or not. This was a burden for H to
discharge, as the perpetrator of the
fraud.
Implications for Hong Kong?
Recent Court of Final Appeal judgments
demonstrate that Hong Kong is heavily
influenced by developments in England,
so the courts here may well endorse the
findings of these two SC cases (see LKW
v DD (2010) 13 HKCFAR 582 and SPH v
SA (2014) 17 HKCFAR 364).
Until such time, we rely on the leading
authority of the Hong Kong Court of
Appeal in Lui Sik Kuen v Lee Suk Ling
[1992] 2 HKLR 371 (endorsed by the
Family court in WTM v LNCA [2012]
HKFLR 159), which says there is no
jurisdiction to order a re-hearing before
the same judge and the only available
options are to appeal or bring a fresh
action. If the consent order is set aside,
then the aggrieved party can restore
the case to the original matrimonial
proceedings.
FAMILY LAW
England. It is hoped that, given these SC

cases, rules will be included to address
the setting aside of consent orders, as
the current procedure is cumbersome
and often expensive.
Meanwhile, Sharland has helpfully
documented the ability of victims
of fraudulent misrepresentation or
non-disclosure to set aside orders
in matrimonial proceedings, leaving
no doubt that in cases of fraud, the
interests of justice will almost invariably
require some form of redress.
While the English press has glamorised
these judgments as paving the way
for wronged spouses to reopen their
financial settlements, we are not
convinced there has been a carte
blanche opening of the flood gates.
Indeed, the availability of the remedy to
set aside always existed, what was up
for debate was the procedural route by
which such remedy could be achieved
what helpfully does now exist in
England, is the possibility of bringing an
application within existing matrimonial
proceedings. n
Hong Kong is currently reviewing the

Family Procedure Rules with the
aim of preparing a set of clear
rules similar to those in
The only exception is where the court is

satisfied that, at the time when it made
the consent order, the fraud would not
December 2015
By Rebecca Lachno

Philippa Hewitt
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HMoylan
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de Lasala v de Lasala [1980] AC 546
Livesey
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WH
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LordNeuberger(Lord
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Sharland v Sharland [2015] UKSC
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40www.hk-lawyer.org
Brandon
December 2015
FAMILY LAW
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2:1
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1993
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December 2015
International Tax Reforms

Target Tax Planning
Strategies
By Richard Weisman, Partner

Noam Noked, Associate
42www.hk-lawyer.org
Baker & McKenzie

Baker & McKenzie
December 2015
n 5 October 2015, the OECD

Secretariat published the 2015 Final
Reports (the BEPS Final Reports) to
the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit
Shifting Project (BEPS). The term BEPS
refers to tax planning strategies that
exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules
to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax
jurisdictions where there is little or no
economic activity, resulting in little or
no corporate tax being paid. It has been
estimated by the OECD that these tax
planning strategies have resulted in a
global corporate income revenue loss of
between US$100 to $240 billion annually.
This is mostly due to tax planning
schemes that involve transfer pricing and
attributing profits to low-tax jurisdictions,
inconsistencies between different
countries domestic tax rules, lack of
transparency and coordination between
tax administrations, limited country
enforcement resources and harmful tax
practices.
In response, in September 2013, the G20

endorsed the OECDs Action Plan on
BEPS. Now, two years later, the newly
released BEPS Final Reports contain
comprehensive measures that countries
have agreed upon to combat BEPS,
ranging from new minimum standards,
common approaches to facilitate a
convergence of national practices and
guidance drawing on best practices.
More than 60 countries and important
international organisations have
participated in the project. The project
was described by the OECD as the first
substantial and overdue renovation of
the international tax standards in almost
a century. As such, the project could have
a profound impact on the tax exposure of
multinational entities (MNEs). The main
purpose of the BEPS project is to align
taxation with economic activities and
value creation. Although the BEPS project
focuses on MNEs, its recommendations
have the potential to affect smaller
entities that use structures that involve
more than one country.
Below are some of the projects key
recommendations.
Key Recommendations
Country-by-Country Reporting
MNEs will be required to provide master
files on their global business operations
and transfer pricing policies, local files
on detailed transactional transfer pricing
information specific to each country
and file a Country-by-Country Report
annually for each tax jurisdiction in which
they do business.
The master file is intended to be a highlevel overview of the MNEs transfer
pricing practices, global operations
and practices. It should provide a list
of important agreements, intangibles
and transactions. It should also contain
information relating to the MNEs
organisational structure, business,
intangibles, intercompany financial
activities and financial and tax positions.
The local file focuses on information
relevant to the transfer pricing analysis
of transactions taking place between
local entities and associate foreign
entities, which are material in the context
of the local countrys tax system. Thus,
pertinent information includes financial
information relating to such transactions,
a comparability analysis and the selection
and application of the most appropriate
transfer pricing method.
The Country-by-Country Report is
expected to expose instances in which
profits are booked in low-tax jurisdictions
where little or no economic activity
takes place. The report will contain the
following information for each jurisdiction
in which an MNE does business: amount
of revenue, profit before income tax and
income tax paid and accrued, as well
as the number of employees, stated
capital, retained earnings and tangible
assets. In addition, MNEs will need to
identify each entity doing business in any
particular jurisdiction and indicate the
business activities in which such entity
engages. While countries generally agree
on the core elements of Country-byCountry reporting, some, such as China,
have indicated that they will require
additional transactional data regarding

related party interest payments, royalty
payments and services fees. Certain
countries will start implementing
the Country-by-Country reporting
requirements for fiscal years beginning
on or after 1 January 2016 and apply
these requirements to MNEs with annual
consolidated group revenue equal to or
exceeding 750 million or approximately
US$848,475,000.
Changes to the Permanent

Establishment Definition
The definition of permanent
establishment (PE) in the OECD
Model Tax Convention will be changed
to address ways used to avoid tax
via replacement of distributors with
commissionaire arrangements or via
the artificial fragmentation of business
activities.
A commissionaire (or dependent agent)
arrangement is where a person sells
products in a country in its own name
but on behalf of a foreign enterprise
that is the owner of these products, such
that the foreign enterprise can sell its
products without technically having a PE
to which sales may be attributed for tax
purposes. This arrangement fell into the
exception to the existing PE definition as
the contracts are not concluded in the
name of the foreign enterprise. As such,
the definition of PE is being modified to
ensure that only entities undertaking
activities that are truly preparatory
or auxiliary are not classified as PEs.
Fragmentation refers to the practice
whereby MNEs avoid attracting PE status
by fragmenting a cohesive business into
several small operations in order to argue
that each operation is merely preparatory
or auxiliary. This will also be addressed by
the new definition.
Treaty Abuse
In order to prevent the granting of treaty
benefits in inappropriate circumstances,
countries have agreed to include antiabuse provisions in their tax treaties,
December 2015
including a minimum standard to counter

treaty shopping. At minimum, countries
should include in their tax treaties an
express statement that their common
intention is to eliminate double taxation
without creating opportunities for nontaxation or reduced taxation through
tax evasion or avoidance, including
through treaty shopping arrangements.
In addition, the treaties should include
a general anti-abuse rule based on the
principal purposes of the arrangements
and/or a limitation-on-benefits provision.
Changes to Transfer Pricing

Guidelines
The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines
(the TP Guidelines) will be changed
so as to limit the use of cost-sharing
arrangements and other tax planning
strategies involving intangibles and other
payments between related members of
an MNE. This should be achieved through
a careful delineation of the actual
transaction between related enterprises,
by analysing their contractual
relationship as well as actual conduct.
The TP Guidelines target tax planning
strategies that are based on contractual
re-allocation of risk and clarify that legal
ownership alone does not necessarily
guarantee a right to all the return
generated by the exploitation of that
intangible. Capital-rich entities without
any other relevant economic activities will
not be entitled to any excess profits.
Proposals regarding Hybrid

Mismatches and Interest Deductions
The BEPS Final Reports propose a
common approach which will facilitate
the convergence of national practices
by interested countries to limiting base
erosion through interest expenses and
hybrid mismatches. The BEPS Final
Reports also recommends changes to the
OECD Model Tax Convention, to ensure
that hybrid instruments and entities, and
dual resident entities, are not used to
obtain unduly the benefits of tax treaties.
In terms of interest expenses, a cap of
a certain percentage (1030 percent)
44www.hk-lawyer.org
of the earnings before interest, tax and

depreciation is recommended.
Dispute Resolution between

Countries
In order to resolve disputes between
countries more efficiently, a large
group of countries agreed to move
quickly towards mandatory and binding
arbitration. There are different views as
to the scope of mandatory arbitration.
While some countries would prefer to
have no limitation, others believe it
should be limited to a defined subset of
cases. A monitoring mechanism will be
established to focus on improving dispute
resolution processes.
Implementation
Countries can implement the BEPS
projects recommendations through
domestic legislation. For changes in
agreements between countries, the
OECD is promoting a multilateral
treaty that will modify existing bilateral
treaties between countries who join
the multilateral treaty without having
to negotiate and amend each treaty
separately. Although they are not legally
binding, various countries are committed
to the consistent implementation of the
projects recommendations in the areas
of preventing treaty shopping, Countryby-Country Reporting, curbing harmful
tax practices and improving dispute
resolution. However, some countries have
not endorsed the underlying standards
on tax treaties or transfer pricing. There
is still work to be done and the OECD
Model Tax Convention and TP Guidelines
are anticipated to be completed and
released by 2017.
What to Expect
The BEPS Final Reports are expected
to have a tremendous influence on
the way countries tax MNEs. Many
countries are in the process of enacting
domestic legislation or regulations to
implement the Country-by-Country
reporting obligations and other BEPS
recommendations. Over time we will
be able to observe how tax authorities

implement the recommendations with
respect to transfer pricing policies,
and the impact of the BEPS project on
existing and new tax treaties. The BEPS
projects recommendations are expected
to become new international tax norms.
Chinas Response
China has actively participated in
the project and has already started
to implement parts of the projects
recommendations into its domestic
legislation. On 18 March 2015, the State
Administration of Taxation of China
(the SAT) introduced the Bulletin on
Enterprise Income Tax Issues related to
Outbound Payments by Enterprises to
Overseas Related Parties (SAT Bulletin
[2015] No. 16), which targets service fees
and royalty payments made by Chinese
companies to their overseas affiliates
that do not undertake functions and
risks and/or lack economic substance.
Furthermore, on 17 September 2015,
the SAT released the discussion draft
of the revised Implementing Measures
for Special Tax Adjustments (the TP
Rules), which is another attempt to
introduce the transfer pricing concepts
and recommendations (including
Country-by-Country reporting) under the
BEPS project into domestic legislation. It
is expected that the revised TP Rules will
be finalised before the end of 2015.
Notably, the revised TP Rules also include
some special Chinese characteristics that
may create further difficulties for MNEs in
China, such as:
the value contribution allocation
method, which is very similar to the
global formulary apportionment
method, as an alternative to other
transfer pricing methods for allocating
MNE profits;
value chain analysis as part of the
local file, which will encourage the
PRC tax authorities to use profit splits
more frequently when determining the
Chinese affiliates proper returns; and
December 2015
location specific advantages (LSAs),

for which the tax authorities are
required to carry routine analysis
to identify the additional profits
generated by the LSAs.
We expect more legislation changes,
audits and tax disputes to follow. In a
meeting held by the SAT on 10 October
2015 in Beijing, the SAT emphasised that
it will take this opportunity to improve
Chinas domestic rules and international
tax administration capabilities by:
revising the Tax Administrative and
Collection Law to permit PRC tax
authorities to collect more information
from taxpayers (including the
mandatory disclosure of aggressive
tax planning schemes) so that they
can effectively counter aggressive tax
planning;
establishing automatic information
exchanges with more than 45
countries by the end of 2018; and
revising Chinese treaty interpretative
guidance to actively counter treaty
abuses and artificial avoidance of
permanent establishment status.
Hong Kongs Response

Hong Kong is expected to follow the new
international tax norms, as it has done
with respect to other international tax
developments. It is important to note that
the BEPS Final Reports do not target
low tax rates per se, as long as the low
rates apply consistently both to domestic
players and MNEs. Therefore, Hong
Kong should be able to sustain the main
features of its tax systems, including a
low corporate tax rate and non-taxation
of capital gains and offshore income.
However, businesses with structures that
include Hong Kong entities might be
under pressure from other jurisdictions.
In general, cross-border businesses will
need to proactively reassess whether
their current structures and tax planning
strategies remain sustainable in view of
the BEPS Final Reports. n
Richard Weisman
Noam Noked
201510
20139
(OECD)/
(G20)(BEPS)
2015(
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1,000
2,400
December 2015
()
(MNEs)
(commissionaire)(
)
(fragmentation)
201611
7.5(848,475,000
46www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
(locationspecific
advantages)
201510
2015318
()
201516)
2017
201845
2015917
()
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2015

(
)
December 2015
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
COMPETITION LAW
Bid-rigging
A former engineering company boss has
admitted to conspiring to rig the tender
process for building renovation contracts,
drawing further attention to alleged
bid-rigging in the building maintenance
sector.
The engineering boss pleaded guilty in
October to conspiracy offences under
the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200)
and Prevention of Bribery Ordinance
(Cap. 201). The conduct involved bribes
of about HK$45 million to secure tenders
for the renovation of two residential
estates in Shatin.
The admission follows the Competition
Commissions decision in early 2015
to begin a market study to examine
allegations of anti-competitive conduct
in the building maintenance industry.
Bid-rigging is serious anti-competitive
conduct under the Competition
Ordinance (Cap. 619). It is likely to
be a key focus of the Competition
Commissions enforcement efforts once
the Ordinance comes into full effect on
14 December 2015.
What is bid-rigging?
Bid-rigging occurs when competitors
covertly agree on strategy when
responding to a request for tender. The
competitors decide between themselves
who will win the tender, and manipulate
the bidding process to achieve that
outcome.
48www.hk-lawyer.org
Typical forms of bid-rigging include:

cover bidding where competitors
agree to submit higher bid prices
than a competitor chosen to be the
winning bidder, in order to create the
impression that the winners bid is
competitive; or
bid suppression or withdrawal where
competitors agree not to tender or to
withdraw a tender to ensure that an
agreed competitor will be successful
instead.
Enforcement
The Competition Commission and
Competition Tribunals enforcement
powers come into effect from
14 December. From that time, if the
Commission has reasonable cause to
believe that a person has engaged in bidrigging, it may either:
issue an infringement notice against
the person, offering not to bring
proceedings on condition that the
person makes a commitment to
refrain from the conduct and/or admit
its contravention of the Ordinance; or
apply to the Competition Tribunal for
a pecuniary penalty or other orders
to be imposed on the person. In this
case, the onus is on the Commission
to prove that the bid-rigging has
occurred.
The Tribunal may, on application by the
Commission, impose a pecuniary penalty
of up to 10 percent of the turnover
of the company involved for each
contravention. The Tribunal has broad
discretion to make other orders, including
disqualifying a person from acting as a
director of a company.
A person who suffers loss or damage as

a result of bid-rigging will have a right
to commence a follow-on action against
the person that has been found to have
engaged in the bid-rigging conduct.
Leniency
Companies engaged in bid-rigging will
be entitled to apply for leniency under
the Competition Commissions Leniency
Policy for Undertakings Engaged in
Cartel Conduct. Under the policy, the
Commission will agree not to bring
proceedings in the Competition Tribunal
against the first member of a bid-rigging
cartel who reports the cartel conduct and
meets the requirements for leniency. (See
p. [10] for the Law Societys comments on
the Commissions Draft Leniency Policy).
- Edmund Wan, Partner, and

James Wilkinson, Senior Associate,
King & Wood Mallesons
10
4,500
(200)(
201)
()2015
December 2015
(619)
1214
10%()
()
([10]
1214
- James Wilkinson
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
COMPETITION LAW
Competition Tribunal
Practice Directions
Published
The Hong Kong Judiciary has published
two new Practice Directions for the
Competition Tribunal that will apply once
Hong Kongs competition law comes into
full effect on 14 December 2015.
The Practice Directions will operate
together with the Competition Tribunal
Rules (Cap. 619D) and The Rules of
the High Court (Cap. 4A) to govern the
practice and procedure of the Tribunal.
Competition Tribunal
The newly-established Tribunal will be
responsible for hearing and determining
cases brought under the Competition
Ordinance (Cap. 619). It is a specialist
tribunal consisting of all the judges of the
Court of First Instance (excluding Justices
of Appeal, Recorders and Deputy Judges).
The Tribunal has jurisdiction to adjudicate
on competition cases including:
applications made by the Competition
Commission with regard to
alleged contraventions, or alleged
involvements in contraventions, of the
competition rules;
applications for the review of
Competition Commission decisions;
and
private follow-on actions by persons
who have suffered loss or damage
as a result of an act that has been
determined to be a contravention of a
competition conduct rule.
Practice Direction No. 1

Proceedings before the Tribunal
Practice Direction No. 1 sets out
procedures for the conduct of Tribunal
proceedings. Key features include the
following:
General approach of the Tribunal:
Active and robust case management
will form a central element of the
Tribunals procedures. The Tribunal
will aim to run cases as efficiently,
inexpensively and expeditiously as is
consistent with fairness.
December 2015
Constitution of the Tribunal: The

Tribunal may appoint one or
more assessors to assist it in the
proceedings. Such assessors will be
persons with relevant expertise such as
economics and industry experts.
Discovery: There is no automatic

general discovery in Tribunal
proceedings. Parties may instead apply
for directions on discovery.
20151214
Evidence: Except in the case of

proceedings for a pecuniary or
financial penalty, the Tribunal may
receive any evidence whether or not
it would otherwise be admissible in a
court of law.
The Practice Direction notes that

confidential treatment will only to be
accorded to information that genuinely
requires protection. In general,
confidentiality cannot be claimed for the
entire or whole sections of a document,
as it is normally possible to protect
confidential information with limited
redactions.
- Edmund Wan, Partner, and James

Wilkinson, Senior Associate, King &
Wood Mallesons
(619D)(4A
(619)

www.comptribunal.hk
1
1
50www.hk-lawyer.org
Representation: Legal representatives

who have a right of audience in the
Court of First Instance will have the
same right of audience in the Tribunal.
Practice Direction No. 2 sets out

the practice relating to confidential
information in Tribunal proceedings.
The Tribunal may, on the application of
a party, order that documents are to be
accorded confidential treatment. This will
place restrictions on who may view the
documents.
Practice Direction No. 2

Confidential Information
Hearings: The Tribunal will indicate,

as early as practicable, a target date
or range of dates for the substantive
hearing of a matter. Hearings will be
held in open court unless otherwise
ordered.
Tribunal website: The Tribunal will have

its own website: www.comptribunal.hk.
-
James Wilkinson

December 2015
DATA PRIVACY
One Step Closer to a Right

to be Forgotten in Hong
Kong?
The Administrative Appeals Board
rejected an appeal from David Webb
against an enforcement notice issued by
the Privacy Commissioner for Personal
Data requiring that Mr. Webb remove
from his website (webb-site.com)
the names of parties set out in court
judgments of matrimonial proceedings
published on the Hong Kong Judiciarys
website over a decade earlier.
Background
David Webb is a former investment
banker turned activist who runs a website
offering information on corporate and
economic governance in Hong Kong,
including the various roles that particular
individuals play in the financial and
public sectors.
The Decision
The AAB confirmed that Mr. Webb had
contravened Data Protection Principle 3
(DPP3) of the Personal Data (Privacy)
Ordinance (Cap. 486) by continuing to
publish hyperlinks on webb-site.com to
three judgments handed down between
2000 and 2002 by the Court of Appeal,
each of which had been subsequently
redacted by the Judiciary to remove the
names of the parties.
Determining the Relevant Purpose of

