We are pleased to announce that Ms. Cheryl Yuen of our firm was admitted as a solicitor of the High Court on 23rd April 2022, and she has celebrated the special occasion with our colleagues. She will join us as an Associate in the Conveyancing and Probate Department.
We are acting for the majority owners of an aged industrial building situated at a highly prominent location in Kwun Tong, and have successfully obtained an Order for Compulsory Sale under the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Cap. 545) (the “Ordinance”) in respect of the building after a lengthy 10-day trial with very extensive, novel and complex arguments on all fronts, including expert evidence on building condition, structural assessment and valuation. The trial bundles consisted of over 60 lever-arch files.
In arriving at its decision, the Lands Tribunal accepted almost all of the arguments raised by us on behalf of the applicants and the views of the applicants’ experts. The Tribunal also made its own observation during the site visit of the subject building and find without hesitation that redevelopment of the lot is justified by reason of the age and the state of repair of the building.
Furthermore, the Tribunal made extensive ruling on a number of issues, including the zoning of the lot in which the subject building is situated, the factors to be considered and the standard of repair to be adopted in the test of “age or state of repair” of the building.
Importantly and remarkably, this is the very first case where revitalization of industrial building was raised as a defence in a number of aspects, and as a result of which extensive expert evidence on valuation and building condition had been adduced and contested throughout the proceedings. In the Judgment, the Tribunal ruled that revitalization is not a relevant factor for consideration in an application for an order for compulsory sale under the Ordinance.
For the full text of the judgment, please refer to https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/word/vetted/other/en/2018/LDCS011000A_2018.docx.
Our litigation team handling this case is led by our partner Mr. Roy Leung and assisted by our associates Mr. Ricky Cheung and Ms. Winnie Hui. We have abundant experience in handling compulsory sale cases under the Ordinance, assisting the teams of experts in different faculties, working out the best strategies, and fighting for the desired outcomes for our clients.
We are delighted to congratulate Mr. Sidney Ho on his admission as a partner of our firm, effective from 1 January 2022.
Mr. Ho is versatile. His practice ranges from civil and commercial litigation to regulatory matters, from commercial matters to conveyancing practice.
On an international level, Mr. Ho provides assistance to foreign lawyers and Counsel in offshore jurisdictions. Mr. Ho accompanied lay clients to attend trial in Saint Lucia and the British Virgin Islands regarding shareholders’ disputes and offshore winding-up proceedings, and attended watching brief in Privy Council proceedings in a landmark winding-up case. In 2019, Mr. Ho accompanied our Senior Partner Mr. Peter Sit to visit 5 leading silks in the United Kingdom seeking for tip-top opinions on constitutional laws. Mr. Ho also has established close professional links through representing our firm as member of the International Lawyers Network (ILN) for Hong Kong.
Alongside his professional works, Mr. Ho has been awarded in recognition of his active engagement in pro bono and community services. Mr. Ho is also interested in playing bridge and has played for the Law Society of Hong Kong bridge team in various competitions.
We successfully obtained sanction by the High Court of Hong Kong to commence a scheme of arrangements for a leading international fashion group, following the appointment of provisional liquidators in April 2020.
Following the appointment, our legal support enabled timely rescue of millions EURO worth of inventories in jeopardy. We lined up with legal, accounting and tax experts in UK, Germany, Austria and Hong Kong in preserving assets, looking after contentious matters and tax-sensitive portfolio, shielding the company against wrongful interferences. We proudly witnessed the Company walking out from the state of insolvency, through a steady improvement of retail performance in Europe amidst several rounds of lockdown in Germany.
This year, we assisted the provisional liquidators in exercising Court-conferred restructuring powers. We advised on the implementation of new corporate structures and business models for cost-efficacy and risk-management. We engaged with stakeholders including banks, Government bodies, Asia-Pacific suppliers, warehouses, employees, etc., and actively linked with potential investors and firmed up commercial terms to effect a promising financial boost for debt restructuring purposes.
These collective efforts bear fruit in our recent 3-step success in obtaining (i) leave of the High Court allowing the company to convene a creditor’s meeting to approve a scheme of arrangement ("Scheme”); (ii) unanimous approval of the Scheme by those attending the creditor’s meeting; and (iii) sanction of the High Court allowing the company to implement the Scheme pursuant to Sections 670, 671 673 and 674 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) with written decision published.
In sanctioning the Scheme, the Court was satisfied that (i) the Scheme is for a permissible purpose; (ii) creditors who were called on to vote as a single class had sufficiently similar legal rights such that they could consult together with a view to their common interest at a single meeting; (iii) the meeting was duly convened in accordance with the Court’s directions; (iv) creditors have been given sufficient information about the Scheme to enable them to make an informed decision; (v) the necessary statutory majorities have been obtained; (vi) an intelligent and honest man acting in accordance with his interests as a member of the class might reasonably approve the Scheme; and (vii) there is sufficient connection between the Scheme and Hong Kong.
We are glad that our joint force with the Provisional Liquidators team in producing the 161 pages of scheme documents was welcomed by the Court. It proves once again that commercially-sensible advice and practical solutions from legal professionals play an integral role in turning a corporate crisis into opportunities, especially in a fragile global economy like the present.
Our team, led by Litigation Partner Mr. Roy Leung and assisted by Associate Solicitor Mr. Mathew Liu, Ms. Theresa Law and Ms. Winnie Hui, will continue to provide comprehensive advice and reliable support to insolvency and restructuring professionals in Hong Kong and worldwide.
Our Consultant Ms. Sylvia Siu JP is appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal Panel, Section 45 of Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) for a term of 3 years from 1 December 2021 onwards.
