Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Commercial Dispute Resolution: The Bar - China

1
Band 1

What the Team is Known For

Des Voeux Chambers is one of the most substantial Hong Kong sets with a bench of over 90 counsel with deep expertise spanning all manner of commercial litigation and arbitration, construction disputes, insolvency disputes and contentious company law matters. One source remarks: "Counsel are able to provide thorough analysis on complex and sophisticated legal issues and offer practical solutions". Another affirms: "Des Voeux Chambers' counsel are highly user-friendly and responsive. They are able to tackle intricate legal issues and provide effective advice on any complex matters". A third source remarks the set is "one of the best set of chambers in Hong Kong for commercial dispute resolution". Jeani Wang is the practice development director, head clerk and a key contact.

Notable practitioners

Barrie Barlow SC conducts a wide-ranging practice spanning the commercial and public law fields, providing expertise in taxation and real estate-related cases, and offering further experience covering company and insolvency law disputes.
Ian Pennicott KC is regularly identified as one of Hong Kong's pre-eminent construction practitioners, whether acting as courtroom advocate, arbitration counsel or arbitrator. He is also noted for his expert handling of professional negligence and employment-related claims.
Simon Westbrook SC maintains a versatile commercial dispute resolution practice, with a particularly high profile for representing private entities and the Securities and Futures Commission in financial services regulatory disputes. He draws on almost four decades of legal practice at the Hong Kong Bar, which also covers experience handling construction and professional negligence matters.
 

Simon is extremely knowledgeable, shrewd and courteous. He is very easy to work with.

Catrina Lam maintains a diverse practice across a range of commercial litigation instructions, commanding particularly high esteem for her accomplished competition law practice.
 

Catrina has incredible attention to detail and very user-friendly.

 

Catrina has probably done more contentious competition work in Hong Kong than any other barrister in the area. She is just a very bright, strong lawyer.

Charles Sussex SC maintains a wide-ranging commercial litigation practice spanning shipping, securities and financial services-related disputes.
 

Charles is a very good advocate who is able to present complex issues very succinctly and to the point.

Jose-Antonio Maurellet SC maintains an impressively broad commercial dispute resolution practice, with a focus on company law matters, alleged malpractice in the financial services sector and cases involving distressed companies.
 

Jose-Antonio is an excellent advocate with a strong rapport with the bench. He is a pleasure to work with.

 

Jose-Antonio is extremely clever and quick on the feet. He is able to see different facets of complicated cases and present them in a simple and sharp manner.

 

Jose-Antonio is very smooth and his advocacy is first class.

William Wong SC is a prominent corporate, commercial and insolvency law silk who stands out for his handling of complex company law cases and is also significantly developing his capability as both counsel and arbitrator in the international arbitration sphere.
 

William Wong SC has very strong advocacy skills in Hong Kong court proceedings and is very familiar with the commercial needs of clients.

 

William is one of the top company law silks in Hong Kong, covering all aspects of the practice. He thinks out of the box to come up with solutions which achieve the best results for his clients.

 

William always gives 110% effort to the client. He is extremely good at analysing difficult legal issues and is a real leader.

Anson Wong SC conducts a practice spanning an impressive range of instructions, with a civil and commercial remit incorporating company, insolvency and intellectual property law, in addition to contentious securities, probate and professional negligence matters.
 

Anson is easy to work with and a smart advocate.

 

Anson is certainly a leading commercial silk.

Clifford Smith SC wins recognition for the breadth of his commercial practice, which includes particular strengths in insolvency issues, company law and cases arising in the technology, telecoms and financial services sectors.
Jason Yu maintains a very versatile practice across corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration, with noted expertise in the handling of insolvency, intellectual property and company law disputes.
 

Jason has sharp advocacy skills and is one of our go-to junior barristers.

 

He is responsive, practical and offers solid advice.

 

Jason was fully prepared for all the questions from the bench.

John Hui is notably active in the company and corporate law, insolvency, insurance and financial regulatory spheres, receiving regular praise for the breadth of his expertise and his deft handling of cases.
 

John Hui is very practical.

 

John is an excellent advocate who pays attention to every detail and provides important strategies in litigation. He knows the law well and is able to give practical and useful views promptly.

 

John understands the big picture for every dispute and advises from that perspective. His work is very detailed.