Data Collection
DPP3 requires that personal data shall
not (without consent of the data subject)
be used except for the purpose at the
time that the data was collected, or a
directly related purpose.
The AAB held that DPP3 is directed
against the misuse of personal data,
regardless of whether the relevant
personal data has been published
elsewhere or was in the public domain.
The AAB considered that the purpose
for which the data was to be used at the
time of the collection of the data was to
enable the Judiciarys judgments to be
utilised as legal precedents on points
of law, practice and procedure of the

courts and of public interests and not
to identify the parties in the judgments.
Mr. Webbs purpose as a data user
(held to be reporting and publication
for general use) amounted to a new
purpose inconsistent with that for which
the personal data was collected, in
contravention of DPP3.
Balance between Freedom of

Expression and Personal Data
Privacy
The AAB determined that the balance
between freedom of expression and
data privacy protection struck by the
Commissioner in its enforcement notice
was not unreasonable. The Commissioner
made a distinction between reporting
facts capable of contributing to a debate
of general public interest and making
tawdry descriptions about an individuals
private life.
The AAB also rejected Mr. Webbs
arguments that open justice would
exempt him from any breach of DPP3
and that DPP3 was disproportionate and
unconstitutional.
Comment
Public Data is Still Personal Data
The main lesson is that personal data
obtained from the public domain is still
subject to the protection under DPP3.
The position in Hong Kong should be
contrasted with Singapore, where the
Personal Data Protection Act does not
require organisations to obtain the
consent of the individual when collecting
personal data that is publicly available.
But a Precedent Set for Matrimonial

Case Reports Only?
One factor that appears to have led to the
AABs conclusion is the change of judicial
practice to anonymise names of parties to
matrimonial proceedings.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
undertake a balancing exercise in each

case between the right to privacy and the
public interest.
Rather than establishing a blanket
right to be forgotten (as some argued
was the case with the ECJs decision in
Google Spain), the AABs decision has
been based squarely on DPP3, which
concerns the original purpose for which
personal data was collected. The AAB
gave a narrow reading to that term. Given
the specific context of this case, however,
there may well be news disclosures in
future that could force the Commissioner
to make more challenging assessments
as to where the balance lies between
privacy and public interest.
- Mark Parsons, Eugene Low and

Dominic Edmondson, Hogan Lovells
()David
Webb
Webb
()
(webb-site.com)
David Webb
It would be interesting to know whether

the AAB might have reached the same
conclusion if the change in legal practice
had not occurred.
Webbwebb-site.
com20002002
()(486)3
Public Interest: A Delicate Balance
Thirdly, public interest in disclosure is not

a trump card, and the Commissioner will
December 2015
Webb
()
(
)
3
- Mark ParsonsDominic
Edmondson
Webb
33
52www.hk-lawyer.org
GC AGENDA
US SEC Fines Bristol Myers

Squibb US$14 million for
FCPA Violations in China
On 5 October 2015, the US Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC)
announced that Bristol Myers Squibb
(BMS) agreed to settle administrative
claims that its majority-owned joint
venture in China provided cash and
other benefits (including meals,
travel, entertainment and conference
sponsorships), to state-owned hospitals
to secure and increase sales between
2009 and 2014. The announcement
did not emphasise violations of the
anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), that is
the prohibitions against giving value
to a public official with intent to obtain
or retain business. Instead, the notice
focused on the joint ventures violations
of the FCPAs accounting and internal
controls provisions. Specifically, the SEC
alleged that the China joint venture:
Inaccurately booked the cost of the
improper payments as legitimate
business expenses.
Ignored red flags that sales
personnel provided bribes and other
benefits to generate sales.
Failed to properly investigate claims

by disgruntled former employees
that the joint venture faked purchase
orders, invoices and receipts.
Failed to address repeated revelations
in internal audits regarding the
improper payments.
Without confirming or denying the
allegations, BMS agreed to:
Return US$ 11.4 million in illegal
profits.
Pay US$ 500,000 in prejudgment
interest.
Pay a civil penalty of US$ 2.75 million.
BMS also agreed to report to the SEC
on its implementation of anti-corruption
compliance measures for a two-year
period.
Market Reaction
Timothy Blakely, Partner, Morrison &
Foerster, Hong Kong
The SECs harsh criticisms of the
failure to respond to red flags, enforce
existing controls, or remediate identified
controls deficiencies underscore the
fact that having a compliance program
that identifies risks is not enough to
protect against liability. This resolution
also serves as yet another reminder that
operating through foreign joint ventures
does not insulate US issuers from FCPAscrutiny: the FCPAs recordkeeping and
internal control provisions can provide
the government with a powerful tool for
holding U.S. issuers responsible for the
conduct of its foreign joint venture even
where that conduct does not otherwise
have any nexus to the US.
Action Items
General Counsel for companies that
operate in China and the United States
should ensure that comprehensive anticorruption compliance policies are put in
place, and implement these policies by
thoroughly evaluating and addressing red
flags, employee allegations, and other
potential violations of the anti-corruption
regimes in both countries.
- Practical Law China
December 2015
Bristol Myers Squibb
1,400
1,140
GC AGENDA
50
Haidian Court Rules in

Chinas First Crowdfunding
Case
275
BMS
2015105(
)Bristol Myers Squibb(
Timothy Blakely
BMS)
()
20092014BMS
(Foreign Corrupt
Practices ActFCPA)
FCPA
FCPA
FCPA

(red flags)
BMS
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
On 15 September 2015, Haidian

District Peoples Court in Beijing
upheld the validity of a crowdfunding
contract created to finance a limited
partnership restaurant. Beijing
Nuomiduo Restaurant Management
Co., Ltd. (Nuomiduo) entered into
a commissioned finance services
agreement with Beijing Feidu Network
Services Co., Ltd. (Feidu), which
agreed to finance the project through
its licensed crowdfunding platform.
Both parties performed their financial
obligations under the contract, but a
dispute arose over the style and cost
of the business premises selected
by Nuomiduo. After settlement talks
stalled, Nuomiduo and Feidu each
attempted to terminate the contract
early and assert claims against the
other for damages. The court upheld the
validity of the contract for the following
reasons:
Feidu did not offer securities to
more than 200 specific persons (in
violation of Article 10 of theLaw of
the Peoples Republic of China on
Securities 2005) through the use of a
crowdfunding platform.
Feidu did not violate laws and
regulations related to crowdfunding
(mainly because there are no such
laws or regulations in force at this
time).
Feidu operated lawfully, including
the use of YeePay to handle online
payments, and implemented risk
management controls, project
supervision and other mechanisms
designed to protect against potential
abuse of the crowdfunding model.
Most importantly, the contract
adhered to the principles set forth in
theGuiding Opinions on Promoting
the Healthy Development of Internet
Finance 2015(2015 Internet Finance
Guidelines).
December 2015
Market Reaction
Paul McKenzie, Partner, Morrison
Foerster, Beijing
This Beijing case is a promising
beginning in the development of
Chinese legislation and judicial practice
in regard to crowdfunding. The recent
guidelines governing crowdfunding and
other alternative financing models have
signaled policy on the part of regulators
towards relevant financing models. The
Haidian court has followed their lead.
In due course, CSRC can be expected
to issue legislation in order to better
regulate crowdfunding.
Action Items
General Counsel for small and medium
sized companies, or investment funds,
should consider the opportunities
presented by alternative financing
models such as crowdfunding and closely
monitor further legislative and judicial
developments in this area. It is often
possible in China to vet an innovative
approach directly with regulators before
concluding a potential arrangement.
(2015)
(
)

2015
Paul McKenzie
()
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54www.hk-lawyer.org
INSOLVENCY
Third Party Funding

The Miscellany Continues
The patchwork of exceptions and
qualifications to the common law
crimes and torts of maintenance
and champerty in Hong Kong was
considered in the lead case of Unruh
v Seeberger [2007] 2 HKLRD 414. The
miscellany of practices that have
been held to be unobjectionable was
extended to assignments of causes of
action by a liquidator in a compulsory
liquidation (Re Cyberworks Audio Video
Technology Ltd [2010] 2 HKLRD 1137
a compulsory winding-up) and by a
foreign trustee in bankruptcy (Berman v
SPF CDO Ltd [2011] 2 HKLRD 815).
Both Cyberworks and Berman are
judgments of the same judge in Hong
Kong and are referred to in his recent
judgment in Re Co A [2015] HKEC
2089. In Re Co A, the judge approved
a funding arrangement, in favour of
the liquidators of a company, by a
Cayman incorporated closed end fund
which was a stranger to the proposed
litigation; the funding arrangement was
solely an investment for the funder.
It is important to note that in Re Co A
the liquidation was court-appointed
and the liquidators sought the
courts approval prior to entering
into the funding arrangement. As
is good practice, in the interests of
transparency and fairness, the judge
made his judgment publicly available,
albeit the identities of the companies in
liquidation were withheld.
Furthermore, and importantly, the
judge accepted that the proposed
funding agreement: (i) was in the
interests of the body of creditors;
(ii) allowed for the liquidators to
retain control over the conduct of the
litigation; and (iii) did no more than
provide for a fair distribution of the
proceeds of any recovery in the event
December 2015
that the litigation was successful. The

judge also accepted that it was not
practical for the liquidators to find
funding among the body of general
creditors (the majority of the companys
debt was held by a group of bond
holders).
Also of interest is the judges
acknowledgement that the liquidators
application for court approval of the
proposed funding raised an issue in
respect of which there was no direct
authority in Hong Kong, namely
(para. 2):
the extent to which, if at all, the
commercial character of the funder
affects an assessment of whether or
not the proposed funding agreement
infringes the common law rules against
maintenance and champerty.
At the end of the judgment, the judge
leaves open the issue of whether a
funding agreement between a solvent
plaintiff and a funder of a similar
commercial character to that in Re
Co A would contravene the common
law rules against maintenance and
champerty in Hong Kong.
It is worth emphasising that the funder
in Re Co A, an investor rather than a
creditor, is to receive no more than a
fair distribution of the proceeds of
the funded litigation in the event of
a recovery and that the liquidators
obtained the courts prior approval.
What underpins the public policy
against champerty is the integrity of the
court process and the administration
of justice; it is, of course, the court that
regulates both. Hence, the practice
of liquidators in Hong Kong seeking
prior court approval for funding
arrangements and the availability of
relevant court decisions for the benefit
of the public and the profession.
- David Smyth and Rebecca Wong,

Smyth & Co in association with RPC
Unruh v Seeberger [2007] 2 HKLRD 414
(The patchwork of
exceptions and qualifications)
(miscellany of
practices)
(Re Cyberworks Audio Video
Technology Ltd [2010] 2 HKLRD 1137

)
(Berman v SPF CDO Ltd [2011]
2 HKLRD 815)
Cyberworks Berman
Re Co A [2015]
HKEC 2089
Re Co A
(stranger)
Re Co A
(i)(ii)
(iii)
(fair distribution)
(
)
(2)
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
(
Re Co A)
Re Co A
-
Smyth & CoRPC
LITIGATION FUNDING
Lunch with a Funder

With third party commercial funding so
much in the news of late in Hong Kong, it
is no surprise to see certain commercial
funders opening up "rep" offices in the
"village". Apparently, some commercial
funders come with deep pockets. If
readers are interested in learning more
about their wares they could do worse
than organise lunch with one of the
commercial funders' representatives in
Hong Kong. Who knows the funder
might "foot the bill" (and the lunch taste
nicer for it)?
Third party commercial funders are
keeping a close eye on Hong Kong,
because of (among other things) its
status as a financial and disputes
resolution centre.
The funders are also keeping close tabs
on local common law developments to
the law relating to maintenance and
champerty. These crimes and torts
appear to be alive and well in Hong Kong
(for now) and statutory reform in this
area seems years away. However, the
common law develops and is generally
declaratory. There could yet be (for
December 2015
example) a "test case" seeking further

appellate court clarification on the
developing common law exceptions to
maintenance and champerty.
The Law Reform Commission's SubCommittee Consultation Paper on
"Third Party Funding for Arbitrations in
Hong Kong" (October 2015) has also
aroused the interest of commercial
funders in Hong Kong (and overseas
for that matter). That Consultation
Paper came out strongly in favour of
third party funding for arbitrations
taking place in Hong Kong; although,
in some instances this might confirm
the actualit on the ground, subject
to (for example) certain standards
of transparency and the declaration
of conflicts of interest. "Intel" also
suggests that the government will
come under some pressure to amend
the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) to
expressly permit third party funding for
arbitrations taking place in Hong Kong;
particularly, as Singapore seeks to seize
an initiative in this regard.
For more on the Sub-Committee's
Consultation, see the Exclusively Online
"Industry Insights" in October 2015
(http://www.hk-lawyer.org/en/article.
asp?articleid=3243&c=0).
Of particular interest, in a discussion
over lunch with a reputable commercial
funder, is their general strategy as
regards approving funding for cases
in jurisdictions that permit third party
funding or that at least do not prohibit
it. Commercial funders are businesses
and their primary interest is to "back
winners" in order to maximise a return
for their investors. To that extent they
are no different to most businesses.
Their strategy includes:
assessing and negotiating the

funder's "return" by reference to (for
example) the higher of a percentage
of the ultimate recovery or a multiple
of the likely fees, with the percentage
return or multiple increasing as the
claim goes on but capped at a certain
amount; and
obtaining an opinion on the merits of

the claim in respect of which funding
is sought (and keeping this under
review).
That "menu" of considerations is not a

bad starting place for an informative
discussion over lunch.
- Warren Ganesh and Mike Allan,

()
()
(609)
201510
Exclusively Online(http://
www.hk-lawyer.org/tc/article.
asp?articleid=3243&c=0)
()
()
()
()

()
assessing the prospects of recovery

from the intended defendant;
considering who the claimant's

lawyers and advisers are;
()
applying and monitoring carefully a

detailed costs estimate for each stage
of the case, with the right to withdraw
if the analysis of costs changes;
56www.hk-lawyer.org
(201510)
()
- Warren GaneshMike Allan

Smyth & CoRPC
December 2015
PRC
Latest Ad Block Case

in China Reaffirms AdRevenue Model for Internet
Players
On 14 October 2015, the Shanghai
Yangpu District Peoples Courtadopted
the latest in a series of judgments
about the legality of software blocking
advertisements on digital platforms.
Background
Plaintiff iQiyi is one of Chinas main
online video sites, which streams
video programmes for free but has
ads embedded at the beginning of the
programs. For a fee, users can subscribe
for iQiyi membership which allows them
to skip the ads. Defendant Juwangshi
Technology Corporation (Juwangshi)
is a developer of the video aggregation
software VST. VST enables users to
watch online videos from various sources
on a single, aggregated platform without
any embedded ads.
VST was able to decrypt iQiyis software
to obtain access to the videos streamed
on iQiyis site while blocking the
embedded ads. As a result, users were
able to enjoy ad-free content without
having to pay iQiyi any fees.
iQiyi filed a court action under the
Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL),
alleging that Juwangshi had engaged in
unfair competition by blocking the ads
embedded in iQiyis videos and, more
generally, by free-riding on iQiyis video
streams.
Ruling
The court found that VST had decrypted
iQiyis security key codes so that iQiyis
servers mistakenly took VSTs access
requests as coming from iQiyi. The
court held that VSTs ability to directly
display iQiyis videos without embedded
ads decreased iQiyis legitimate
revenues and effectively amounted to
ad blocking. The court found this to
constitute unfair competition in violation
of the AUCL.
More generally, the court held that the

defendants scraping of videos
streamed from iQiyi was also
illegal even if the embedded ads
had not been blocked. The basis
for this finding was, again, that VST
had resorted to improper technical
measures to decrypt iQiyis security
key codes. Yet the court was keen
to emphasise that its finding would
have been different if VST had used
proper technical measures to link users
to iQiyis video site. If done properly,
the court reasoned, such linking can
promote interoperability in the Internet
space.
Analysis
At present, the AUCL contains no
industry-specific guidance for Internet
businesses, although an ongoing
legislative effort to amend the AUCL
may change this. Like in this case, many
plaintiffs base their arguments on
Art. 2 of the AUCL, which contains the
high-level yet amorphous principles
of voluntariness, equality, fairness
and good faith and commercial
ethics. Over time, Chinese courts have
developed these high-level principles
through a handful of more concrete
principles for the Internet industry
for example, the principle of noninterference to prohibit Internet players
from interfering with competitors
operations, except where justified by
public interests.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
201510
14
()VST
VST
In this case, the local court in Shanghai

seems to have tried to strike a balance
between the protection of an established
business model in the online economy
and the emergence of a new, disruptive
technology, as well as between
individual users interests and the longterm health of the Internet industry.
The judgments underlying message
may be that a business model based on
ad revenues is legitimate, as video and
other online platform providers need to
finance their substantial investment in
the acquisition of digital content.
- Adrian Emch and Qing Lyu,

Hogan Lovells Beijing
VST
VST
(Key)VST
December 2015
PRC
VST
Trends and Pitfalls of Online

Retailing
VST
VST
Hogan Lovells and Michael Page

(represented by Carolyn Woo and James
Choi) co-hosted an in-house counsel
seminar on Trends and Pitfalls of Online
Retailing on 27 October 2015, where key
speakers from Hogan Lovells, partners
Mr. Alan Chiu and Mr. Eugene Low, covered
the following draft interim measures,
among other online retailing legal topics.
Given the lower level of government
scrutiny and the widespread use of
(mobile) internet, online advertising has
become very popular in China.However,
in the wake ofChinas new Advertising
Law, the State Administration of Industry
and Commerce (SAIC) has now turned
its attention to the online environment,
recently issuing itsDraft Interim Measures
for Supervision and Administration over
Internet Advertising(Draft Measures).
The Draft Measures have implications for
virtually every company providing goods
or services in China, and in this post, we
summarise the key provisions.
Scope of Regulated Online

Advertising
Under the Draft Measures, the scope
of regulated internet advertising
would be enlarged to encompass all
commercial presentations including
endorsement by celebrities distributed
via websites, emails, social media,
instant communication tools and mobile
applications. Covered advertisements
could be in any format, including words,
images, audio and video or any other
format (we anticipate this would include
holograms in the future). This means
that advertisements on micro-blogs, on
instant messaging services, on mobile
applications and via ad-words on search
engines would be regulated. Companies
need to understand the broad scope of
the Draft Measures in order to effectively
manage their risk.
Disclosure of Advertisements Source

Under the Draft Measures, advertisers,
advertisement operators and publishers
58www.hk-lawyer.org
would be required to display their relevant

AIC registration and contact information,
enabling consumers to easily verify the
source of the online advertisements.
While focused on the consumer, this
requirement could benefit companies
investigating online infringement of their
intellectual property rights (eg, the online
promotion and sale of counterfeit or
pirated goods).
No more Hidden Advertising

The Draft Measures also require
advertisements to be presented in a
way that enables consumers to easily
identify them as advertisements. Socalled hidden advertising will no longer
be allowed. For example, promoted
search results on search engines (eg, by
buying ad-words such as trademarks)
must indicate that they are sponsored
results. Also, email or instant messaging
advertisements would have to be clearly
marked to enable consumers to identify
them as advertisements before opening
them. Finally, recommendations by
paid endorsers would also have to
be identifiable as such. All of these
requirements are intended to make
online advertising more transparent
to consumers, but can catch unwary
business owners off guard and be
subject to administrative penalties for
noncompliance.
Acts of Unfair Competition

Enumerated
The Draft Measures also provide a list of
acts that would be prohibited as unfair
competition:
intercepting, filtrating, covering,
tampering with, obstructing
or interfering with third party
advertisements;
improving ones own ranking, or
harming the legitimate interests or
reputation of others by unfair means
like false traffic, malicious embedding
of data or malicious clicking;
restricting others from entering a
market via alignment or alliance; and
using trademarks and/or trade
names of third parties as keywords
for sponsored search engine
advertisements.
December 2015
The list appears to draw on experience

from both competition law and
trademark law. The prohibition on using
others trademarks and trade names
as keywords for searches should be a
welcome sight for trademark owners
dealing with this issue.
(
)
Further Highlights
The Draft Measures would also
extend the single click-away rule
from internet pop-up ads to emails or
instant messaging advertisements.
Unfortunately, similar to the Advertising
Law, the Draft Measures are silent on
the regulation of product and service
placement, which remains highly
controversial in China.
- Eugene Low and Alan Chiu,

Hogan Lovells, and Michael Page
and
Pitfalls of Online Retailing)
Choi)
Michael Page(Carolyn WooJames
20151027
(Trends
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
-
Michael Page
PROFESSION
Accountants' Advice on Tax

Law not Privileged
What happened?
()
In Super Worth International Ltd v

Commissioner of ICAC [2015] HKEC
2325 (to be formally reported), the
Court of Appeal in Hong Kong has
recently held that legal advice privilege
does not extend to communications
passing between an accountant (or other
non-lawyers) and a client even if such
communications are created in order to
obtain "legal advice" relating to tax law.
The Court of Appeal also declined to
provide any restatement of the common
law in this context, preferring to leave
the matter for legislation. In doing so,
the Court of Appeal has given a robust
endorsement of the UK Supreme Court
decision in Re Prudential Plc [2013] 2 AC
185.
()
December 2015
What does this mean?

