Ian De Witt

Restructuring and Insolvency, Litigation, Regulatory and Compliance, Fraud and Asset Recovery, Mediation

Ian is a partner and head of our highly awarded Restructuring and Insolvency practice. He has been recognised as a leading lawyer in major legal publications including Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Who’s Who Legal for more than a decade. An experienced litigator, Ian advises officeholders, shareholders, large multinationals, high net worth individuals and listed companies on insolvency, restructuring and litigation matters. He was recently selected by Asian Legal Business as one of the Top 50 Disputes Lawyers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ian and his team have been involved in most of the major restructurings and insolvencies in the region over the past two decades, acting for liquidators, receivers, creditors, bondholders, financial institutions and directors across a wide range of sectors. His experience finding solutions for clients puts him at the forefront of the restructuring and insolvency legal market in Hong Kong. He is seen as a go-to advisor for companies and individuals in distress and works with a wide and established network of professionals in Hong Kong and abroad including in offshore jurisdictions.

Additionally, Ian advises on a wide range of commercial and contractual disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes, high value fraud matters involving debt recovery, asset tracing and the enforcement of judgments, pre-emptive actions such as injunctions, court appointed receivers, and the appointment of provisional liquidators.

Over the years, Ian has acted in respect of investigations, regulatory matters and prosecutions carried out by the Police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and various disciplinary committees.

Ian De Witt was born in Wales and obtained an honours degree in law in London. After qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales, he joined and became a partner in a prominent London law firm where he worked for many years before coming to Hong Kong in 1996. Ian founded Tanner De Witt in 1999 with Richard Tanner with just one member of staff.