PRACTICE GROUP

Our Litigation Department has a combined long history and extensive experience which is actively involved in various types of court actions including: shareholder disputes; contractual disputes; bankruptcy and corporate liquidation; personal injury and fatal accident claims; defamation; real estate and tenancy disputes; judicial review; insurance; tax disputes.

Our firm is one of the few law firms in Hong Kong acting for the Professional Indemnity Scheme of the Law Society of Hong Kong. In this role, we represent insurers and the insured in professional negligence claims brought by the ex-clients of the insured. Our insurance team is led by our partner Mr. Brain Baillie, and assisted by our associates, Ms. Kate Tsang and Ms. Laura Chien.

We offer legal services to a wide variety of domestic, Mainland and international corporate clients on a diverse range of commercial transactions including: establishment and maintenance of limited companies; setting up joint ventures and strategic alliances; franchising, licensing and technology transfer; agency and distributorship; mortgage loan and other related security documentation; loan financing involving participations and syndications.

Our Japanese team alongside with our practice groups has been providing comprehensive legal services to Japanese corporations carrying various business activities in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The team has also been providing Japanese private clients with legal services to cater their needs.

The team is headed by our partner, Mr. Rentaro Muto, a law graduate of Keio University, Tokyo. He is assisted by Japanese-speaking paralegals. Our firm maintains a liaison office in Tokyo in the premises of Room 3, 5/F, Daidoseimei Kasumigaseki Building, 1-4-2, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku.

We provide a wide scope of services on construction law including preparation of and advising on construction contracts and construction dispute resolution. Our partner, Mr. Rix Chung, is also a chartered quantity surveyor.

We are involved in arbitration and mediation works either acting for parties or acting as arbitrators or mediators in commercial matters .

Our senior partner, Mr. Fred Kan, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is recognized in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Shanghai and Shantou.
He is also an accredited mediator of Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

Our partner, Mr. Rix Chung, is also a member of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member on the Joint Panel of Arbitrators of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

We act for a substantial number of listed companies, financial institutions, private equity groups and other intermediaries and offer an extensive scope of services such as: initial public offerings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; private equity transactions and pre-IPO investments; Hong Kong Stock Exchange transactions including notifiable transaction, rights issue, open offer, warrant, convertible bond and placing; takeovers and mergers transactions involving listed companies
mergers and acquisitions; corporate restructurings and share repurchases

We provide a wide range of services relating to intellectual property including: applying for registration of trade marks; attending assignment, renewal & other post registration matters; negotiating and drafting of trade mark licence agreements; advising on copyright issues in commercial transactions.
In conjunction with our Litigation Department, we are experienced in enforcement of intellectual property rights.

We regularly provide employment law consultation to employers and employees relating to: rights and obligations under the Employment Ordinance; drafting and enforcement of employment contracts and staff manuals; statutory requirement of severance payment, long service payment and other complex issues involved in transfer of business and corporate re-organization; implications of anti-discrimination legislation in the field of employment.

We are involved in all aspects of property law in Hong Kong such as: negotiating new grant or modification of Government leases; conveyancing of all types of landed property; property development and construction financing; preparing tenancy agreements and advising on all tenancy matters.

Our lawyers are experienced in advising testators, executors, administrators, beneficiaries and banks in contentious and non-contentious matters.

We advise clients on urban planning and environmental protection matters including appeals to various environmental appeal boards, the Buildings Appeal Tribunal and Town Planning Appeal Board. Since May 1992, we have published the Urban Planning and Environmental Law Quarterly dealing with current planning and environmental law issues of concern to Hong Kong and the Region and containing a digest of legislation. The Quarterly is circulated in Hong Kong and also to fellow members of ADVOC ASIA, an association of Asian commercial law firms.

Needs from private clients are observed by us and we have been providing full range of services to our valuable private clients. In particular, we advise private clients and professionals on settlement and management of trusts. We also work closely with major accounting firms and private banks to provide our clients with comprehensive legal services in relation to wealth planning.

Our Mr. Fred Kan and Mr. Rix Chung are China Appointed Attesting Officers. They can prepare and certify the following documents for clients: apply for the “Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the Mainland and Hong Kong” (CEPA) service certificates, provide a certificate of marriage status , Application for declaration of domestic relatives coming to Hong Kong, declaration of inheritance or renunciation of inheritance, and verification of Hong Kong company information (including: company registration and business registration details, directors ’resolutions and / or shareholders’ resolutions and documents issued by government departments) etc. At the same time, Mr. Kan is also a Notary Public. He can provide clients with one-stop global notary services, including undertaking various legal notarization services for documents in Hong Kong and overseas.

PRACTICE GROUP

Litigation

Corporate and Corporate Finance

Japanese Clients

Construction

Arbitration and Mediation

Corporate and Corporate Finance

Intellectual Property

Employment

Real Estate

Probate and Trust

Urban Planning and Environmental Protection

Private Clients

Notarization