While the Court of Appeal has already this
year given an expansive interpretation of
the meaning of legal advice (particularly,
as regards corporate clients), its judgment
in Super Worth International recognises
the need for legal advice privilege to be
kept within permissible limits for the sake
of clarity and certainty*. Lose that clarity
and certainty and risk losing the privilege.
This is not to give lawyers a "competitive
advantage", whether as regards legal
advice on tax law or any other law.
Rather, it is to recognise the role played
by lawyers in the administration of justice
when advising clients as to their legal
rights.
What to do?
Most clients seek tax advice from a
properly qualified accountant. Where
"legal advice" on tax law is sought from
an accountant it does not attract legal
advice privilege. If that is a concern to
a client then the advice sought should
be obtained through the assistance of a
qualified lawyer acting as such. However,
in the main, clients do not go to an
accountant for tax advice with a view to
their communications attracting legal
advice privilege.
Anything else?
The relevant law governing issues of legal
professional privilege in Hong Kong is
generally local common law. Lawyers
in Hong Kong should appreciate that
while the general principles are similar in
different common law jurisdictions, local
practices can vary. For example, some
jurisdictions provide for a limited statutory
protection for "legal advice" given by
"tax advisers". In other jurisdictions,
accountants have in large part sought to
side-step the sorts of difficulties faced in
Re Prudential Plc through the operation of
(for example) multi-disciplinary practices.
The decision of the Court of Appeal in
Super Worth International is much as
predicted. The prospects for a successful
appeal (if any) to the Court of Final
Appeal are not good. Like it or not, Re
Prudential Plc is underpinned by good
policy arguments. For the background
to Re Prudential Plc readers are referred
to the feature article in the May 2013
60www.hk-lawyer.org
edition of the Hong Kong Lawyer

(http://www.hk-lawyer.org/en/article.
asp?articleid=1009&c=97).
- Antony Sassi and Warren Ganesh,

*
The Court of Appeal's judgment in Super Worth

International is unanimous; two of the appeal
judges were also members of the court in the
landmark case of Citic Pacific Ltd (No. 2) [2015]
4 HKLRD 20. Also note: (i) the ambit of "litigation
privilege"; and (ii) the protection afforded to
certain "counsel or solicitor" communications
afforded by (among other things) s. 51 of the
Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).
Super Worth
International Ltd v Commissioner of ICAC
[2015] HKEC 2325(
)
()
Re
Prudential Plc [2013] 2 AC 185
(
)
Super Worth International
()
Re Prudential Plc
()
Re Prudential Plc
Re Prudential Plc
20135
(http://www.hk-lawyer.org/tc/
article.asp?articleid=1009&c=97)
- Antony SassiWarren Ganesh

Smyth & Co RPC
*
Citic Pacific Ltd (No. 2)

[2015] 4 HKLRD 20
(i)(ii)
(112)51
Feel free to write in to us with more short

contributions on latest industry developments
and trends. Simply contact the editor at:
The information provided here is intended to give
general information only. It is not a complete
statement of the law. It is not intended to be relied
upon or to be a substitute for legal advice in relation to
particular circumstances.
December 2015
CASES IN BRIEF
CASES IN BRIEF

CIVIL PROCEDURE
Held, granting the application in part,

that:
Antwerp Diamond Bank NV v Brinks,

Inc (No. 2) [2015] 4 HKLRD 628
It was not unjust to order that D

should pay Ps costs of the trial
incurred on or after 6 August 2011
on an indemnity basis under O. 22
r. 24(3) and (4) of the RHC. P could
well have genuinely regarded its
claim as extremely strong. The
smallness (0.27 percent) of the
discount on the amount claimed
of itself did not render it unjust to
make the orders sought on the basis
the Offer was merely tactical and
not genuine. There was no reason
why a recipient of a sanctioned offer
bearing a relatively small discount on
the claim should not give it serious
consideration, respond with a more
realistic counter-sanctioned offer
and cause the parties to seriously
and realistically consider the possible
options of settlement instead of
ordinary adversarial litigation.
Court of Appeal
Civil Appeal No. 282 of 2012
Lam and Lunn V-PP and Barma JA
14 August 2015
Costs sanctioned offer or

payment whether plaintiff
entitled to indemnity costs of
trial and appeal
On 8 July 2011, P made a sanctioned
offer to accept US$850,000 excluding
interest in settlement of its claims
against D3 for conversion for misdelivery
of goods (the Offer). Judgment was
entered for D3. However, P successfully
appealed and D3 was ordered to pay P
damages of US$852,399 with interest
at the commercial rate (1 percent over
prime) from the date of misdelivery and
costs of both the trial and the appeal. P
now applied to vary the orders seeking,
pursuant to O. 22 r. 24(2) and (3) of
the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A,
Sub. Leg.) (the RHC): (a) costs on an
indemnity basis both of the trial and of
the appeal, incurred on or after 6 August
2011, being the latest date on which D3
could have accepted the sanctioned
offer without leave; and (b) interest on
damages at a rate of 6 percent over
prime rate and interest on costs incurred
on or after 6 August 2011 at a rate of 5.5
percent (half of 6 percent over prime
rate).
As for the costs of the appeal, even if

were possible to make a sanctioned
offer on appeal, no such fresh offer
was made here and no question of
indemnity costs or enhanced interest
on costs pursuant to O. 22 r. 24(3)
of the RHC arose. Thus, the Offer
would only be taken into account as
a factor which might be relevant to
the Courts exercise of its discretion
as to costs of the appeal. It could not
be said that D3 was unreasonable in
failing to accept the Offer. D3 took
a risk at trial and succeeded, but
ultimately failed on Ps appeal. It was
therefore appropriate to leave the
order nisi of the costs of the appeal
undisturbed and taxation on a partyand-party basis if necessary.

The mere fact that P was a bank
could not render it unjust to order D3
to pay P costs under O. 22 r. 24(4) at
an enhanced rate of half of 4 percent
over prime rate on all costs to avoid
having to calculate the amount of
interest incurred on each item, as well
as damages awarded to P.
2012
282
2015814
(P)(
D3)D3
201178P
850,000()
()D3
P
D3P()852,399
(
)
()P
(4A)()
December 2015
2224(2)(3)
P()P201186(
D3
()
201186
5.5%(
2224(4)
D3P
2224(2)
(3)D3P2011
86
P
)D3P
(0.27%)
CIVIL PROCEDURE
Fong Meng Sung John v Luk Man Lok

Rocky [2015] HKEC 1852
(Court of First Instance)
Miscellaneous Proceedings No. 1959

of 2009
Recorder Lisa Wong SC in Chambers
2224(3)
D3
D3
62www.hk-lawyer.org
7 September 2015
Discontinuance of proceedings
notice of discontinuance
by plaintiff against those
defendants invalid leave to
discontinue required
P commenced proceedings in 2009
by way of originating summons under
O. 88 r. 1 of the Rules of the High Court
(Cap. 4A, Sub. Leg.) (the RHC), but did
not file any affidavit evidence pursuant
to O. 28 r. 1A(4). Only D1 filed an
acknowledgment of service; and in May

2011, by consent between P and D1 (with
D23 being absent), the proceedings
were ordered to be continued as if the
same had been begun by writ and
directions were given for the filing of
pleadings. D1 filed his defence and
counterclaim in July 2011. Default
judgment was initially obtained against
D23 in August 2011, but was set aside
in July 2013 on the ground that service
on D23 was irregular and that they had
a meritorious defence. P then served a
notice of discontinuance (the Notice)
on D23. Notwithstanding, D23 filed
a defence and counterclaim in August
2013. D23, who wished to have their
counterclaim tried in these proceedings,
contended that the Notice was invalid as
P could not discontinue the proceedings
against them without leave. The Master
held that the Notice was effective
and expunged D23s defence and
counterclaim. D23 appealed.
Held, allowing the appeal, that:
The statutory code of discontinuance
was enacted to fetter the otherwise
unqualified option of a plaintiff in a
common law action to discontinue
the action at any time and leave it to
the court to decide whether a plaintiff
could still discontinue after his action
had reached a certain stage, and if so,
whether he should be allowed to do
so only on terms.
Order 21 rr. 2(1) and (3) of the RHC
did not apply to originating summons
proceedings that were ordered to
continue as if begun by writ. The
right to discontinue without leave
could be exercised only within a very
narrow window from commencement
of proceedings. In relation to such
proceedings, O. 21 rr. 2(3A), (3B)
and 3 drew the line at the service of
affidavit evidence by the defendant.
It would be inconsistent with the
legislative intention underlying the
leave requirement if a plaintiff, not
having discontinued the proceedings
under O. 21 r. 2(3A) within 14
December 2015
days after being served with the

defendants affidavit evidence, were
given another option to discontinue
without leave through the application
of O. 21 r. 2(1) and (3) to proceedings
directed to continue as if begun by
writ under O. 28 r. 8. It did not matter
that neither party served affidavit
evidence pursuant to O. 28 as
happened here.
It was doubtful whether the time
limit under O. 21 r.2(1) and (3) could
be reset by the timetable laid
down by the Court for D23 to serve
their defences after setting aside
the default judgment. This was
particularly so when the default
judgment was set aside also on
merits. It would be inconsistent
with the principle underlying the
requirement for leave to discontinue
if P could, after opposing D23s
application to set aside the default
judgment, discontinue without leave
under O. 21 r. 2(1) or (3). Order 21
r. 2(1) should be confined to cases
where the defence was served within
the time laid down by O. 18 r. 2.
2011
212(1)(3)
20118
20137
212(1)
(3)
()
20138
212(1)
182
20091959
2 September 2015
212(1)(3)
201597
212(3A)2(3B)3
1421
2009
(4A)()
881
28
1A(4)
2011
5
()
Tong Cun Ming v Cheung Sun Ling

Sanny [2015] HKEC 1834
Court of First Instance
Miscellaneous Proceedings Nos. 143,
1013 & 2477 of 2011
David Lok J
COMPANY LAW
CASES IN BRIEF
2(3A)
212(1)(3)
288
28
Religious institution
incorporated as company
expulsion of members
whether rules of natural
justice applied in terminating
membership of religious
charitable trust and
incorporated company limited
by guarantee
X was a religious institution, a religious
charitable trust and an incorporated
company. X was divided into two rival
camps: the Traditionalists Camp,
including Ds, on one side and the
Reformists Camp, including Ps, on
the other. On 15 October 2011, without
giving prior notification of a proposal
to expel Ps, the charges against them
or an opportunity to present their
respective cases, the Board passed a
resolution terminating their membership
of X (the Termination Resolution) for
breach of charitable objects in art. 3
December 2015
of the memorandum of association

(the Memorandum) and breach of
the religious oath. On 11 November
2011, notices of the decision were
issued to Ps, who brought proceedings
against 15 councillors of the Board
and X challenging the validity of the
Termination Resolution, which was one
of three actions between the parties.
Article 9.2 of Xs articles of association
stipulated that a member could be
expelled only if the councillors were
satisfied that a member had failed or
refused to abide by any of the articles
and/or rules or regulations made under
art. 8.1; and he had a right to appeal
against the decision. The present hearing
was a trial of certain preliminary issues
in the three actions, including whether
the purported expulsion of Ps from Xs
membership was invalid for breach of
the rules of natural justice.
Held, that:
The principles of natural justice
applied to the expulsion of members
of an incorporated company unless
the circumstances indicated the
contrary. This was the case here.
Article 9.2 did not provide for an
absolute and unrestricted power
to expel members from X, but
one subject to conditions. Further,
various factors, including that certain
members of the Reformist Camp
had donated substantial sums to X,
suggested that Ps had substantial
interests in its operation and future
development. Accordingly, the
Termination Resolution was unlawful.
An expelled member should be
notified of disciplinary proceedings
and charges against him. It was no
answer that, given the circumstances
leading to the dispute, the member
should have known about such
charges. Although an appeal
procedure was provided for by the
Articles, there would not have been
a fair result reached by fair methods.
The Traditionalists Camp wished
to crush the opposition once and
for all. Even if Ps had appealed,
64www.hk-lawyer.org
the board hearing it would not be

a properly constituted one, much
less a fair and impartial tribunal
because the two other members
of the appeal committee were not
selected by the honorary legal adviser
in accordance with art. 9.2, but by
the Board. Moreover, under art. 17,
the Termination Resolution stripped
Ps of their right to stand for election
as councillors even if they appealed
against the decision and so natural
justice demanded that they be given
the right to be heard before it was
passed.
20111111
15X
X9.2
8.1
201114310132477
201592
9.2
X
X
X
20111015
X(
December 2015
9.2
17
CRIMINAL CONTEMPT
Secretary for Justice v Cheng Kam Mun
[2015] HKEC 1836
Court of First Instance
Miscellaneous Proceedings Nos. 488,
490492 & 494506 of 2015
Anderson Chow J in Chambers
1 September 2015
Application for order of

committal after leave to apply
granted failure to enter
originating summons for
hearing within 14 days under
O.52 r.3(2) court had no
inherent jurisdiction to extend
time for compliance with
O.52 r.3(2) in criminal
contempt case
The Secretary for Justice (the SJ)
obtained leave to apply for an order
of committal against Xs, in respect of
conduct which allegedly constituted
criminal contempt. The SJ then issued
originating summonses (the OS)
for orders of committal for criminal
contempt of court against Xs, but
failed to enter the OS for hearing within
14 days so that the leave lapsed under
O. 52 r. 3(2) of the Rules of the High
Court (Cap. 4A, Sub. Leg.) (the RHC).
The SJ therefore applied under O. 3 r. 5
of the RHC for an extension of time to
issue a notice of appointment to hear
the OS in compliance with O. 52 r. 3(2).

At the hearing, the SJ conceded that
the Court had no power to extend time
under O. 3 r. 5 as the application for
committal was for criminal contempt,
but argued that the Court had an
inherent jurisdiction to extend time.
Alternatively, the SJ argued that the
decision of the Court of Appeal in the
case of Effiscient Ltd v Lehman, insofar
as it held that for the purpose of
O. 52 r. 3(2), entering an originating
summons for hearing meant issuing
a notice of appointment to hear the
originating summons, was per incuriam
and not binding on the Court.
Held, dismissing the application, that:
The Court was bound by Effiscient
Ltd v Lehman. The doctrine of per
incuriam could not be relied on by
a judge at first instance to refuse to
follow a directly relevant decision of
the Court of Appeal. The only way to
reverse the decision would be to take
the matter to the Court of Appeal (or
the Court of Final Appeal) or amend
the RHC.
The Court had no inherent
jurisdiction to extend the time to
comply with the requirement of
O. 52 r. 3(2). The consequence of
non-compliance, namely that the
leave shall lapse, was unequivocal
and the legislatures intention
was clear. Such jurisdiction could
not extend to laying down any
procedure which was inconsistent
with an express statutory rule. In this
respect, Effiscient Ltd v Lehman was
distinguishable because it was a civil
contempt case, where there was no
dispute that a power to extend time
under O. 3 r. 5(1) was available.
Further, various foreign decisions,
while not binding on the Court,
supported the view that the time
limit under O. 52 r. 3(2) was
mandatory and any default in
compliance could not be cured by a
court extending time in a criminal
contempt case.
CASES IN BRIEF
2012488490
492494506
201591
52
3(2)14

52
3(2)
()
(Xs)
Xs
14
(4A)(
)523(2)
35
52
3(2)
3
5
Effiscient Ltd v Lehman

523(2)

December 2015
()

523(2)
35(1)
523(2)
CRIMINAL SENTENCING
HKSAR v Cherif Mohamed
[2015] 4 HKLRD 604
Court of Appeal
Criminal Appeal No. 95 of 2015
Macrae JA and Derek Pang J
12 August 2015
Dangerous drugs trafficking

appropriate enhancement for
international element family
circumstances not mitigation
D, a Guinean national, pleaded guilty
to trafficking in dangerous drugs. He
was intercepted on arrival at Hong
Kong airport from Nigeria and, while
in custody, discharged 82 pellets
containing 0.79 kg of cocaine. D
admitted under caution that he had
swallowed the pellets in Lagos and
received a reward of US$4,000 for
importing them into Hong Kong. The
Judge adopted a starting point of
20 years, enhanced it by 1 years for
66www.hk-lawyer.org
the international factor and reduced it

for plea to 14 years and eight months
imprisonment. Almost four years later,
D sought leave to appeal out of time
against sentence, explaining the delay
in his application by saying his wife,
W, was recently diagnosed with breast
cancer, she required surgery and wished
him to be by her side; and W could no
longer care for their young daughter,
nor could Ds aged parents. D argued
that as the sole breadwinner, his lengthy
imprisonment had caused his family
financial hardship.
Held, dismissing the application, that:
Ds application was badly out of time
and without merit. Contrary to Ds
contention, the 1-year enhancement
for the international element was
well within the range available to the
Judge.
Even accepting the circumstances
of Ds wife and family, they played
virtually no part in the mitigation
of drug offences. In any event, a
reduction in sentence, on a purely
humanitarian basis, would not assist
D unless the Court anticipated his
immediate release which, having
regard to the seriousness of the
offence, was inconceivable.
201595
2015812
820.79
4,000
20
148
(W)
W
W
December 2015
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
VPOWER Engineering (Shenzhen) Ltd
v VPOWER
DHK-1500124 <vpower.hk >
Hong Kong International Arbitration
Centre
Eugene Low (Panelist)
28 August 2015
Intellectual Property Domain