The Appeal Tribunal (Building) hears appeals against decisions made by the Building Authority on a wide range of building-related matters, e.g. unauthorized building works, mandatory building and window inspections, approval of plans and demolition works. Among these, the Chairman exercises her statutory powers to determine the procedures of hearing and lead the panel to hold hearings in public, receive and examine evidence, and make orders to confirm, vary or reverse the decisions of the Building Authority that is subject to appeal. The Chairman has the casting vote in such decisions.
Given the quasi-judicial nature of the aforesaid, the Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal Panel is required to be qualified for appointment as a District Court Judge, pursuant to Section 48(2) of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123).
Apart from the above, Ms. Siu has extensive social services as well as official and professional recognitions. To name a few, Ms. Siu now chairs the Joint Mediation Helpline Office and Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers’ ADR Committee. On the community service area, Ms. Siu has been a council member of Hong Kong Family Welfare Society for over 23 years. This is not to mention her past and present involvements in many arbitration panels#, Government and Law Society committees. We especially congratulate Ms. Siu being recently elected as a member of the 2021 Election Committee in the legal subsector.
We share Ms. Siu’s dedication to the society, and shall continue to serve the public with our professional knowledge and experience.
# Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Law Society of Hong Kong, World Trade Centre Macau Arbitration Centre, Macau Arbitration Center, China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Zhuhai and Nansha International Arbitration Court, and Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration.
Announcement of Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum 薛馮鄺岑律師行 (the “Firm”)
We are pleased to announce that, as part of a strategic planning and realignment, CK Kwong, a founding partner of the Firm, will leave the Firm with his team to set up his law practice at 17/F, Chu Kong Shipping Tower, 143 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong in the name of “SFKS CK Kwong, Solicitors (SFKS 鄺志強律師行)” (the “New Firm”) as from 1 January 2022. Jeffrey Hung, a partner, will join the New Firm.
Peter Sit, the other founding partner of the Firm, will continue the current legal practices of the Firm together with the other partners viz Tommy Tam, Alex Chan, Margaret Choi, Joseph Wong, Simon Siu, Roy Leung and Sidney Ho (who will become a partner of the Firm as from 1 January 2022) at 25A, United Centre, 95 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong.
The New Firm will focus on promoting and expanding on intellectual property and related practices (including registration, commercialization, enforcement and dispute resolution) while the Firm will continue to provide a full range of legal services, promoting and expanding on corporate commercial, dispute resolutions, property transactions, regulatory and compliance matters.
As two independent law firms, the Firm and the New Firm will enter into an association in accordance with the Law Society guidelines to complement each other in the provision of legal services, with a view to providing good and reliable legal services to their respective clients. CK Kwong will remain as a consultant of the Firm after the said realignment.
Dated the 31st day of December 2021
We congratulate the following recipients of our long service awards this year:-
Mr. Yu Kwok Kan, Conveyancing Executive (served for 40 years)
Ms. Siu Wing Yee Sylvia JP, Consultant (served for 35 years)
Ms. So Yuk Lan Celia, Accounts Department Head (served for 30 years)
Mr. Li Yat Kim, Office Assistant (served for 25 years)
Mr. Wang Kam Shan, Office Assistant (served for 20 years)
Mr. Ho Kiu Chor Sidney, Senior Associate (served for 15 years)
Mr. Lam Kwok Wai Johnson, Conveyancing Executive (served for 15 years)
Their experience and excellence are valuable assets of our firm and deserve appreciation. Please see below a photo of the award session:-
We are honoured to welcome the team led by Ms. Zhang Yumei, Deputy Director-General, and Mr. Robert Xie, Director, of the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government (“CPG”) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to our new office on 16 December 2021. Our five China-Appointed Attesting Officers, namely our senior partner Mr. Peter Sit, our partners Ms. Margaret Choi, Mr. Simon Siu and Mr. Roy Leung, and our consultant Ms. Sylvia Siu JP, together with our partner Mr. Alex Chan, and our associates Ms. Jenny Wong, Mr. Ricky Cheung and Ms. Carrie Li, extended our warm reception to the distinguished guests from the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the CPG. We exchanged views extensively on the development prospects of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the challenges and opportunities of the legal profession and a number of other issues.
We are grateful that the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the CPG has taken the time to visit us, and we look forward to attending more exchange activities with the legal professional bodies and lawyers in the Mainland in future.
Our first Zoom Christmas Party was successfully hosted on 23 December 2021.
Against the outbreak of Omicron variant in Hong Kong, we practised social distancing by celebrating virtually from different locations. Having been used to real-time technology in day-to-day legal services, we further utilized video conferencing to bring valuable memories of festive joy and companionship.
We wish colleagues, clients and members of the legal profession a new year with good health and happiness, and look forward to resuming a physical celebration next year.
Sunny Chan, Donald Choi, Peter Chan and Albert Wong came to our new office on 16 November 2021. Joseph Wong, Peter Sit and Roy Leung took photos with them in front of the huge cake they brought and at the reception area.
Our firm acted for 803 Funds Limited in its judicial review application against the Secretary for Education for his refusal to disclose “the names of the schools and the teachers involved and the findings and results of investigation in the substantiated cases” of professional misconduct of teachers. This case had attracted much public attention.
The Honourable Chow JA in his Judgment of 28 September 2021 granted permission to our client to make an application for judicial review as our client’s case was reasonably arguable with a realistic prospect of success.
While the Court, after full consideration of the arguments on “Fairness”, “Adverse Impacts” and “Trust and Confidence” and other Grounds, rejected the substantive judicial review application, the Court made no order on legal costs as the application was reasonably arguable.
The case was led by our partners Peter Sit, Alex Chan and assisted by our associate Alan So.