John Scott SC is an exceptionally accomplished barrister who has practised at the Hong Kong Bar for over 35 years, and his broad commercial dispute resolution experience incorporates a notable emphasis on company, construction and financial services issues and embraces both litigated and arbitrated cases.
Johnny Mok SC is renowned for maintaining a practice which spans the constitutional and administrative and general commercial law fields, winning him regular instructions from government entities and corporates alike.
Calvin Cheuk is well regarded for his practice focusing on construction disputes, often advising on contentious issues arising from complex cross-border projects.
 

Calvin is smart and experienced in construction-related litigation.

 

Calvin is very knowledgeable in the construction space. I think he is very diligent and also commercially very sensitive.

 

Calvin is client oriented, offering detailed analysis of legal issues and extensive experience in dealing with commercial arbitration cases. He is also persuasive in his oral submissions to court.

Douglas Lam SC maintains a wide-ranging practice that is rich in experience both of company law and bankruptcy issues and of general commercial ones, including contractual breaches and professional negligence claims. He offers clients valuable experience gleaned from his time as a deputy judge in the High Court.
 

Douglas is very smart, very fast thinking on his feet and does a good job for us. He understands the facts quickly and meets deadlines.

 

Douglas's oral submissions are always very polished, effective and easy to follow.

Justin Lam is noted for his wide-ranging civil, company law and financial services practice, and also handles contentious private client matters and disputes in the trust and probate sphere.
 

Justin is highly knowledgeable and reliable barrister. He is very user-friendly and responsive.

 

Justin is very responsive and able to handle sophisticated commercial disputes with voluminous documents.

 

Justin is brilliant and very efficient.

Rachel Lam SC is acknowledged for her deft handling of a wide range of commercial litigation matters, but comes particularly highly recommended for her expertise in company law and insolvency disputes.
 

Rachel is a star of the bar. She is incredible to work with and phenomenally smart.

Sabrina Ho is particularly prominent in company and commercial law cases, including insurance, shareholder and contractual disputes, and is also frequently sought out to act as counsel in contentious trusts and probate cases.
 

Sabrina is very quick, very responsive and very insightful. She has very good relationships with barristers and solicitors and is extremely good at understanding the issues.

 

She is really excellent and always our first choice.

 

Sabrina is a skillful advocate and can tailor her oral submissions appropriately to help clients achieve the best results.

Alexander Tang operates across a broad spectrum of company and commercial disputes, in which shareholder and insolvency-related matters figure particularly prominently, and is also active on probate and matrimonial cases.
 

He is easy to work with and very helpful.

 

Alex is clever and diligent.

 

Alex is a fearless advocate who presents his clients' cases forcefully and persuasively.

Christopher Chain SC regularly attracts praise for the impressive range of his practice, which incorporates particular strengths in company and corporate law, shipping and insolvency issues.

 

Christopher is able to look at the matter strategically.

Connie Lee handles a wide range of civil and commercial matters, receiving regular instructions on company and insolvency-related mandates, and attracting a particularly high level of positive notice for her increasing body of work in the competition sphere.

 

Connie is very efficient and trustworthy, so we have no hesitation in recommending her. She is very responsive, knowledgeable and easy to work with.

 

Connie is able to turn complex matters into precise, clear and easy to understand advice. Clients like this and her commercial sense. She is also very responsive.

 

Connie impresses me most with her tactical, practical, commercial and succinct advice. She is a go-to barrister, especially for commercial disputes, insolvency and competition law.

David Chen is noted for his focus on insolvency-related disputes, in addition to assisting clients with the enforcement of arbitral awards.

 

Over time, I found myself using him quite a lot. He's got strong technical ability and is also someone who is user-friendly and understands the difficulties that solicitors face.

 

David is very solid and has got a very assured and confident style in court.

 

David is responsive, with strong commercial awareness and excellent drafting skills and advocacy.

Jenkin Suen SC is noted by sources for his impressive handling of diverse public law, commercial and chancery matters. A counsel of choice for government entities and regulatory bodies, he is frequently seen in judicial review proceedings and land and planning disputes, in addition to maintaining a busy practice acting on company law, contractual and trust matters.
 

He is easy to work with and has high levels of expertise.