Name Dispute Resolution
Policy for .hk and .domain
names (DNDRP) domain
name registered prior to
Claimant acquiring interest in
the trade mark in Hong Kong
bare assertions of bad faith
against Respondents actions
Complainant, (hereinafter C) a group
carrying on the business as a power
provider in Greater China and Southern
Asia, submitted a Complaint concerning
the Disputed Domain Name vpower.hk
registered by Respondent (hereinafter
R), pursuant to the Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy for .hk and
. domain names (DNDRP). C
contended that R registered and was
using the Disputed Domain Name with
intent to confuse users.
Held, dismissing the Complaint, that,
inter alia:
Under para. 4a of DNDRP, C has the
burden of providing that the Disputed
Domain Name is identical or confusingly
similar to a trade mark or service mark
in Hong Kong in which the Complainant
has right (emphasis added).
domain names would amount to or be

relevant to a trade mark or service mark
in Hong Kong in which the Complainant
has rights. In particular, ownership of
a domain name incorporating the trade
mark in question per se does not prove
or constitute the requisite rights to that
trade mark in Hong Kong.
The Panel was unable to conclude that
R had rights or legitimate interests in
the Disputed Domain Name. There was
inconclusive evidence as to Rs business
status. C made out a prima facie case
and R failed to submit evidence on
whether VPOWER is Rs trade name
or trade mark or whether R has been
commonly known by the Disputed
Domain Name.
C failed to prove registration and use of
the Disputed Domain Name in bad faith
because:
None of Cs cited trade mark
applications and registrations
preceded the date of registration of
the Disputed Domain Name.
The Panel concluded this was a case
where the Disputed Domain Name
was registered before C had acquired
rights to a trade mark or service mark
in Hong Kong. While this conclusion
by itself does not preclude a finding
of bad faith, in such circumstances
it would generally require stronger
evidence to prove that the domain
name was registered in bad faith
CASES IN BRIEF
(eg, see WIPO Overview 2.0)

because normally R could not have
contemplated Cs then non-existent
rights. To overcome this, C would
have to adduce clear evidence to
show that at the time of registration
of the Disputed Domain Name, R was
somehow aware of C and such rights
to a trade mark or service mark that C
is going to acquire.
C did not adduce evidence of any
unregistered rights in Cs trade mark
in Hong Kong prior to registration of
the Disputed Domain Name.
C did not adduce evidence that R
was aware of C and its relevant trade
mark rights in Hong Kong when
the Disputed Domain Name was
registered.
C also failed to prove that R was
using the Disputed Domain Name
in bad faith. C only made bare
assertions that Rs use of the
Disputed Domain Name would create
a likelihood of confusion.
Since C failed to prove all the required
elements under para. 4(a) of the DNDRP,
the Complaint was dismissed.
The full decision can be downloaded

in the website of ADNDRC at http://
www.hkiac.org/images/stories/
domain_name/hk/decision/DHK1500124_Decision.pdf.
C satisfied this limb by identifying a

Hong Kong trade mark registration for
a composite mark containing the mark
VPOWER in question.
However, in respect of a number of
other trade marks and domain names
apparently held in the names of Cs
affiliated companies, C failed to explain
how those trade mark registrations and
December 2015
FAMILY LAW
QMY v GSS [2015] 4 HKLRD 641
Eugene Low()
Court of Appeal
2015828
Civil Appeal No. 68 of 2014

Lam V-P, Cheung and Yuen JJA
.hk.
(
)
.hk.
vpower.hk
19 August 2015
4a
WIPO Overview 2.0 )
VPOWER
4(a)
VPOWER
http://www.hkiac.
org/images/stories/domain_name/hk/
decision/DHK-1500124_Decision.pdf
68www.hk-lawyer.org
Proceedings under
Guardianship of Minors
Ordinance whether Family
Court had jurisdiction where
child not habitually residing
or present in Hong Kong
whether inherent jurisdiction
over child, founded on
nationality prior to 1997,
continued after 1997 on basis of
permanent residence
M and F, the mother and father of
G, never married. M was a mainland
Chinese resident and F was a Hong
Kong permanent resident. G was a
permanent resident of Hong Kong by
birth. Shortly after G was born, M and G
moved to the Mainland. M and G were
currently residing in Guangzhou, but
had previously resided in Siming District,
Xiamen and Fujian. In July 2012, M
applied in Hong Kong under s. 10 of the
Guardianship of Minors Ordinance (Cap.
13) (GMO) for F to pay maintenance
for G (the Hong Kong Proceedings).
Within one month, F then commenced
proceedings on the Mainland in the
Siming District seeking custody of G and
an order that M pay him maintenance
for G. In September 2012, F applied to
stay the Hong Kong Proceedings on
the ground of forum non conveniens in
favour of the mainland Court. In January
2013, the Siming Court dismissed Fs
claim. F then applied for the Hong Kong
Proceedings to be dismissed on the
basis that the Hong Kong Court had no
jurisdiction to deal with Ms application
because G was not an ordinary or
habitual resident of Hong Kong or
physically present here. On 27 May
2013, the Hong Kong Family Court
dismissed Fs jurisdictional challenge
December 2015
and application to stay the Hong Kong

proceedings. In October 2013, Fs appeal
against the decision of the Siming Court
was dismissed. In November 2013, F
commenced other mainland proceedings
in the Tianhe District, Guangzhou,
again for custody of G and payment of
maintenance for her by M. In March 2014,
the Tianhe Court granted custody of G
to M and ordered F to pay maintenance.
The Guangzhou Court dismissed Fs
appeal against that decision, but varied
it by inter alia removing the custody order
in favour of M. F now appealed against
the 27 May decision of the Family Court.
Held, allowing the appeal:
While there was no express provision
in the GMO on whether the child must
be habitually resident or physically
present in Hong Kong at the time
proceedings were commenced before
the courts jurisdiction could be
invoked, in the absence of restrictions,
the court should be prepared to
proceed on the basis that it had
such jurisdiction. However, it was
not necessary for the purpose of this
appeal to give a determinative answer
because the Hong Kong Court also
had inherent jurisdiction over children
which might be exercised beyond its
territorial limits.
The Hong Kong courts had inherent
jurisdiction over children both before
and after the resumption of exercise
of sovereignty by mainland China
on 1 July 1997. It was difficult to
transpose the concept of jurisdiction
founded on the original basis of
nationality to one founded on the
status as a permanent resident of
Hong Kong. Irrespective of its original
basis, this inherent jurisdiction was
so well entrenched in Hong Kong in
relation to children matters that one
should proceed on the basis that in
appropriate situations which involved
a child who was a permanent resident
of Hong Kong, the court would step in
and exercise its traditional protective
role over the child even if he or she
was not physically present in Hong
Kong at the time of the application.
It was unthinkable that such inherent

jurisdiction over children would
suddenly disappear simply because of
the change in 1997. Any contrary view
would leave too large a lacuna in the
practice and operation of family law.
CASES IN BRIEF
201310
F
201311F
GMG
20143
GMF
F
201468
F527
2015819

1997
1997
MFG
MF
G
GMG
MG
20127M
(13)
()10
FG(
)F
G
MG2012
9F
(forum
non
conveniens )2013
1F
FG
M2013527
F
199771
1997
For full summaries and judgments, please refer to

Westlaw and Hong Kong Law Reports & Digest at
www.westlaw.com.hk.
www.westlaw.com.hk
Westlaw
December 2015
PROFESSIONAL MOVES
Newly-Admitted Members
AU YAN NING

CHEUNG SANDY

CHU TSZ HUEN

ORRICK,
HERRINGTON &
SUTCLIFFE
WOO, KWAN, LEE &

LO
LI & PARTNERS
CHAN YAT KWAN

CHEUNG SZE KI
SHERBE

CHUI LOK-YI
LOUISE

KWOK, NG & CHAN
MINTER ELLISON
CHANG YING
YING

CHIU WAN
KEUNG

CHUNG YUET CHEE

EUGENIE

LIU ALVAN &

PARTNERS
ORRICK,
HERRINGTON &
SUTCLIFFE
CHEUNG CHUNG
CHIT BOAZ

CHOI KWOK YIN

KAREN

LI & PARTNERS
HALDANES
, ,
CHEUNG HAU KIT

CHOW HIU-CHING
KIRSTY

TO & CO., W.K.
HOOSENALLY &
NEO
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HUI & LAM
DONG OLIVIA

WEIR &
ASSOCIATES
December 2015
PROFESSIONAL MOVES
FUNG SUNG CHI

LAI JING XUN

REED SMITH
RICHARDS BUTLER
CHIU, SZETO &

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FUNG TSZ CHING

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LI MAN LOK

LI & PARTNERS
DENTONS HONG
KONG
FUNG WAI CHI

LAM HOI U

LIU LIYI

HUI & LAM
KWOK, NG & CHAN
STEVENSON, WONG
& CO.
LEE YAN YAN

GREENING PAUL
CAMERON
LAU WAI LEONG

LUI KAI TAT

AKIN GUMP
STRAUSS HAUER &
FELD
SO, LUNG &

ASSOCIATES
CHIU & CO., KEN
HO LAI KIN

LEE HO WUNG
KEITH

LUK HO LUN

DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
ZHONG LUN LAW

FIRM
LI & CO.,
CHRISTOPHER
HOR FONTANE

LEE HSIAO LAN

MA HOK LAM

WOO, KWAN, LEE &

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FAIRBAIRN CATLEY
LOW & KONG
CHARLTONS
HUO BO

LEE TSZ WING

MOK YEE KWAN

EVANIA

KWOK, NG & CHAN
FAIRBAIRN CATLEY
LOW & KONG
December 2015
NG LING YAN
LEMUELLA

WALL
CHRISTOPHER
RYAN
WONG TSZ
KWAN

DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
C/O CLIFFORD
CHANCE
LEUNG & LAU
NG WAI SHING
MICHAEL

WAN LAP TSUN

TIMOTHY

WU KA WEI
JENNIFER

HALDANES
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DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
WONG NGAR LAM

LYDIA

YEE YAT HIN

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DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
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FIRM
SO WAI LUI
FIONA

SUEN TAK MING

ONC LAWYERS
TAM CHUN HO

DLA PIPER HONG
KONG
TSANG KAI
SHING

STEVENSON, WONG
& CO.
WONG PO WAI
JANET

DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
KING & WOOD

MALLESONS
WONG WEI-NGA
STEPHANIE

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DEACONS
DLA PIPER HONG

KONG
WONG TING KIT

CHARLTONS
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INCE & CO.
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WONG TING WAI

SUN LAWYERS
NIXON PEABODY
CWL
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LINKLATERS
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December 2015
PROFESSIONAL MOVES
BAI JIE
KWAN PIK YING

LEUNG NGA WUN

KATHERINE
TAM WANG NGAI

KO & COMPANY, EDWARD
STEVENSON, WONG & CO.
LIU, CHAN & LAM
AU TONY & PARTNERS
CHAN CHAK LAM
KWAN WING YEE WENDY
TAN DIANA
LIU MING-TAK BRIAN
WOO, KWAN, LEE & LO
CMK LAWYERS
MINTER ELLISON
TANG WING YIN
CHAN HO MING HERMAN
KWONG HOI YING
LIU CHUNG YAN
PANG SZWINA, EDWARD LI &

COMPANY
LEE WILLIAM AND

ASSOCIATES
LAM YIN HARMONY
LO DIANA
WOO, KWAN, LEE & LO
LAM TSZ HANG
LAM S.K., ALFRED CHAN &

CO.
WOO, KWAN, LEE & LO
WOO, KWAN, LEE & LO
CHAN YUI YU OPHELIA

HAMPTON, WINTER AND
GLYNN
CHENG SHUK TEH

ESTHER
LUI SIK WUN
HALDANES
MINTER ELLISON
, ,
LEE WUN CHEE

WONG POON CHAN LAW &
CO.
NG KWAN HO

OR YEE TING

WOO, KWAN, LEE & LO
PANG SZWINA, EDWARD LI &

COMPANY
YEUNG KIN HANG JOSEPH

ZHUANG RUOYI
KOO CHRISTINE M. & IP
CHIU, SZETO & CHENG
LEE YUK KI
SIU & CO., ANTHONY
TSEUNG CHUN
LEUNG HOI YAN
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TAM CHUN SING
CHONG WING SANG DAISY
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AU-YEUNG, CHENG, HO &

TIN
TSANG MEI TING

WILKINSON & GRIST
LEE YUEN YU
CHING SHUK CHING
CHEUNG & LIU, SOLICITORS
MA YUN JANE
...
TO LEONG PONG

CHAN TSZ YEUNG

GODFREY
TAM LOK YAN

DLA PIPER HONG KONG
TAM PUI YING EVA
SIT, FUNG, KWONG & SHUM,

SOLICITORS
KAN & CO., TONY
December 2015
Partnerships and Firms
AU KING WAH ALAN

ceased to be a partner of T.K. Tsui & Co.
as from 16/11/2015 and remains as a
consultant of the firm.

20151116
BROWN THOMAS EDWARD WILSON

ceased to be a partner of Allen & Overy
as from 01/11/2015.

2015111
CHAN SUK CHING

ceased to be a partner of Yim & Co. as
from 01/11/2015.

2015111
changes received as from 1 October 2015

2015101
CHOI DOO-SOON
joined Ashurst Hong Kong as a partner
as from 09/10/2015.

2015109
CHOW KIT HA
became a partner of Wong Poon Chan
Law & Co. as from 02/11/2015.

2015112
CHOY KENNETH Y
ceased to be a partner of Choy, Cheung
& Co as from 19/10/2015.

20151019
CHAO KWOK HSIEN WELLINGTON

ceased to be a partner of Maurice W
M Lee as from 24/10/2015 and joined
C.T. Chan & Co. as a consultant on the
same day.

20151024
CHU LAP MING LELAND

ceased to be the sole practitioner of
Leland Chu & Co. as from 01/11/2015
and the firm closed on the same day.
Mr. Chu joined Nixon Peabody CWL as
a partner as from 01/11/2015.

2015111
2015111
CHAU YU KA JASMINE
commenced practice as the sole
practitioner of Chau & Co. as from
26/10/2015.

20151026
COLE JOSHUA ANTHONY

ceased to be a partner of King & Wood
Mallesons as from 01/11/2015.
2015111
CHENG SHEE SUN

ceased to be a partner of Chan and
Cheng as from 14/10/2015.

20151014
74www.hk-lawyer.org
EVRARD SEBASTIEN JEAN NICOLAS

ceased to be a partner of Jones Day as
from 01/11/2015.
2015111
HO LAI SHAN
became a partner of Szwina Pang,
Edward Li & Company as from
15/10/2015.

20151015
JEPHCOTT MARK JAMES ALEXANDER

ceased to be a partner of Herbert
Smith Freehills as from 02/11/2015
and remains as a consultant of the
firm.

2015112
JIANG XIAO
became a partner of Peter Yuen &
Associates as from 26/10/2015.

20151026
KWOK WAN CHUNG

became a partner of Wong, Kwan & Co.
as from 01/10/2015.

2015101
LAW YIU MAN

became a partner of Yim & Co. as from
01/11/2015.

2015111
LEE MING KWONG

became a partner of Foo, Leung &
Yeung as from 02/11/2015.

2015112
December 2015
LEE PUI YAU JACQUELINE

joined Lee Law Firm as a partner as
from 22/10/2015.

20151022Lee Law Firm
LEUNG MAN MAN

became a partner of K.M. Lai & Li as
from 01/11/2015.

2015111
LI CHING-MAN AMANDA
ceased to be a partner of Lee Law
Firm as from 23/10/2015 and joined
CFN Lawyers as a consultant as from
09/11/2015.

20151023Lee Law
Firm2015119
LI HOI KWONG
commenced practice as the sole
practitioner of Li & Associates as
from 08/10/2015 and remains as a
consultant of Patrick Mak & Tse.

2015108
LI MANG WAH PAUL

ceased to be a partner of K.M. Lai & Li
as from 01/11/2015 and remains as a
consultant of the firm.

2015111
LIEW KOK MEOW

commenced practice as a partner of LT
Lawyers as from 30/10/2015.

20151030LT
Lawyers
LO DICK WEI HENRY
became a partner of C & L Lawyers as
from 02/11/2015.

2015112C & L Lawyers
LO YUK LING
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& Co. as from 01/11/2015 and joined
S.W. Tai & Co. as a consultant on the
same day.

2015111
PROFESSIONAL MOVES
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became a partner of Pang & Associates
as from 01/11/2015.

2015111
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commenced practice as a partner of LT
Lawyers as from 30/10/2015.

20151030LT
Lawyers
TSOI CHAU NGOR
ceased to be a partner of Pang &
Associates as from 01/11/2015 and
remains as a consultant of the firm.

2015111
WITHINGTON MICHAEL RONALD

joined Howse Williams Bowers as a
partner as from 12/10/2015.

20151012
December 2015
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Staying Relevant in the Age

of Technology
By Tony Williams, Principal
nyone listening to futurologists or

reading reports on the development
of technology and artificial intelligence
(AI) would be forgiven for assuming that
many professionals, not just lawyers, will
find themselves replaced by machines
within five to 10 years. It is however
important to appreciate that new
developments can take years to have a
significant impact, but that impact when
it comes can be massive. For example,
Sir Tim Berners Lee was writing about the
possible impact of the internet in about
1990. There followed a great period of
hype up to the Dot Com Crash of 2000.
Indeed only now are we seeing the major
impact the internet is having not only
in business but also in our daily lives.
Furthermore, for over 20 years hydrogen
cell powered cars have been discussed
as the solution to the search for clean
energy and the reduction of CO2
emissions. Recently Toyota announced
that it will commence production of
hydrogen cell powered cars but it is likely
to be at least 2025 before they are a
significant presence on our roads.
This is not to suggest that we should
ignore new developments until the full
76www.hk-lawyer.org
impact of them has been demonstrated

as by then it may be too late. However a
measured and proportionate response is
both necessary and appropriate.
For lawyers, and especially lawyers
in smaller law firms, the challenge
produced by significant change can
be dramatic. For example, in Hong
Kong the abolition of scale fees for
conveyancing work was a seismic shift
which had an adverse impact on many
law firms. But those who survived
adapted to the new environment, revised
their business model and continued to
develop.
Being prepared to change when it is
appropriate to do so and appreciating
when that time has come requires good
judgment. For smaller law firms faced
with a range of larger and possibly
international firms, the challenge can
appear impossible. Larger law firms
can devote considerable time and
resources to IT and the re-engineering
of their businesses. Some law firms have
developed increasingly sophisticated
process centres in lower cost locations
at home or abroad. They can achieve
considerable economies of scale with
these investments as they have the

level of work to keep such centres fully
occupied. Faced with what appears to be
an IT arms race how can a smaller firm
hope to compete?
We suggest 13 ways in which smaller
firms can stay relevant in the age of
technology.
1. Strategy. Be very clear what clients
you want to act for and what work
you want to do for them. Question
if your proposition is relevant to and
attractive to the clients especially
when compared to the offering of
your competitors. How price sensitive
is the work you want to do, can your
expertise and service delivery justify
a premium price and can you deliver
the services and provide a reasonable
level of profit not only for partner
remuneration but also for future
investment in the business?
2. Clients. Knowing the level of IT
sophistication of your clients and
target clients is key to understanding
what you will need to deliver and
how to deliver it. Younger clients will
have grown up with the internet and
social media and will expect you to
December 2015
be comfortable in these formats.

Other clients will have different needs
and expectations and you need your
service to be properly aligned with
them.
3. Nimble. Large law firms may have
more money to invest but rolling
out a particular offering or change
programme can take months or even
years. Conversely, a small firm can
adopt change in a matter of days if it
wants to. This speed of action means
that the time from identifying an
opportunity to delivering it to market
can gain a smaller firm a considerable
early mover advantage.
4. Utilise. It is a sad fact that many
users of IT only use a fraction of the
functionality that their IT system
provides. By really understanding
what your current IT system can
provide and identifying inexpensive
add-ons it is possible to significantly
improve the range of functions that
you can provide at no or very little
incremental cost.
5. Empower. It is often assumed that
partners in law firms must be the
ones to suggest new ideas. But,
younger lawyers and support staff
are often far more aware of what can
be done using IT and if encouraged
and empowered are happy to make
suggestions that will significantly
enhance the business of the firm.
Not only is involving such people
good business it is also likely to add
to their motivation and improve
staff retention. Some young lawyers
have helped their firms to develop
Apps covering issues of relevance to
their clients which are then readily
available to their clients on their
mobile devices.
6. Dont Save The World. There is a
tendency for it to be assumed that to
stay relevant a firm supposedly has to
invest in all singing and all dancing
IT systems. Clearly sometimes a
major upgrade will be necessary but
it is important to be brutally realistic
as to what the firm needs, what it
will utilise, what the client expects

and what the client would like. As
mentioned in point four above, fully
understanding the capabilities of
your current system may enable
major new investment to at least
be postponed. For some firms, the
use of the cloud to hold their data
may reduce the capital cost of any IT
upgrade and enable greater access
to files and information when on the
move, subject to the security issues
mentioned in point 12 below.
7. Relevant Delivery. Understanding
your clients needs can help you
fashion products and services that
precisely satisfy their needs. For
example, a small property practice
in the UK developed a simple system
for their own use and made electronic
copies of all key property documents,
details of lease expiry dates, rent
reviews, repairing obligations, and
the like accessible to their clients.
This ensured the information was
readily available to the lawyers
involved with that property and to
their clients. They used an easy
to use template system to ensure
that the information was kept up to
date. A calendar system linked to
key rent review and other dates also
helped to ensure that all notices
were given by the due time and
significantly reduced the likelihood
of a professional negligence claim.
This was developed at low cost and
was capable of being utilised across
a property portfolio. Using more
advanced systems one could also
identify any deviations from the
clients standard documents and
significantly reduce the time taken
on a subsequent sale of the property.
Other small firms have developed IT
to analyse insurance claims and make
that information available to their
clients thereby adding significant
extra value to the client relationship
at minimal extra cost.
8. Social Media. Some lawyers are
understandably very nervous about
the use of social media for business
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
purposes. It can however be a useful

way to maintain a degree of contact
with clients either via LinkedIn,
Facebook or Twitter. In the UK, one
family law firm used Facebook to
identify recently engaged couples
within a reasonable radius from their
office and after some further filtering,
was able to offer them a fixed price
pre-nuptial agreement. Perhaps not
a very romantic use of social media,
but it gave them access to a potential
client base that would otherwise
never have used them.
9. Website. Your website is an
increasingly important window
to your firm. Is it mobile friendly?
Is it up to date? Does it contain
interesting and eye catching
material? Most law firm websites
are surprisingly poor. The cost
of developing an inspiring site is
not high and can really help to
demonstrate an innovative approach
and client-friendly image. You must
however pay attention to and comply
with r. 2AA of the Solicitors Practice
Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. H) and the
Solicitors Practice Promotion Code.
10. Examine. Firms need to examine
the work they do and consider
carefully in relation to each part of an
instruction who that the work should
be done by and how. In a competitive
market this means delegating
work down to the cheapest level of
competence. It is also necessary
by the use of precedent templates,
intelligent drafting tools and basic
know how and training systems to
improve any lawyer or paralegals
level of competence as quickly as
possible. Again, it is often assumed
that such an approach requires heavy
investment. It does not. A few simple
tools can rapidly improve efficiency
and job satisfaction. It does however
require some time to analyse the type
of work done and the relevant pieces
that can be delegated. There will also
be some investment of time getting
the new approach to work well.
However, if done well, the results
December 2015
should start to be realised within six

months.
11. Go Paperless. Many lawyers seem
to consider piles of papers in their
office as a status symbol or security
blanket. It is perfectly possible for
a firm to go virtually paperless by
the use of simple email folders or
more sophisticated programmes or
scanners. Not only is the data readily
accessible and searchable and, if
properly backed up, even safer than
paper files, it also frees up time spent
on filing and even more importantly
frees up valuable office space.
12. Be Secure. With hackers and
spammers becoming more
sophisticated, firms are exposed to
increased business, financial and
reputational risk. It is necessary to
keep security systems up to date and
to be alert to dangerous emails. A
quick Google search and Who Is
search will often alert you to current
scams. Some basic housekeeping
such as random passwords which are
regularly changed are a minimum
first step.
13. Be Curious. It is very easy to
assume that the way we do things
now is the optimum in service
delivery. Unfortunately this is
rarely, if ever, the case. Maintaining
openness to new ways of working,
changing client expectations and
new products keeps one fresh and
enables the quality of our service
to continually improve. This does
not mean slavishly adopting every
passing fad but it does require a
level of willingness to look fairly
and objectively at how we work and
continuously striving to deliver a
service which is faster and better
than before.
The age of technology will present many
challenges for lawyers but probably
even more opportunities. Smaller
firms can not only survive but thrive in
this environment if they are open and
prepared to adapt to the new reality. n
78www.hk-lawyer.org
Tony Williams
510
Tim
Berners
Lee1990
2000
20
2025
13
1.
December 2015
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
12
2.
7.
3.
4.
5.
6.
11.
12.
Linked
8.
InFacebook
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December 2015
#20
HONG KONG LEGAL HISTORY

December 2015 marks the last of the Hong Kong legal history quizzes.
From 2016, we will continue with a general legal history quiz.
We would like to congratulate Winson Yan,

Associate Director, CBRE, the winner of our
Legal History Quiz #19.
As with last year, in the spirit of Christmas, for December, all readers
need to do is match the correct name to the face of member of the Hong
Kong legal community from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
John Wood, Puisne Judge

Sir Henry Gollan, CJ
Eldon Potter QC
Sir Henry Blackall, CJ
Victor Hobart Deacon, solicitor

James William Norton-Kyshe, Registrar
Sir Havilland de Sausmarez,

President of Full Court
Sir John Bramston, AG
G.A. Hastings, solicitor

Sir Francis Piggott, CJ
10
Answers to Hong Kong Legal History Quiz # 19

1. B.
Sir Henry Blake laid the foundation stone of the Supreme Court building that is now the Court of Final
Appeal in 1903.
2. C.
3. A.
4. A.
5. A.
Chan A. Tong was the construction contractor for the old Supreme Court building.
6. D.
Sir Michael Hogan was briefly Administrator for Malaysia in 1951 following the assassination of Sir
Henry Gurney.
7. A.
True. Norton-Kyshe published in 1901 the book The Law and Customs Relating to Gloves, being an
Exposition Historically Viewed of Ancient Laws, Customs, and Uses in respect of Gloves, and of the
Symbolism of the Hand and Glove in Judicial Proceedings.
8. B.
9. C.
10. A. B.
C. & D.
Paul Cressall played four first class cricket matches for Guyana.
The official address of the High Court of Hong Kong is 38 Queensway.

Paul Cressall died in internment at Stanley Internment Camp in 1943.
Sir Brian Keith who sat in the Court of Appeal until 2001 was knighted when he became a High Court
judge in England. Sir Noel Power was knighted in 1999.
Victoria Prison was closed in 2005 and official decommissioned in 2006.

Male Sikh barristers may wear a snow white turban instead of a wig. Female Moslem barristers who
are wearing a Hijab may choose not to wear a wig. Solicitors are not allowed to wear wigs. Judges of
the Court of Final Appeal do not wear wigs.
80www.hk-lawyer.org
Contest:
To be eligible to win a bottle of Ch. La Croizille 2007 from
Global Vintage Wines Centre, please send your quiz question
answers to cynthia.claytor@thomsonreuters.com.
The first reader to respond with the most correct answers,
with no more than 3 incorrect responses, will be deemed
the winner. The decision of Thomson Reuters regarding the
winner is final and conclusive.
December 2015
#20
Winson Yan
Associate DirectorCBRE
19
2
John Wood
()
Henry Gollan
Victor Hobart Deacon
201512
2016
12
1920
()
James William Norton-Kyshe
Eldon Potter
()
G.A. Hastings
LEGAL HISTORY QUIZ
()
Francis Piggott

Havilland de Sausmarez
John Bramston
10
# 19
Global Vintage Wines Centre

2007Ch. La Croizillecynthia.
claytor@thomsonreuters.com
()
1. B.
1903
2. C.
3. A.
38
4. A.
Paul Cressall1943
5. A.
Sir Brian Keith2001

1999
6. D.
Sir Henry Gurney1951
7. A.
Norton-Kyshe1901"The Law and Customs Relating

to Gloves"
8. B.
Paul Cressall
9. C.
20052006
10. A. B.
C. & D.
December 2015
CAMPUS VOICES
CityU Delegation Visited the National Judges

College and the Supreme Peoples Court
The President of CityU Professor Way KUO led a delegation including
the Associate Deans of CityU School of Law Professor LIN Feng (who
is also the Director of the Centre for Judicial Education and Research)
and Dr. CHEN Lei to visit the Supreme Peoples Court and the National
Judges College of the Peoples Republic of China at Beijing from 12 to 14
October.
201510
1214
The CityU delegation met Chief Justice ZHOU Qiang, President of the
Supreme Peoples Court, and Justice HE Rong, Vice President of the
Supreme Peoples Court on the morning of 13 October. Chief Justice
ZHOU highlighted the significance of legal training and education for
Chinese judges and highly praised the contribution made by CityU
Chinese judge programmes. He pointed out that the cooperation with
CityU needs to be deepened, particularly in the areas of commercial law,
intellectual property law, judicial case studies, the one belt one road
economic development model and on judicial reform issues, as well as
between the mainland and Hong Kong. CityU expressed keen interest in
collaborating further in the future.
1013
Professor HUANG Yongwei, President of the National Judges College,

received the CityU delegation on the same day. He spoke highly of
the achievements of the Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior
Judges, LLM (Chinese Judges) programme, and JSD (Chinese Senior
Judges) programme, all of which were offered by CityUs School of Law
in collaboration with the National Judges College and the Supreme
Peoples Court. Professor HUANG expected further cooperation between
the National Judges College and CityUs School of Law to cultivate
more legal talents for the Chinese judiciary. President KUO stressed
the importance of such collaboration. He is very supportive of a strong
partnership with National Judges College in judges training and
academic research.
Dr. LIU Xinkui, Director-General

of the Legal Affairs Department,
Liaison Office of the Central
Peoples Government in the
HKSAR, as well as Professor CAO
Shibing and Professor FENG
Wenli, the Vice Presidents of the
National Judges College, also
attended the meeting at the
National Judges College.
82www.hk-lawyer.org
December 2015
CAMPUS VOICES
HKU Holds Conference on Renovating the Hong Kong

Revenue Regime
The Taxation Law Research Programme (TLRP) in the Faculty of Law at The
University of Hong Kong held its Fourth International Conference on Saturday,
31 October, entitled Renovating the Hong Kong Revenue Regime: The Local,
Cross-border and International Contexts.
()
The TLRP was established in 2007 within the Facultys Asian Institute for
International Financial Law (AIIFL) to foster general and comparative Taxation
Law and Policy research focused, above all, on the HKSAR and Mainland China.
1031
2007
The latest conference title used the term Revenue Regime (RR) rather than
Tax System because Hong Kong has, ever since 1842, relied notably on
non-tax sources of revenue. The Hong Kong RR has, in many respects, proved
to be remarkably successful for over 170 years resulting in a low tax, simple
system, unique within the developed world. So successful, in fact, that the
HKSAR typically holds savings of up to two years total Government expenditure
within its Fiscal Reserve Fund. Above all, the RR in Hong Kong has benefitted
from revenues resulting from Government land sales and other major landtransaction revenues to an extent found in no other comparable jurisdiction.
1842
The conference generated a lively discussion bookended by those stressing

the need for the HKSAR to take the greatest care to avoid the trap of advancedwelfareism (seen in many developed countries) and by those stressing the
need for the RR to be put to work far more seriously to address the striking
community inequalities within the HKSAR. The overall themes and the robust
tone of the conference were established by the keynote speakers, Professor
Adrian Sawyer from University of Canterbury, New Zealand and Professor
Nolan Sharkey from University of Western Australia.
A further highlight of the conference was the special contribution made by a

range of leading Mainland Tax Policy scholars from Xiamen University, Sun
Yat Sen University (in Guangzhou) and the Haikou College of Economics.
These presentations made two things clear: (a) how very rapidly Tax Policy
development (and implementation) is advancing in the Mainland; and (b) how
these moves towards a more developed (and internationalised) system present
some special, interaction opportunities for the HKSAR. These developments
are unfolding within Chinas relatively new, One Belt, One Road outwardfocused, economic development model.
For more details of the conference, please our website (http://www.law.hku.

hk/aiifl/renovating-the-hong-kong-revenue-regime-the-local-cross-border-andinternational-contexts-sat-31-oct-2015-900-am-530-pm/).
170
Adrian SawyerNolan
Sharkey
()()
()(
)
(http://www.law.hku.hk/aiifl/renovatingthe-hong-kong-revenue-regime-the-local-crossborder-and-international-contexts-sat-31-oct2015-900-am-530-pm/)
December 2015
Driving a Plane?
By Clement M C Fan, Partner

Kam & Fan, Solicitors
n an Autumn-ish Sunday morning, I

drove to Shek O Big Wave Bay on an
assignment to test drive the new Audi Q7
with sporty S Line spec. I have to confess
that I was not very enthusiastic about this
assignment after reading about the test
drives in the October 2015 issue of the
Hong Kong Lawyer and did not have high
expectations. However, after seeing the
car, its on board equipment and the way
it performed during the test drive, I was
pleasantly surprised and very impressed
with Audis latest premium SUV.
The Exterior
When I arrived at the meeting point, I
saw a very sleek and stylish Audi Q7 with
a T plate. Without second thought, I
approached the driver in that vehicle,
Ben, and confirmed that he was the Audi
representative coordinating the test
drive. Despite my preconceived notions,
the new Q7 looks very compact and the
design of the body is very smooth. Ben
also informed me that this new model
is 325 kg lighter than the older version,
which I take to mean that the petrol
consumption figure may look healthier
than its predecessor.
The Interior and Equipment

Before I climbed into the cockpit of the
Q7, Ben gave me a long list of equipment
that comes with the car, some are
standard and some come at an extra
84www.hk-lawyer.org
cost. Equipment includes (but is not

limited to) HUD (heads up display), night
vision display (which may not be helpful
in Hong Kong, as its well-lit), GPS 3-D
navigation, automatic parking aid (which
actually parks the car for you without
the driver touching the steering wheel
or stepping on the acceleration pedal),
360-degree sensors with video image,
and the list goes on. I leave it with the car
salesman to run you through the long list
when you arrange for your own test drive.
The Q7 can accommodate up to 6
passengers and the driver. It has three
rows of seats in a 2+3+2 configuration.
The third row comes as a standard
feature and is electronically operated,
with buttons positioned at three different
locations, namely from the trunk and
both sides of the middle row. Being
curious by nature, I seated myself in the
third row with the middle row of seats
lowered. With my 5 ft, 7 in frame, the
third row still provided enough room for
me to withstand perhaps a journey of
up to about an hour. But the third row
is certainly not designed for an adult
embarking on an extensive journey by
car. The headroom for the third row could
likely accommodate any frame up to
about 5 ft, 10 in. The tail gate of the car
trunk is also electronically operated. I
tried out all of the seats in the car, which
are covered in fine leather. They are all
very comfortable, providing very nice

sitting positions, and spacious, except for
the third row.
What is underneath the

bonnet?
My impression is that the first generation
Q7 is a very heavy SUV that seems a bit
sluggish. While I have never test driven it,
it seems to have a powerful engine for a
SUV, but it is not a performance car.
Ben informed me that the Q7 that I
was test driving was the higher model
of the two that would be imported by
the Hong Kong dealer, being a 3.0-liter
supercharged V6 quattro (which Audi
means full-time four wheel drive) with
333 hp and 440Nm of torque, with full
options.
My Test Drive
When I climbed into the cockpit of
the vehicle, I was overwhelmed by the
number of buttons and screens there
is a 7-inch screen that rises from the
dashboard that allows you to configure
the suspension of the vehicle (providing
many different settings) and access the
infotainment control panel. The shift
knob is very comfortably located and the
driving position is ergonomic. The only
remark that I would say about all the
Audi vehicles that I have driven before,
which is repeated in the Q7, is the leg
December 2015
room for the driver. The central console

is wide and thus eats into the leg room
for the driver, but having said that, the
driving position is very comfortable.
When I pressed the starting button, the
noise coming from the engine was barely
audible. I had to look at the RPM meter
to confirm that the engine was actually
running! I planned my route to go up
Shek O Road and towards Chai Wan and
then back to Big Wave Bay, which gave
me some hilly turns, as well as a long
stretch to test the acceleration of the Q7.
One thing that impressed me the most
was the quietness inside the cockpit
at all times, whether accelerating or
cruising. The acceleration of the vehicle
as a SUV is impressive. The Q7 is also
more than able to deal with the passing
of occasional hikers and cyclists along
the winding Shek O Road. When I went
up the one-way Lin Shing Road, the
engine showed its powerhouse ability;
many drivers will likely be happy with
its performance. As with typical Audi
engineering, the feedback from the
road is strong, giving you a more racing
car type of feedback. However, I am
glad to say that such feedback will not
LAWYERS AT LEISURE
compromise the comfort of passengers.

The drivability of the Q7, considering
its size, is good for Hong Kongs narrow
roads. It is an easy vehicle to drive and I
am confident that drivers of all level of
ability can master it without difficulty.
would pay for it. This is a practical car

for family use that would also be fun to
drive alone. The car will also please those
motorists who like to be surrounded by
a cockpit-like dashboard that is adorned
with the latest gadgets on the market.
Conclusion
Due to the word limit on this review,

I could not deal with the Q7s safety
aspects, but I can say in short that I was
most impressed with the braking system.
Book a test drive, and I have no doubts
that you will enjoy driving the Q7 as
much as I do.
After the test drive, I obtained the

price tag for the Q7, which was some
HK$140,000 shy of a million. However,
the engineering and the equipment of
the Q7 is worth every dollar that a
would-be proud owner
A Change of Heart

By Sindy Wong, Associate Solicitor and Collaborative Pracitioner
have to say, I have never found familysized SUVs attractive. So when I

was informed that the car I would be
testing was one of the largest SUVs on
the market, I was not at all pleased, to
say the least. They seem slow, bulky
and clumsy due to their size, to have
less grip on the road due to their height,
and difficult to maneuver in Hong Kong
city traffic. Whats more, the image they
portray is that of a family man, with a
wife and kids and possibly a dog (or
two) which most definitely does not
describe me. Fortunately, I was offered
Withers | Family Law (Hong Kong)
the opportunity by the Hong Kong Law

Society to test drive the new Audi Q7
with the sporty S Line spec, which has
completely changed my mind about the
Q7 and SUVs.
made the new Q7 325 kg lighter than

its predecessor with minimal changes
to its size (its only slightly narrower and
shorter than the old Q7), so its cheaper
to run and better to drive!
The seven-seat, four-door Q7 is the

largest SUV from Audi, with the Q5 and
Q3 being Audis more compact variants.
From the outside, the Q7 was a bit too big
for my taste, but it had a beautiful design.
I really liked its curvy body that also has
a sporty and aggressive hint to it. The
Q7 is definitely not an auntie-looking
family-sized SUV! I was told that Audi
Well Thought-Through Interior