 

Jenkin Suen is very responsive and has a high command of commercial law; he reverts with comprehensive and well-thought out legal and commercial solutions within a short time.

 

Jenkin is approachable and very responsive; he is also pragmatic and receptive to ideas.

Kerby Lau consistently wins recognition for his deep expertise in handling trust and probate disputes. He is also equipped to advise on company and insolvency law.
 

Kerby is prodigiously hardworking; he rolls up his sleeves and is extremely user-friendly and very effective as an advocate.

 

Kerby is a strong advocate and is always well prepared. He is a barrister one can always rely on, even in the most difficult situations.

Ho Look-Chan stands out for his close focus on insolvency issues, and in-depth expertise concerning them, a field to which he brings both the technical knowledge of a published authority on the subject and the practical insights derived from having practised as a solicitor in the area for over 15 years.
 

Look-Chan is our go-to barrister for insolvency matters and is extremely experienced and knowledgeable.

 

Look-Chan is very commercially sensible, which is why we are so happy using him. He is also familiar with all the law and cases; sometimes I say he's like a walking law book!

 

He keeps abreast of the latest judgements and case law and is very familiar with restructuring, as well as the judges' thinking.

Michael Lok acts prominently on company law issues, maintaining a noted specialisation in the areas of insolvency and bankruptcy and regularly representing public authorities and agencies, including the Secretary for Justice and the SFC.
 

Michael is a strategic thinker who is solution-oriented and able to think outside the box.

 

Michael understands clients' needs and delivers.

 

Michael seems to me to have the enviable skill of explaining difficult issues to the court to obtain the results desired by clients.

Teresa Wu maintains a broad civil practice, embracing both litigated and arbitrated disputes, and offers particularly noted experience in the handling of property, probate and land-related cases.
Tom Ng has a highly varied caseload built around a strong core of company, insolvency and financial services-related work. He is also equipped to advise on trust and probate matters.
 

Tom Ng has a strong skill set.

Martin Kok is recognised as an adept adviser on an array of commercial disputes relating to cross-border insolvencies and disputes over property transactions.

 

Martin is extremely capable, diligent and commercial. He will always work around the clock to deliver ahead of the agreed timeline. 

 

Martin offers excellent drafting.

 

Martin has impressed me greatly, displaying admirable ability and impeccable judgement. He is a truly all-rounded counsel who is intellectually strong and an exceptional strategist.

Terrence Tai wins recognition for his strong restructuring and insolvency disputes practice, in addition to solid expertise in trust and probate-related matters.

 

Terrence Tai is a talented junior. He gives prompt advice which is succinct and precise.

 

Terrence is responsive and practical, gives good advice out of the box, is technically very sound and provides solutions. He is a very good strategist as well.

 

He's delivered very impressive performances in court on a number of occasions which has given me a lot of confidence in using his services.

Frances Lok SC is particularly noted for her handling of insolvency and company law disputes, and also acts on contentious probate and shareholder matters.

 

She provides highly practical and commercial advice and is amazingly client focused and user-friendly. She always goes the extra mile and gets amazing results.

Ranked Lawyers at
Des Voeux Chambers

Provided by Chambers
Filter by
Band

Silks (KC)

China

Commercial Dispute Resolution: The Bar

S
Barrie Barlow SC
S
Senior Statespeople
S
Ian Pennicott KC
S
Senior Statespeople
S
Simon Westbrook SC
S
Senior Statespeople
1
Charles Sussex SC
1
Band 1
1
Jose-Antonio Maurellet SC
1
Band 1
1
William M F Wong SC
1
Band 1
2
Anson Wong SC
2
Band 2
2
Clifford Smith SC
2
Band 2
2
John Scott SC
2
Band 2
2
Johnny SL Mok SC
2
Band 2
3
Douglas T Y Lam SC
3
Band 3
3
Rachel Lam SC
3
Band 3
4
Christopher Chain SC
4
Band 4
4
Jenkin Suen SC
4
Band 4
Frances Lok SC
New Silks

Juniors

China

Commercial Dispute Resolution: The Bar

1
Catrina Lam
1
Band 1
2
Jason Yu
2
Band 2
2
John Hui
2
Band 2
3
Calvin Cheuk
3
Band 3
3
Justin Lam
3
Band 3
20 of 31 results