As I climbed onto the drivers seat, I was
amazed by the stylish, comfortable and
functional design of the interior, which
was well thought-through. There were
so many available functions and settings
to choose from, that it actually took Ben
(the Audi representative) quite some time
December 2015
to go through everything with me. The

ambient interior LED lighting that went
around the interior (on the doors and
the front panel) made everything feel
very high-tech and sophisticated. Ben
told me that you can also customise
the colour of interior lighting to your
liking by choosing your favourite hue
from a whole spectrum of colours. The
customisable lighting feature is an
optional add-on that will cost you a few
extra thousand, but it mostly likely will
be money well spent, as Im sure it will
be a hit with the ladies.
The Features
After starting up the engine, the first
thing I tested was the brakes. They were
excellent. Not too sensitive and not
too unresponsive. They were just right.
After pumping them several times and
almost strangling Ben by the seat belt in
the process, I decided it was time to hit
the road. So I stepped on the gas and
off we went.
One of the functions that I liked the
most, even though it took me a while
to get used to it, was the ((A)) button.
This allows the driver to release his foot
off the brakes after the car has come
to a complete stop, even on a slope.
If you want the car to move again,
simply hit the accelerator. There is no
need to physically shift any gears. This
86www.hk-lawyer.org
is particularly useful in Hong Kong,

renowned for its stop-start traffic.
Button, Button, Wheres the

Button?
Another function that I liked was the

adaptive air suspension, which allows
the driver to adjust the ride height, and
the softness/hardness of the suspension
to suit any particular situation. For
example, if you are carrying a full load
of six passengers, or a boot full of
dogs, you may wish to adjust to a softer
suspension. On the other hand, if you are
feeling particularly sporty one day and
want more feedback from the car when
going around tight corners, you can firm
up the suspension. I prefer the dynamic
mode, which made me feel more alert
and tied down to the road. It me gave
more confidence to push the car faster.
One thing that really confused me was

the design of the Q7s gear shift. Instead
of the traditional P-R-N-D layout, the
Q7s gear shift actually adopted an
R-N-D layout, with the P gear located on
the handle of the gear shift as a button.
This caused quite a few moments of
scare during the test drive, when I
mistakenly believed that I had already
parked the car at P gear, only to find
that it was actually at R gear when the
car started to move backwards after the
brakes were released.
On the Road
As for the test route, we drove from Shek
O to Shau Kei Wan, back to Shek O to
enjoy driving the car around the tight
bends. We then drove to Stanley and
up to the Peak, before we returned to
the Audi showroom in Admiralty. With
its intercooled supercharger premium
unleaded V-6, 3 litre engine, I could
hardly feel the difference between going
uphill and travelling on flat ground
throughout the test drive, nor did the car
need any pushing the entire ride was
very easy and quiet. I could barely hear
the engine at all.
Additional Digging
After the test drive, I did some further
research on the Q7. I was surprised
to find that the latest model is only
the second generation of the Q7, and
the first was first revealed in 2005.As
there is a 10-year gap between the 2
generations, Audi must have spent a lot
of effort and research to get the new Q7
just right.
Final Thoughts
If you need a family car with space and
the practicality of seating 7 people that
is also stylish, powerful and efficient, the
Q7 is the car for you. If you are interested
in a test drive, Ben is definitely the guy
you should ask for. n
December 2015
LAWYERS AT LEISURE
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88www.hk-lawyer.org
HK listed company with a number of subsidiaries & different lines of

business seeks a senior level corporate lawyer. Reporting to the CEO, you
will be involved in M&A projects & listing compliance matters. Substantial
HK experience & fluent English & Mandarin are essential. HKL5684
Full service US firm with significant bank panel memberships seeks a UK/
HK qualified DCM lawyer to grow an existing practice. Perfect role for a
senior associate looking for a Counsel role with a clear track to partnership
or a counsel looking for a step up to partner. HKL5637
LEGAL COUNSEL - REGULATORY
FINANCE
HONG KONG
3-9 years
HONG KONG
5-9 years
Well-known European financial institution seeks a regulatory/derivatives

lawyer who has strong HK/Asia financial services regulatory experience.
Prior exposure to derivatives/structured products matters would be
advantageous but not essential. Good work/life balance on offer. HKL5672
Well-established offshore law firm seeks a senior finance lawyer to

work on a broad range of work, in particular lending matters. You will be
Commonwealth qualified & have experience at a reputable international law
firm. Chinese skills are advantageous but not essential. HKL5677
LEGAL COUNSEL
CONSTRUCTION
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI
5-10 years
Hospitality group is looking to hire a mid-senior level legal counsel to be

based in HK or Shanghai to provide general legal support for its operations
In-House
in Asia. Knowledge and experience
in the hospitality industry as well as
In-House
fluentHEAD
English
&
Mandarin
are
essential.
HKL5681
OF MARKETS
HONG KONG
12+ years
HEAD OF MARKETS
HONG KONG
12+ years
Global Bank with a strong regional markets presence seeks a senior

Global Bank with a strong regional markets presence seeks a senior
lawyer to manage a team across multiple jurisdictions. Lawyers with solid
lawyer to manage a team across multiple jurisdictions. Lawyers with solid
derivatives experience in rates/credit/FX/equities are considered. Chinese
derivatives experience in rates/credit/FX/equities are considered. Chinese
skills preferred & proven managements skills essential. HKL5559
skills preferred & proven managements skills essential. HKL5559
HEDGE FUND LAWYER
HONG KONG
2-5 years
Expanding
Pan Asia
US$2 billion hedgeHONG
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looking for a lawyer8+
asyears
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HONG KONG
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HK listed company with a number of subsidiaries & different lines of
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business.
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HKL5633
HK experience
fluent English
& Mandarin
are
essential.
HKL5684
LEGAL
LEGAL COUNSEL
COUNSEL -- REGULATORY
REGULATORY
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
3-9
3-9 years
years
Well-known European financial institution seeks a regulatory/derivatives

Well-known -European
financial institutionHONG
seeks aKONG
regulatory/derivatives
VP/DIRECTOR
EQUITY DERIVATIVES
5+ years

Bulge bracket bank seeks a mid-senior level lawyer to cover derivatives

& equities.
Ideally you will HONG
have solid
derivatives & financial
services
LEGAL
KONG/SHANGHAI
5-10
years
LEGAL COUNSEL
COUNSEL
HONG
KONG/SHANGHAI
5-10
years
experience
gained
private
&/or
in-house.
negotiation
Hospitality
groupfrom
is looking
topractice
hire a mid-senior
level Strong
legal counsel
to be
Hospitality group is looking to hire a mid-senior level legal counsel to be
based in HK or Shanghai to provide general legal support for its operations
based
in
HK
or
Shanghai
to
provide
general
legal
support
for
its
operations
& communication
skills essential
but Chinese
not required.
HKL5654
in Asia. Knowledge
and experience
in the is
hospitality
industry
as well as
in Asia. Knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry as well as
fluent English & Mandarin are essential. HKL5681
fluent English & Mandarin are essential. HKL5681
HEDGE
FUND
HEDGE LITIGATOR
FUND LAWYER
LAWYER
IN-HOUSE
HONG
KONG
HONG
KONG
HONG
KONG
2-5
years
2-5 years
years
5-10
Expanding Pan Asia US$2 billion hedge fund is looking for a lawyer as part
Expanding Pan Asia US$2 billion hedge fund is looking for a lawyer as part
of the legal & BD team. This role offers exposure to both the legal & buy
of the legal & BD team. This role offers exposure to both the legal & buy
side of the business. Background in funds helpful but we will also consider
side of the business. Background in funds helpful but we will also consider
corporate lawyers. Chinese language skills not required. HKL5633
corporate lawyers. Chinese language skills not required. HKL5633
In-house opportunity for a mid-level litigator with experience in general

commercial/financial services litigation. Strong analytical skills and ability
to understand
complex
issuesDERIVATIVES
are required. Fluent
English
& Chinese
are
VP/DIRECTOR
HONG
5+
VP/DIRECTOR -- EQUITY
EQUITY DERIVATIVES
HONG KONG
KONG
5+ years
years
essential.
work
& good
work/life level
balance
on offer.
HKL3989
Bulge Interesting
bracket bank
seeks
a mid-senior
lawyer
to cover
derivatives
Bulge bracket bank seeks a mid-senior level lawyer to cover derivatives
& equities. Ideally you will have solid derivatives & financial services
& equities. Ideally you will have solid derivatives & financial services
experience gained from private practice &/or in-house. Strong negotiation
experience gained from private practice &/or in-house. Strong negotiation
& communication skills essential but Chinese is not required. HKL5654
& communication skills essential but Chinese is not required. HKL5654
IN-HOUSE
IN-HOUSE LITIGATOR
LITIGATOR
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
5-10
5-10 years
years

to understand complex issues are required. Fluent English & Chinese are
to understand complex issues are required. Fluent English & Chinese are
essential. Interesting work & good work/life balance on offer. HKL3989
essential. Interesting work & good work/life balance on offer. HKL3989
HONG KONG
4-6 years
Reputable global law firm seeks a mid-level lawyer with substantial

contentious experience to join their market-leading construction practice.
Private
Arbitration & litigation
experience Practice
& construction related exposure is ideal.
Private
Practice
Non-contentious construction experience advantageous. HKL5686
ARBITRATION
ARBITRATION PARTNER
PARTNER
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
10+
10+ years
years
Global law firm in HK with a leading disputes practice across both arbitration
Global law firm in HK with a leading disputes practice across both arbitration
& litigation is looking for a partner to head up its arbitration team. You will
& litigation is looking for a partner to head up its arbitration team. You will
have solid arbitration experience gained in HK &/or Singapore & ideally be
have solid arbitration experience gained in HK &/or Singapore & ideally be
an established partner name in the market. HKL5605
an established partner name in the market. HKL5605
EMPLOYMENT
HONG KONG
2-5 years
Excellent opportunity to join HONG

a boutique
litigation practice with
excellent
7+
HONG KONG
KONG
7+ years
years
quality
of
work.
You
will
be
a
junior
employment
lawyer
with
experience
Full service US firm with significant bank panel memberships seeks a UK/ in
Full service US firm with significant bank panel memberships seeks a UK/
HK qualified DCM lawyer to grow an existing practice. Perfect role for a
HK
DCM lawyer
to grow an
existing practice.
Perfect
for a
HK qualified
with exposure
to contentious
employment
matters.
FluentroleCantonese
or
a
counsel
looking
for
a
step
up
to
partner.
HKL5637
preferred
butlooking
not essential.
or
a counsel
for a stepHKL5651
up to partner. HKL5637
DCM
DCM COUNSEL/PARTNER
COUNSEL/PARTNER
FINANCE
FINANCE
CORPORATE
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
HONG KONG
5-9
5-9 years
years
1-5 years

Top tier US firm seeks a corporate lawyer who has experience with capital
HONG
KONG
4-6
years
markets & mergers & acquisition
transactions.
You will work
a mix of
HONG
KONG
4-6on
years
Reputable
global M&A,
law firm
seeks
a mid-level
with substantial
capital markets,
private
equity,
regulatorylawyer
& compliance
& corporate
Reputable
global law firm
seeks
a mid-level
lawyer
with substantial
contentious experience to join their market-leading construction practice.
contentious
experience
to
join
their
market-leading
construction
practice.
governance& litigation
issues. Fluent
Mandarin
essential.related
HKL5670
Arbitration
experience
& construction
exposure is ideal.
Arbitration & litigation experience & construction related exposure is ideal.
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT FINANCE
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
HONG KONG
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
2-5 years
2-5
2-5 years
years
Excellent opportunity to join a boutique litigation practice with excellent

Excellent opportunity to join a boutique litigation practice with excellent
quality of work. You will be a junior employment lawyer with experience in
quality of work. You will be a junior employment lawyer with experience in
HK with exposure to contentious employment matters. Fluent Cantonese
HK with exposure to contentious employment matters. Fluent Cantonese
preferred but not essential. HKL5651
preferred but not essential. HKL5651
Magic Circle firm is actively looking for a junior associate to join its marketleading project finance team. Prior experience in energy/natural resources/
infrastructure finance requiredHONG
but bright
junior lawyers with general
banking
CORPORATE
1-5
CORPORATE
HONG KONG
KONG
1-5 years
years
experience
& anseeks
interest
in projectlawyer
finance
beexperience
considered.
HKL5668
Top
tier US firm
a corporate
whowill
has
with
capital
Top tier US firm seeks a corporate lawyer who has experience with capital
markets & mergers & acquisition transactions. You will work on a mix of
markets & mergers & acquisition transactions. You will work on a mix of
capital markets, M&A, private equity, regulatory & compliance & corporate
capital markets, M&A, private equity, regulatory & compliance & corporate
governance issues. Fluent Mandarin essential. HKL5670
governance issues. Fluent Mandarin essential. HKL5670
PROJECT
PROJECT FINANCE
FINANCE
HONG
HONG KONG
KONG
2-5
2-5 years
years
Magic Circle firm is actively looking for a junior associate to join its marketMagic Circle firm is actively looking for a junior associate to join its marketleading project finance team. Prior experience in energy/natural resources/
leading project finance team. Prior experience in energy/natural resources/
infrastructure finance required but bright junior lawyers with general banking
infrastructure finance required but bright junior lawyers with general banking
experience & an interest in project finance will be considered. HKL5668
experience & an interest in project finance will be considered. HKL5668
This is a small selection of our current vacancies. Please refer to our website for a more comprehensive list of openings.
Please contact Lindsey Sanders, lsanders@lewissanders.com +852 2537 7409 or Jenny Law, jlaw@lewissanders.com +852 2537 7448
Chris Chu, cchu@lewissanders.com +852 2537 7415 or email recruit@lewissanders.com
Please
Please contact
contact Lindsey
Lindsey Sanders,
Sanders, lsanders@lewissanders.com
lsanders@lewissanders.com +852
+852 2537
2537 7409
7409 or
or Jenny
Jenny Law,
Law, jlaw@lewissanders.com
jlaw@lewissanders.com +852
+852 2537
2537 7448
7448
Chris
Chris Chu,
Chu, cchu@lewissanders.com
cchu@lewissanders.com +852
+852 2537
2537 7415
7415 or
or email
email recruit@lewissanders.com
recruit@lewissanders.com
www.lewissanders.com
MICHAEL PAGE LEGAL
SPECIALISTS IN LEGAL RECRUITMENT

We are a specialist legal team within the leading recruitment brand of PageGroup. Our strong client network sees us working
closely with international and local law firms, global and local listed and private corporations, financial institutions, as well as Hong
Kong regulatory bodies.
MICHAEL PAGE LEGAL
SPECIALISTS IN LEGAL RECRUITMENT
PRIVATE PRACTICE
IN-HOUSE CORPORATE
Banking and Finance Associate
Intellectual Property Associate
Real Estate Legal Advisor
Our client is looking for a well qualified lawyer to join their

banking and finance practice. This associate will work
PRIVATE PRACTICE
closely with the partners to act for lenders and borrowers on
secured lending, as well as advise on structuring, ongoing
maintenance and transactional issues with high profile
Banking
and
Finance Associate
international
banks
and corporations.
This is an exciting role
with excellent
career
1 5 Years
PQE prospects within a leading law firm.
The ideal
candidate
willFirm
be qualified in Hong Kong with solid
Leading
UK Law
financial
background,
as well
diverse
banking
andtofinance
Our client
is looking
for aas
well
qualified
lawyer
join their
banking The
andsuccessful
finance practice.
This
associate
will work
experience.
candidate
must
be proficient
in
closely
with the partners
to act for
lenders
and borrowers on
English,
Cantonese
and Mandarin.
Ref:
H2965200
Our client is one of the leading US law firms and they

are seeking an Associate who will support the team
across intellectual property (IP) matters. Working closely
with key Partners, you will be responsible in advising
Hong Kong, Mainland China and international clients on
Intellectual
Property
strategic
issues relating
to the Associate
protection, enforcement
and
exploitation of IP rights. This role offers
3commercial
7 Years PQE
a valuable
Leadingopportunity
US Law Firmto join a leading IP practice. The
ideal
will of
be the
qualified
Hong
China.
Ourcandidate
client is one
leadingin US
lawKong
firms orand
they
are seekingin an
Associate
who will and
support
the team
Proficiency
English,
Cantonese
Mandarin
is
across Ref:
intellectual
property (IP) matters. Working closely
required.
H3031480
A premium real estate company is expanding and is

seeking an experienced lawyer to join their group. You
IN-HOUSE CORPORATE
will advise on a range of corporate and commercial
real estate matters across Hong Kong and Mainland
China, as well as provide support for all corporate and
Real Estate
Legalmatters,
Advisor
regulatory
compliance
on top of a spectrum of
commercial
realPQE
estate matters. Your responsibilities will
10 15 Years
cover
on corporate
/ project
Real advising
Estate Developer
(Hong Kong
Listed)finance, property
conveyancing,
and tenancy.
The successful
A premium reallitigation
estate company
is expanding
and is
seeking anwill
experienced
join of
their
Youin
candidate
possess at lawyer
least 10toyears
PQEgroup.
obtained
will estate
advise corporate.
on a range
of corporate
and commercial
real
Candidates
with experience
gained
real estate matters across Hong Kong and Mainland
from real estate development companies will be highly
China, as well as provide support for all corporate and
regarded.
English,on
Cantonese
Mandarin
regulatory Proficiency
complianceinmatters,
top of a and
spectrum
of
is
required. Ref:
commercial
real H2958960
estate matters. Your responsibilities will
We are a specialist legal team within the leading recruitment brand of PageGroup. Our strong client network sees us working
1 closely
5 Years PQE
3 7 Years
10 15institutions,
Years PQE
with international and local law firms, global
and PQE
local listed and private corporations, financial
as well as Hong
Leading
UK
Law
Firm
Leading
US
Law
Firm
Real
Estate
Developer (Hong Kong Listed)
Kong regulatory bodies.
secured lending, as well as advise on structuring, ongoing

maintenance and transactional issues with high profile
international banks and corporations. This is an exciting role
with excellent career prospects within a leading law firm.
The ideal candidate will be qualified in Hong Kong with solid
financial background, as well as diverse banking and finance
experience. The successful candidate must be proficient in
English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Ref: H2965200
with key Partners, you will be responsible in advising

Hong Kong, Mainland China and international clients on
strategic issues relating to the protection, enforcement
and commercial exploitation of IP rights. This role offers
a valuable opportunity to join a leading IP practice. The
ideal candidate will be qualified in Hong Kong or China.
Proficiency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin is
required. Ref: H3031480
Corporate Lawyer
Regulatory Lawyer
4 7 Years PQE
Leading International Law Firm
5 7 Years PQE
Our client is looking for a highly capable and ambitious

Corporate
Lawyer with
4 to 6 years of PQE. This candidate
Corporate
Lawyer
will work independently and oversee transactions in Hong
4 7 Years PQE
Kong, China and the US. You will work with the hiring partner
focusing mainly on IPOs, private equity and M&A deals. This
client is looking for a highly capable and ambitious
is anOur
excellent
opportunity with promising career prospects
Corporate Lawyer with 4 to 6 years of PQE. This candidate
and will
the work
right independently
candidate will and
be considered
for partnership
oversee transactions in Hong
track.
The China
ideal candidate
would
be work
qualified
Kong,
and the US.
You will
with in
theeither
hiringHong
partner
Kong,
a common
lawonjurisdiction,
or equity
the US,and
with
substantial
focusing
mainly
IPOs, private
M&A
deals. This
is an experience
excellent opportunity
withleading
promising
career prospects
relevant
from other
international
law
and the right candidate will be considered for partnership
firms.
Proficiency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin is
track. The ideal candidate would be qualified in either Hong
required.
Ref: 2354520
Kong, a common law jurisdiction, or the US, with substantial
Our client is a top-tier regulatory practice within the

region
and they areLawyer
seeking a well qualified litigator who
Regulatory
possesses broad financial litigation and/ or contentious
5 7 Years PQE
regulatory experience to join their growing practice.
The successful candidate will join their team and work
Our client is a top-tier regulatory practice within the
alongside
major partners in the field. You must be a
region and they are seeking a well qualified litigator who
Hong
Kong qualified or common law qualified lawyer
possesses broad financial litigation and/ or contentious
who
possesses
5 to 7 years
in this
practice
area.
regulatory
experience
to of
joinPQE
their
growing
practice.
Prior
and candidate
work experience
fromand
top-tier
Thetraining
successful
will join gained
their team
work
alongside major
partners
field. You
must be ina
international
law firms
wouldinbethe
essential.
Proficiency
Hong Kong qualified or common law qualified lawyer
English
is mandatory, though Mandarin and Cantonese
who possesses 5 to 7 years of PQE in this practice area.
would
be
preferred as well. Ref: 2307930
Prior training and work experience gained from top-tier
relevant experience from other leading international law

firms. Proficiency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin is
required. Ref: 2354520
international law firms would be essential. Proficiency in

English is mandatory, though Mandarin and Cantonese
would be preferred as well. Ref: 2307930
cover advising on corporate / project finance, property

conveyancing, litigation and tenancy. The successful
candidate will possess at least 10 years of PQE obtained in
real estate corporate. Candidates with experience gained
from real estate development companies will be highly
regarded. Proficiency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin
is3required.
6 YearsRef:
PQEH2958960
Legal Counsel
Fortune 500 Telecommunications Company

Our client is a top tier global telecommunications company
that
provides
services to corporate clients in nearly 200
Legal
Counsel
countries. They are looking to hire a junior to mid-level lawyer
3 6 Years PQE
to strengthen their existing legal team. You will provide
Fortune 500 Telecommunications Company
day-to-day general commercial legal advice and assist the
Our client is a top tier global telecommunications company
companys negotiation over key contract terms. You will also
that provides services to corporate clients in nearly 200
work
with department heads to liaise with various internal
countries. They are looking to hire a junior to mid-level lawyer
and
external parties.
The successful
candidate
will provide
possess
to strengthen
their existing
legal team.
You will
3day-to-day
to 6 yearsgeneral
of PQE
with goodlegal
analytical
commercial
advice and
and negotiation
assist the
companys
negotiation
contract terms.
You will skills.
also
skills,
as well
as solid over
legalkey
knowledge
and drafting
work with department heads to liaise with various internal
Experience
obtained from international law firms or other
and external parties. The successful candidate will possess
top
companies will be an advantage. Proficiency in English
3 to 6 years of PQE with good analytical and negotiation
and
Mandarin
is required.
Ref:
H3030100
skills,
as well as
solid legal
knowledge
and drafting skills.
Experience obtained from international law firms or other
top companies will be an advantage. Proficiency in English
and Mandarin is required. Ref: H3030100
To apply, visit www.michaelpage.com.hk/apply quoting the reference number or contact the following consultants:
To apply, visit www.michaelpage.com.hk/apply quoting the reference number or contact the following consultants:
Legal
Legal
A state-of-the-art manufacturer which offers support to cutting

edge technologies across the globe is currently seeking a
capable corporate commercial lawyer to join their group as
Senior Legal Counsel. You will advise on a range of corporate
transactional and general commercial matters across Hong
Kong and overseas markets. You will focus on supporting
OF
OF
investment projects of a global scale, on top of Hong Kong listing
THE
THE
rules compliance matters. You will also provide legal services to
business units and handle commercial matters. The successful
candidate
will possess
at least 10 years of PQE obtained in the
Senior
Senior
Corporate
Corporate
Lawyer
Lawyer
area of M&A and investments transactional work. Those coming
10+
10+
Years
Years
PQE
PQE
from
law
firms, with strong M&A and investments experience
Global
Global
Manufacturing
Group
Group
(Hong
(Hong
Kong
Kong
Listed)
Listed)
willManufacturing
also
be considered.
Proficiency
in English, Cantonese and
AA
state-of-the-art
state-of-the-art
manufacturer
which
offers
offers
support
support
toto
cutting
cutting
Mandarin is manufacturer
required.
Ref:which
H2988940
EXCLUSIVE
EXCLUSIVE JOB
JOB
MONTH
MONTH
FINANCIAL SERVICES
edge
edgetechnologies
technologiesacross
acrossthe
theglobe
globeis iscurrently
currentlyseeking
seekinga a
capable
capablecorporate
corporatecommercial
commerciallawyer
lawyertotojoin
jointheir
theirgroup
groupasas
Senior
Senior
Legal
Legal
Counsel.
Counsel.
You
You
will
will
advise
advise
onon
aa
range
range
ofof
corporate
corporate
transactional
transactionaland
andgeneral
generalcommercial
commercialmatters
mattersacross
acrossHong
Hong
Kong
Kongand
andoverseas
overseasmarkets.
markets.You
Youwill
willfocus
focusononsupporting
supporting
investment
investment
projects
projects
ofof
a global
a global
scale,
scale,
onon
top
top
ofof
Hong
Hong
Kong
Kong
listing
listing
rules
rules
compliance
compliance
matters.
matters.
You
You
will
will
also
also
provide
provide
legal
legal
services
services
toto
business
business
units
units
and
and
handle
handle
commercial
commercial
matters.
matters.
The
The
successful
successful
candidate
candidate
will
will
possess
possess
atat
least
least
1010
years
years
ofof
PQE
PQE
obtained
obtained
in in
the
the
area
area
ofof
M&A
M&A
and
and
investments
investments
transactional
transactional
work.
work.
Those
Those
coming
coming
from
fromlaw
lawfirms,
firms,with
withstrong
strongM&A
M&Aand
andinvestments
investmentsexperience
experience
will
will
also
also
bebe
considered.
considered.
Proficiency
Proficiency
in in
English,
English,
Cantonese
Cantonese
and
and
Mandarin
Mandarin
is is
required.
required.
Ref:
Ref:
H2988940
H2988940
Senior M&A Lawyer
Employment & Regulatory Affairs Lawyer
Senior Insurance Counsel
6+ Years PQE
Healthcare Products Group (Hong Kong Listed)
3 8 Years PQE
Top Tier Investment Bank
6 8 Years PQE
Global Insurance Player
This is a newly created position for a M&A lawyer to join an

investment holding company, engaged in providing healthcare
products. You will advise on legal matters relating to M&A
transactions and investments covering US and Australia.
You will advise and support overseas subsidiaries business
Senior
Senior
M&A
M&A
Lawyer
Lawyer
operations,
including
drafting and negotiation of related
You will also work with external legal counsels to
6+
agreements.
6+
Years
Years
PQE
PQE
support
for disputes.
The ideal
candidate
Healthcare
provide
Healthcare
Products
Products
Group
Group
(Hong
(Hong
Kong
Kong
Listed)
Listed) will possess
at least
years
of
PQEposition
obtained
inacorporate
M&Atoand
general
This
This
is is
a newly
a6 newly
created
created
position
forfor
M&A
a M&A
lawyer
lawyer
to
join
join
anan
investment
investment
holding
holding
company,
company,
engaged
in in
providing
providing
healthcare
healthcare of
commercial
work,
and be engaged
able
to liaise
with counterparts
products.
products.
Youwillwilladvise
advise
onon
legal
legalmatters
matters
relating
relatingto to
M&A
M&A
all levels.You
Candidates
with
experience
in supporting
overseas
transactions
transactionsand
andinvestments
investmentscovering
coveringUSUSand
andAustralia.
Australia.
transactions from an in-house perspective will be highly
You
You
willwill
advise
advise
and
and
support
support
overseas
overseas
subsidiaries
subsidiaries
business
business
regarded. including
Proficiency
in
English,
Cantonese
and
Mandarin
operations,
operations,
includingdrafting
drafting
and
and
negotiation
negotiation
of of
related
related is
required. Ref:
H3039620
agreements.
agreements.
You
You
willwill
also
also
work
work
with
with
external
external
legal
legal
counsels
counsels
to to
provide
provide
support
support
forfor
disputes.
disputes.
The
The
ideal
ideal
candidate
candidate
willwill
possess
possess
at at
least
least
6 years
6 years
of of
PQE
PQE
obtained
obtained
in in
corporate
corporate
M&A
M&A
and
and
general
general
commercial
commercial
work,
work,
and
and
bebe
able
able
to to
liaise
liaise
with
with
counterparts
counterparts
of of
allall
levels.
levels.
Candidates
Candidates
with
with
experience
experience
in in
supporting
supporting
overseas
overseas
transactions
transactionsfrom
fromananin-house
in-houseperspective
perspectivewillwillbebehighly
highly
regarded.
regarded.
Proficiency
Proficiency
in in
English,
English,
Cantonese
Cantonese
and
and
Mandarin
Mandarin
is is
required.
required.
Ref:
H3039620
H3039620
2 7Ref:
Years
PQE (Multiple Openings)
Assistant Legal Counsel / Legal Manager
Our client is seeking an employment lawyer to join their

Our client is expanding their legal function and is keen to
Human Resources function. This is a newly created position
hire an experienced insurance lawyer. Reporting to the
FINANCIAL
FINANCIALSERVICES
SERVICES
where you will provide legal advice on a wide scope of
Head of Legal & Compliance and operating in a team of
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Funds Counsel
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Olga Yung,
a range of transactional and product related work. Reporting

in an established team of 5 lawyers, you will review, draft
3 3 7 Years
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and negotiate investment related documentation including
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Director, Michael Page Legal

Olga
Olga
Yung,
Yung,
(+852)
2848 4791 / olgayung@michaelpage.com.hk
Associate Director, Michael Page Legal

Carolyn
Carolyn
Woo,
(+852) Woo,
2848
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Samantha Fong,
Get Connected. Stay Ahead.
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Samantha
Samantha
Fong,
Fong,
James
James
Choi,
Choi,
(+852)
2848 4792Michael
/Michael
samanthafong@michaelpage.com.hk
(+852) 2848
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samanthafong@michaelpage.com.hk
(+852)
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4796/ /jameschoi@michaelpage.com.hk
jameschoi@michaelpage.com.hk
Specialists in legal recruitment
Specialists
Specialistsininlegal
legalrecruitment
recruitment
www.michaelpage.com.hk
trust | honesty | integrity | partnership
Funds
US Securities
1+ PQE
Hong Kong
5+ PQE
Litigation
Hong Kong/Beijing
1+ PQE
Hong Kong
This eminent law firm seeks a common law

qualified lawyer to join their premier, global
practice. You will work for high profile clients
on a variety of private investment funds,
including PE, real estate, hedge funds, VC and
mezzanine funds as well as funds-of-funds and
secondaries. Mandarin skills needed. HKL3878
This is a stellar opportunity for a senior

associate to join this market-leading practice
and work alongside a reputable partner. You
will work on corporate finance transactions,
private equity financing, restructurings and
cross-border merger & acquisition transactions.
Mandarin language skills essential. HKL3888
A very exciting opportunity for a litigation

associate to join this leading practice. You
will represent local and international clients
on a range of disputes, contentious financial
services regulatory and banking matters. You
will be admitted in a common law jurisdiction.
Language skills required. HKL3890
Banking & Finance
China Corporate
Capital Markets
1+ PQE
2-6 PQE
Hong Kong/Singapore
Hong Kong/China
3-5 PQE
Hong Kong
This top US practice has a fantastic opportunity

for a lawyer to join this unparalleled team working
on big ticket deals including syndicated corporate
lending, equity-backed financing and REITS across
the SE Asia. You will work alongside an eminent
partner. Common law qualification essential.
Mandarin skills preferred. HKL3513
This is an outstanding opportunity for an

associate with solid experience gained at an
international law firm. You will join this top tier
firm to focus on M&A/PE and China outbound
transactions. You will be Hong Kong qualified.
PRC lawyers admitted to the US bar will also be
considered. HKL3904
A truly excellent opportunity for a lawyer with

solid IPO experience gained at an international
law firm to work on sizeable IPO transactions
and equity offerings. You will be HK qualified
with Mandarin/Cantonese skills. Familiarity
with the HK listing rules and takeovers code
would be highly advantageous. HKL38903
Construction Litigation/Arbitration
Corporate PSL
In-House Property
4-7 PQE
5+ PQE
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
4+ PQE
Hong Kong/Shanghai
This premier practice seeks a construction lawyer

with exposure to arbitration matters. You will
work alongside highly regarded partners in a
close knit team. The ideal candidate will have
experience gained with a leading practice, as well
as the ability to work independently at a high level.
Common law qualifications required. HKL4687
Excellent opportunity for experienced lawyers to

step away from fee-earning and join a highly regarded
global law firm with a leading corporate practice.
You will work with a collegiate team and take on a
full range of PSL duties including creating a solid
precedent system, preparing notes on legal issues
and know-how documents, and more. HKL3730
This is a brilliant opportunity to make the move

in-house with this household corporation.
You will be handling legal documents relating
to property development, leasing and
management, including conveyancing, property
and residential properties ordinance and more.
Mandarin skills required. HKL3891
Banking & Finance
Corporate Energy
Banking & Finance
2-7 PQE
Dubai
3+ PQE
Beijing/Hong Kong
3+ PQE
Sydney/London
Our client is consistently ranked as one of

the leading B&F practices in the region. Due
to continuing expansion within the banking
sector, they seek to hire an additional banking
lawyer for the Dubai team. You will have a
general finance background, ideally with
exposure to Islamic finance. HKL3914
This UK law firm is looking to hire a corporate

energy associate with exceptional technical skills
and a desire to work hard to get on track for
partnership. You will work alongside a leading
partner and gain exposure to a broad range of
work on a global scale. Rare opportunity with no
language requirements. HKL3918
This is a truly fantastic opportunity for a

banking & finance lawyer keen to take their
career overseas with this international law firm.
Opportunities exist in London and Sydney for
general banking & finance lawyer with proven
client management skills. Fluent mandarin is
essential. HKL3924
Corporate M&A
International Arbitration
Project Finance
2-6 PQE
Singapore/Hong Kong
5+ PQE
Singapore
5+ PQE
Singapore
A superb opportunity for a common law qualified

lawyer to work alongside reputable partners in
a close-knit team. You will have exposure to a
variety of work including M&A, JV, corporate
governance, restructurings and capital markets
fundraising. Hong Kong experience and mandarin
skills would be a bonus. HKL3678
A top tier US law firm is seeking a lawyer with

exposure to a range of arbitration and/or
litigation matters to join its highly regarded
team on a variety of complex and high
profile arbitration in the region. This role will
require you to be admitted in a common law
jurisdiction. HKL3561
This is an excellent opportunity to join this

notable projects practice, working with
recognised partners on a range of infrastructure
and PFI/PPP matters. You will be common law
qualified, ideally with experience gained from
an international firm. Mandarin language skills
would be preferable but not essential. HKL3751
Banking & Finance
Energy/Oil & Gas
International Arbitration
1-5 PQE
Singapore
A banking & finance associate is sought to

become part of this market leading practice.
You will work on secured lending structures,
PDP financing, operating leases and more.
Candidates with exposure to aviation or
asset would be advantageous. Common law
qualifications required. HKL3812
Partner
Singapore
One of the largest law firms in the world is looking

for a partner to join their highly regarded regional
energy practice and advise on a range of oil & gas
transactions. You will have experience gained at
a top tier US or UK law firm in the region with
proven business development skills and client
handling capabilities. HKL3922
Partner
Singapore
This is a brilliant opportunity for an international

arbitration partner with a portable book of
business to join a top tier US law firm known as
a litigation powerhouse globally. You will work
alongside notable individuals under a supportive
management
structure
with
international
exposure from a leading peer law firm. HKL3728
This is a selection of our current vacancies; for more information in complete confidence,
please call the Hong Kong office on +852 2503 2500 or contact our Singapore office on +65 6100 1900 or email us at
sandra.godbold@atticus-legal.com or amith.narayan@atticus-legal.com
www.atticus-legal.com
PARTNER WITH THE EXPERTS

POWER YOUR WORLD OF WORK
We are the experts in recruiting legal specialists at all levels, from paralegals and first
year solicitors through to general counsel, partners, associates, legal counsel, company
secretaries and compliance officers. We have more than 9 years experience in Hong Kong,
connecting top talent with global financial services organisations, MNCs, international law
firms and public sector bodies.
We have experience in both recruitment and legal practice, so are perfectly placed to understand
the needs of our clients and the expectations of our candidates. This ensures that when engaging a
Hays recruiting expert you will always talk to someone who understands.
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Our new location allows us to meet with more people to share information about job
opportunities, as well as impart useful advice and market knowledge.
Our expert consultants are available to support and manage job searches, give objective
advice on how to achieve career aspirations and provide invaluable CV and interview tips.
For employers, our experts are the right people to help you attract, recruit and retain the best
staff for your organisation.
Book an appointment with one of our recruiting experts today.
Contact the Hays Legal team at legal.hk@hays.com.hk or

call us on +852 2521 1460.
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Hong Kong Singapore Beijing Shanghai
Private Practice
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
In-House
HONG KONG
PARTNER
International firm with established commercial litigation practice is

expanding its team and is looking to appoint a further litigation lawyer to
assist in the build out of this already successful practice. Open to lawyers
with regulatory/construction experience as well.(HKL 13049)
REGULATORY HONG KONG
COUNSEL
This top tier international firm has a vacancy for a senior non-contentious
regulatory lawyer to support its financial services client base. Lawyers
from leading international firms as well as in-house regulatory lawyers
are encouraged to apply. Very competitive salary and excellent partnership
prospects.(HKL 13043)
BANKING & FINANCE
HONG KONG
COUNSEL
International law firm with excellent regional presence seeks a senior

banking & finance lawyer to join their well-established practice. Existing
book of business is required. Excellent opportunity to be part of evergrowing practice. Fluency in Chinese language or other Asian languages will
be an added advantage. (HKL 13055)
LITIGATION
HONG KONG
3-6 PQE
LEGAL DIRECTOR
HONG KONG 6-9 PQE
A leading electronics manufacturer has a vacancy for a legal director to

oversee full range of the groups global legal matters including M&A
transactions, commercial contracts, HR, IP and contentious issues. Solid
understanding of electronics industry and excellent commercial acumen is
helpful. Fluency in English and Chinese are required. (HKL 12980)
LEGAL COUNSEL
HONG KONG
8+ PQE
This global manufacturing and retailing company seeks a legal counsel

to join their team to work closely with the regional business. You will
have autonomy over all legal matters and support the companys various
businesses across Asia Pacific, focusing on corporate and commercial issues,
providing legal advice on regional initiatives including M&A and manage
external counsel and service providers. Mandarin is essential. (HKL 12904)
LEGAL EDITOR
HONG KONG
4-8 PQE
Global information service provider is seeking a legal editor to join their

growing legal product division. The position will play a critical role in the
business strategy and the creation/development of contents in their product.
Successful candidate will have solid experience with Hong Kong and PRC
law. Fluency in English and Chinese are required. (HKL 13035)
This highly regarded litigation practice is expanding its Hong Kong practice
and is looking for lawyers with exceptional academic backgrounds who
enjoy the technical and academic side to legal practice. Work is of the highest
quality acting on large international matters from complex arbitration and
financial services claims to complex contentious litigation matters. Chinese
language skills is useful. (HKL 12641)
COMMERCIAL/COMPLIANCE COUNSEL HONG KONG 7+ PQE
RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY HONG KONG5+ PQE
FINANCE/FUNDS
A well-established international law firm seeks a senior restructuring and

insolvency lawyer to support their banking and projects team. Excellent
opportunity to work with Asias most high-profile clients and complex
lending transactions. General banking lawyers will also be considered. No
language requirements. (HKL 13041)
M&A ASSOCIATE
HONG KONG
3-5 PQE
Top-tier international law firm is looking for a M&A associate with extensive
cross-border M&A experience in the region. Great opportunity to gain
exposure to high-profile deals acting for PE houses. Fluency in Cantonese
and Mandarin are required. (HKL 13056)
BANKING AND FINANCE
HONG KONG
NQ-3 PQE
A prestigious international law firm seeks a junior lawyer to join their

Banking practice. Experience in general banking finance, syndicated
lending, leverage finance, acquisition finance and real estate finance will be
considered. There is a strong emphasis on teamwork and excellent command
of both written and spoken English and Mandarin is required. (HKL 13038)
This company with business interests across a variety of sectors is seeking

a head of legal to join their rapidly expanding team. You will work with
business partners and cover the full range of legal and compliance issues, and
play an instrumental part in building out a legal team. Fluency in English and
Chinese is necessary. (HKL 12961)
HONG KONG
3-5 PQE
Interesting vacancy with PRC asset manager that is looking to hire a head of
legal to support its team in HK and Beijing. This position will suit a senior
PRC lawyer or Hong Kong lawyer with considerable PRC experience who
can support the business across a range of legal issues including restructuring,
corporate and regulatory matters.Competitive salary on offer. (HKL 13057)
FUNDS
HONG KONG 2-4 PQE
Leading funds house is seeking a legal counsel to assist on a wide range of

legal and regulatory matters in Asia. Solid knowledge in funds/regulatory
arena is critical. Excellent collegiate team environment. Chinese language is
not required. (HKL 12969)
COMPANY SECRETARY
HONG KONG
A global leader in financial services has a new headcount to hire a company

secretary to join their Legal team. You will to handle the full spectrum of
company secretarial/ corporate governance matters for the group and advise
senior management on group compliance issues and work on various projects
covering Asia. Good command of both English and Mandarin required.
(HKL 13024)
These are a small selection of our current vacancies. If you require further details or wish to have a confidential discussion about your career, market
trends, or would like salary information, then please call our office (+852 2920 9100) or contact one of the following consultants in Hong Kong:
Georgeanna Mok (g.mok@alsrecruit.com), Kumiko Lam (k.lam@alsrecruit.com), Claire Park (c.park@alsrecruit.com) or

William Chan (w.chan@alsrecruit.com)
Hong Kong
Singapore
Beijing
Shanghai
(852) 2920 9100

als@alsrecruit.com
(65) 6557 4163

singapore@alsrecruit.com
(86) 10 6567 8728

beijing@alsrecruit.com
(86) 21 6372 1058

shanghai@alsrecruit.com
SPECIALIST
SPECIALIST PROFESSIONAL
PROFESSIONAL RECRUITMENT
RECRUITMENT
LEGAL &
& COMPLIANCE
COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS
PROFESSIONALS
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL SERVICES
SERVICES
COMMERCE
COMMERCE&&INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
HEAD
HEAD OF
OF COMPLIANCE,
COMPLIANCE, HONG
HONGKONG
KONG
EUROPEAN
BANK
EUROPEAN BANK
LEGAL
LEGAL&&COMPLIANCE
COMPLIANCEDIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
FINANCIAL
FINANCIALTECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGYFIRM
FIRM
QPD/645570
QPD/645570
ONR/621550
ONR/621550
This
This impressive
impressive European
Europeanbanking
bankinggroup
groupisislooking
lookingfor
foran
anexperienced
experienced
compliance
compliance and
and AML
AMLprofessional
professionalto
tohead
headup
upthe
thecompliance
complianceteam
teamininHong
Hong
Kong.
Kong. Reporting
Reporting directly
directlyto
tothe
theHead
Headof
ofLegal
Legaland
andCompliance
Compliancefor
forAPAC,
APAC,
you
will
ensure
that
all
activities
of
the
Hong
Kong
branch
are
in
line
with
you will ensure that all activities of the Hong Kong branch are in line withall
all
applicable
applicable laws
laws and
andregulations,
regulations,while
whilealso
alsoacting
actingas
asthe
theMLRO.
MLRO.
AAleading
leadingfinancial
financialtechnology
technologyfirm
firmthat
thatprovides
providesmobile
mobiletrading
tradingservices
servicestoto
retail
retailand
andinstitutional
institutionalinvestors
investorsininAsia
Asiaand
andthe
theUS
USisislooking
lookingfor
fora aLegal
Legaland
and
Compliance
ComplianceDirector
Directortotojoin
jointheir
theirgrowing
growingteam.
team.You
Youwill
willreport
reportdirectly
directlytotothe
the
CFO
and
play
an
integral
part
in
the
firms
growth
in
both
Hong
Kong
and
CFO and play an integral part in the firms growth in both Hong Kong and
globally.
globally.
Key
Key Requirements:
Requirements:

aa minimum
minimum of
of ten
tenyears
yearscompliance
complianceexperience
experienceinincorporate
corporateand
and
investment
investment banking
banking

knowledge
of
the
local
and
regional
regulatory
landscape
pertaining
knowledge of the local and regional regulatory landscape pertainingtoto
banking
banking and
and finance
financesector
sector

extensive
extensive AML
AMLbackground,
background,with
withexposure
exposureto
tofraud,
fraud,insider
insidertrading,
trading,and
and
control
control room
room matters
matters

fluency
in
written
and
spoken
English
and
Cantonese
is
required;
Mandarin
fluency in written and spoken English and Cantonese is required; Mandarin
would
would be
be aa plus
plus
Key
KeyRequirements:
Requirements:
six to eight years experience in legal and compliance, ideally coming
six to eight years experience in legal and compliance, ideally coming
from
fromthe
theretail
retailsecurities
securitiesindustry
industry
knowledge and understanding of SFO and the relevant codes,
knowledge and understanding of SFO and the relevant codes,
regulations,
regulations,and
andguidelines
guidelinesofofthe
theSFC
SFC
knowledge of SFC filing, reporting, annual return, FRR etc
knowledge of SFC filing, reporting, annual return, FRR etc
fluency in written and spoken English, Mandarin and Cantonese is
fluency in written and spoken English, Mandarin and Cantonese is
required
required
COMMERCE
COMMERCE &
& INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
COMMERCE
COMMERCE&&INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
DATA
DATA PROTECTION
PROTECTION COUNSEL
COUNSEL
LEADING
LEADING TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TELECOMMUNICATIONSCOMPANY
COMPANY
LEGAL
LEGALCOUNSEL
COUNSEL
CONSUMER
CONSUMERGOODS
GOODSMULTINATIONAL
MULTINATIONAL
This
This household
household name
nameinintelecommunications
telecommunicationsisisseeking
seekingan
anexperienced
experiencedData
Data
Protection
Protection Counsel
Counselto
tojoin
jointhe
thebusiness
businessininHong
HongKong.
Kong.You
Youwill
willbe
beresponsible
responsible
for data protection programmes and developments across the APAC region.
for data protection programmes and developments across the APAC region.
This
Thismultinational
multinationalcorporation
corporationininconsumer
consumergoods
goodsisisexpanding
expandingitsitsoperation
operation
ininAPAC
APACand
andisisseeking
seekingan
anexperienced
experiencedLegal
LegalCounsel
Counseltotojoin
jointhe
theteam.
team.
Reporting directly to the Head of Legal, you will be responsible for all legal
Reporting directly to the Head of Legal, you will be responsible for all legal
and compliance matters in the APAC region.
and compliance matters in the APAC region.
EQA/645320
EQA/645320
Key Requirements:
Key Requirements:
a minimum of four years PQE; Commonwealth qualified, with data privacy
a minimum of four years PQE; Commonwealth qualified, with data privacy
and data protection experience in Hong Kong and other Asian jurisdictions
and data protection experience in Hong Kong and other Asian jurisdictions
solid experience drafting and updating data protection related policies
solid experience drafting and updating data protection related policies
and procedures as well as developing and providing privacy training to
and procedures as well as developing and providing privacy training to
management and employees
management and employees
fluency in written and spoken English and Mandarin is required
EQA/640390
EQA/640390
Key Requirements:
Key Requirements:
a minimum of five years PQE; Commonwealth qualified
a minimum of five years PQE; Commonwealth qualified
solid experience in drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad variety
solid experience in drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad variety
of commercial contracts typical to a retail, FMCG, or consumer goods
of commercial contracts typical to a retail, FMCG, or consumer goods
business
business
knowledge of intellectual property law and IP enforcement matters as well
knowledge of intellectual property law and IP enforcement matters as well
as exposure and understanding of PRC laws and regulations
as exposure and understanding of PRC laws and regulations
COMMERCE
COMMERCE &
& INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
PRIVATE
PRIVATEPRACTICE
PRACTICE
LEGAL COUNSEL
LEGAL COUNSEL
REAL ESTATE FINANCE
REAL ESTATE FINANCE
INVESTMENT FUNDS LAWYER

INVESTMENT FUNDS LAWYER
OFFSHORE LAW FIRM
OFFSHORE LAW FIRM
This international real estate business is looking for a Legal Counsel to join the
This international real estate business is looking for a Legal Counsel to join the
expanding team. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will be part of the
expanding team. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will be part of the
front office team and advise on the structuring of global transactions, setting up
front office team and advise on the structuring of global transactions, setting up
fund platforms and development projects.
fund platforms and development projects.
Key Requirements:
Key Requirements:
a minimum of six years experience, ideally coming from an international law
a minimum of six years experience, ideally coming from an international law
firm or in-house
firm or in-house
experience
in real estate finance and/or private transactions on a multi experience in real estate finance and/or private transactions on a multijurisdictional basis
jurisdictional
basis
Chinese languages
are preferred but not essential
Chinese languages are preferred but not essential
A leading offshore law firm is hiring for its well known investment funds
A leading offshore law firm is hiring for its well known investment funds
division. Reporting to the Managing Partner, you will be working for clients
division. Reporting to the Managing Partner, you will be working for clients
who represent some of the more sophisticated and respected fund
who represent some of the more sophisticated and respected fund
managers in Asia. The work will vary from fund formation to downstream
managers in Asia. The work will vary from fund formation to downstream
work such as M&A and more general matters such as shareholders
work such as M&A and more general matters such as shareholders
agreements. The offshore structure allows a broad portfolio and promotes a
agreements. The offshore structure allows a broad portfolio and promotes a
work-life balance culture.
work-life balance culture.
Key Requirements:
Key Requirements:
a minimum of two years PQE; Commonwealth qualified, ideally coming
a minimum of two years PQE; Commonwealth qualified, ideally coming
from an international law firm
from an international law firm
exposure
to either investment funds or corporate law
exposure
to either
investment
funds or
corporate
fluency
in written
and
spoken English
and
Mandarinlaw
will be a plus
fluency in written and spoken English and Mandarin will be a plus
OAA/637270
OAA/637270
OAA/638330
OAA/638330
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE EXCITING LEGAL & COMPLIANCE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE CONTACT:
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE EXCITING LEGAL & COMPLIANCE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE CONTACT:
Oliver Allcock
+852 2103 5317
oliver.allcock@robertwalters.com.hk
Ricky Mui
+852 2103 5370
Oliver Allcock
+8522103
21035328
5317
oliver.allcock@robertwalters.com.hk
Ricky Mui
+8522103
21035365
5370
Estefania
Altuve
+852
estefania.altuve@robertwalters.com.hk
Adeline
Heng +852
Estefania
Altuve
+852
2103
5328
estefania.altuve@robertwalters.com.hk
Adeline
Heng
+852 2103 5365
Megan Craighead
+852 2103 5377
megan.craighead@robertwalters.com.hk
Megan Craighead
+852 2103 5377
megan.craighead@robertwalters.com.hk
www.robertwalters.com.hk
www.robertwalters.com.hk
ricky.mui@robertwalters.com.hk
ricky.mui@robertwalters.com.hk
adeline.heng@robertwalters.com.hk
adeline.heng@robertwalters.com.hk
ROBERT WALTERS HONG KONG 20/F NEXXUS BUILDING 41 CONNAUGHT ROAD CENTRAL CENTRAL HONG KONG
ROBERT WALTERS HONG KONG 20/F NEXXUS BUILDING 41 CONNAUGHT ROAD CENTRAL CENTRAL HONG KONG
Looking for your

next career move?
Established since 2002 Oliver James
Associates has been successfully
placing legal professionals around the
globe for over a decade. Each team
member works in a specic vertical
market (Banking, Shipping Litigation,
Corporate, Capital Markets...) so we have
a deep understanding of the area that
you work in and an extensive network of
contacts relevant to your eld.
We work with both the leading
international law rms and global
multinationals allowing our team to oer
the best and most exclusive market
opportunities in the region. Due to our
London roots we have a particularly
strong track record of successful delivery
within the insurance and nancial
services sectors, with another key focus
in the shipping industry.
The team represent professionals across
the US, UK, EU and Asia Pacic regions
from Legal Counsel or Associate
level through to General Counsel or
Partnership level. We also work very
closely as a team globally so if you are
interested in hearing about opportunities
outside Hong Kong or if you are a lawyer
looking to relocate back to Hong Kong
then we have knowledge to help you
make that move. Follow us to learn more!
@OJAssociates
Who are Oliver James?
38
Placed lawyers in
the last 12 months
Partners
moved in 2015
220 43
Active candidates
based in Hong Kong
Private Practice
clients in Hong Kong
Details of 117,000 lawyers globally
oliver-james-associates
What do our candidates think of us?
Oliver James are incredibly

knowledgeable about the Asian legal
market. My personal consultant was
very patient and professional, simply
the best recruiter Ive ever worked
with. He took the time to get to
know me, where I wanted to go in
my career and within a few weeks I
landed my dream job in Asia with his
help. The team is wonderful to work
with.
US Attorney, Shanghai
Oces in Hong Kong, Singapore, London,

Manchester, Amsterdam and New York.
Revolutionising
Legal Recruitment
Current Legal opportunities
CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES
Are you burnt out working in Private Practice? Are you struggling to get in-house experience? Oliver James Associates are working exclusively
with a number of Financial Services clients who are looking for lawyers to work on a contract basis. The vast quantity of opportunities we have is a
completely new concept in the Hong Kong market and one we are sure will continue. The legal market is changing, take advantage of it.
Benet to companies:
To address projects with dened life span

To reduce external Law rm fees
It is much easier to get headcount sign-o
To cover sta on extended leave
(e.g. maternity cover)
Benet to you:
Decent work-life balance (sometimes part-time)

Option to have time o between contracts
Great way of getting in-house experience
Contract roles often turn permanent
Top rms paying decent salaries
Skills needed:
Minimum two years PQE

Transactional legal background (PP or In-House)
Available to start work within two months
Ideally full rights to work in Hong Kong
Adaptable and approachable personality
Contracts will last from a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 24 months and will sometimes accommodate part-time hours too. Languages are
always useful though just English speaking is ne. If you would like to learn more about any of the above please contact Jonny Plews below.
In-House
Regional General Counsel, Global Insurer
Hong Kong
International Qualication, 10 + PQE
Award winning Life Insurance group seeks
an experienced lawyer to act as General
Counsel. You will be a board member for the
group and be involved in a wide variety of
strategic decisions.The group are very busy
in the mergers and acquisition space so you
will need to have a strong corporate pedigree,
ideally trained in one of the leading law rms.
Prior insurance experience is not required and
we are happy for someone straight from private
practice. You must have uent English and
Chinese speaking candidates will be favoured.
Jonny Plews
General Counsel, Global Insurer

Hong Kong
International Qualication, 4-8 PQE
The Hong Kong business unit of a global
insurance group requires a Cantonese speaker
to join their team. You will report into the
General Counsel working in a at structured
team of eight. You will focus across a wide
range of typical in-house duties whilst also
getting heavily involved in insurance policy
contracts and disputes. The work life balance
will be excellent, typically 9am-6pm and no
work at weekends. Prior insurance experience
would be helpful though not a must. Similarly
prior in-house experience preferred.
Jonny Plews
Legal Counsel, Global Insurer

Hong Kong
Open on Qualication, 5 + PQE
Global Insurer seeks a corporate lawyer
to join its regional headquarters. Youll be
focussed on M&A, JV discussions, distribution
partnerships and new set ups whilst also being
responsible for negotiating contracts with
external vendors. No insurance experience is
required as this is a group function their role
is strategic and focussed on expansion. Youll
also regularly interact with the Board so a
strong communicator needed. A truly exciting
role with strong career prospects and a decent
work life balance.
Jonny Plews
Associate, Banking & Projects

Hong Kong
Common Law Qualied, 3-5 PQE
The leading Banking & Projects team in Hong
Kong are currently seeking a junior associate
to support their practice. The team specialises
in large scale, market leading projects across
an array of sectors. It is a rapidly growing
department oering exposure to energy,
natural resources and infrastructure projects
and the Partners are globally known in these
elds. Due to the increasing workload in this
area the ideal candidate will be hungry for
and capable of reaching Partnership. ONLY
ENGLISH REQUIRED.
Arron Leale
Associate, Banking
Hong Kong
Open on Qualication, 2-5 PQE
Global rm seeks an associate to join their
Banking & Finance practice. They are renowned
in this market for their expertise within a
number of transactional disciplines. This
practice is positioned to support the corporate
team with their ongoing need for acquisition
nancing facilities. You will gain tremendous,
ongoing training and development directly from
a well-respected and market leading partner.
Additionally and due to the nature of the work,
you will achieve very predictable hours, whilst
still obtaining top NY remuneration.
Arron Leale
Private Practice
Associate, Banking
Hong Kong
Open on Qualication, NQ-5 PQE
Renowned globally for their expertise in
Banking and Finance, this leading international
rm are aiming to expand their team. Ideally
you will have gained broad exposure across;
acquisition nance, leveraged nance and
syndicated loans at an international rm
and are looking for a logical step up in rm
prestige and remuneration. Despite being a
top m however there is a huge focus on sta
wellbeing, in fact this rm has the best % sta
retention through the last three years in Hong
Kongs leading rms.
Arron Leale
Get in touch with one of our team

Jonny Plews - Director
+852 5804 9200
jonny.plews@ojassociates.com
Sam Mattey
+852 5804 9091
sam.mattey@ojassociates.com
David Walsh
+44 (0)207 310 8731
david.walsh@ojassociates.com
Larissa Looi
+852 5804 9092
larissa.looi@ojassociates.com
Arron Leale
+852 5804 9077
arron.leale@ojassociates.com
Jessica Nield
+1 646 833 2678
jessica.nield@ojassociates.com
pure
adj. pur.er, pur.est

1. The recruitment partner
of choice for ambitious
legal minds.
Happy Holidays
from
Pure Search
Liam Richardson In-House Hires

+852 3469 5207 liamrichardson@puresearch.com
Mike Wright Private Practice Hires

+852 3469 5210 mikewright@puresearch.com
Michael Allen In-House FS Hires

+ 852 3469 5217 michaelallen@puresearch.com
Sherry Xu In-House C&I Hires

+852 2520 5072 sherryxu@puresearch.com
puresearch.com
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Face to Face with

Chair of The Hong Kong International

Experience in Enforcing the Unfair

A Stern Warning from the

International Tax Reforms Target Tax

THE NEW ALB LEGAL JOBS CENTRE

Hong Kong Lawyer

HONG KONG LAWYER

Inside your December issue

THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF

Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Limited

12 FROM THE SECRETARIAT

FROM THE COUNCIL TABLE

22 LAW SOCIETY NEWS

Provisions of Trade Descriptions Ordinance

A Stern Warning from the Supreme Court in

Design and Production

International Tax Reforms Target Tax Planning

80 LEGAL HISTORY QUIZ

For marketing/promotion opportunities

For subscriptions contact:

Tel: +852 2843 6415

All information and views expressed

ALB 2016 EVENTS LIST

THAILAND IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

HONG KONG ANTI-CORRUPTION

TRANSPACIFIC PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE

MALAYSIA LAW AWARDS

SE ASIA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

PHILIPPINES IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

INDONESIA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

SE ASIA LAW AWARDS

JAPAN LAW AWARDS

HONG KONG COMPETITION ORDINANCE FORUM

KOREA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

PHILIPPINES LAW AWARDS

MALAYSIA IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

HONG KONG LAW AWARDS

HONG KONG IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

ASEAN INTEGRATION SUMMIT

VIETNAM IN HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

JAPAN IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMIT

INDONESIA LAW AWARDS

ASIA DATA PROTECTION CONFERENCE

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INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

* Please note that this schedule is subject to change.

T: (65) 6870 3917

T: (65) 6870 3253

T: (852) 2847 2016

T: (65) 6870 3348

T: (65) 6870 3190

Elsewhere in the December issue is a feature on the Trade Descriptions

Editor, Hong Kong Lawyer

Legal Media Group

Role of Foreign Lawyers

Provisions that apply to foreign lawyers

course of a firms practice. They all

Stephen Hung, President

Albert Ho, CMSM CFE

Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong SAR

Mr. Ho is the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs