On 29 May 2019, we published a statement on behalf of Mr. Lau Luen Hung stating we have on that day proceeded to withdraw/discontinue Mr. Lau’s Application for Leave to apply for Judicial Review issued on 1 April 2019 in HCAL875/2019 (the “Application”) on behalf of Mr. Lau. The Application is in respect of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. A copy of the statement is attached hereto.
Our litigation team has successfully obtained permission given by the Judge of the High Court to admit Lord Pannick QC, a world renowned and prominent Queen’s Counsel in London, to join the Hong Kong legal team in representing our client Mr. Lau Luen Hung in his application (“the Application”) for leave to apply for Judicial Review in respect of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, despite objections from the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Secretary for Justice.
The success is unprecedented as this is the first time London Queen’s Counsel is admitted at the leave stage of judicial review proceedings.
The Application, which is fixed to be heard on 21 June 2019, involves important public law issues including protection of citizen’s constitutional rights under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.
Our litigation team handling the Application is headed by senior partner Peter Sit, co-headed by partner Roy Leung, assisted by senior associate Sidney Ho, associate Jenny Wong, three trainee solicitors, Joyce Cheng, Karis Chan and Marco Chong and other professional staff including in-house translator Kei Leung.
In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong organized a series of talks by its alumni. Senior Partner C. K. Kwong was invited to give a talk at the “Custodians of Intellectual Property: A Sharing Session” on 4th April 2019.
Mr. Kwong gave the audience snapshots of his experience as an intellectual property lawyer, International President of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), a law reformer who proposed Hong Kong’s Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2017 to further enhance the infrastructure for arbitrating IP disputes in Hong Kong and promoting it as an international IP ADR hub. He also expressed his views on the unique qualities of Hong Kong which give it an extra edge to be the preferred seat for IP arbitration and made recommendations on how young lawyers may advance themselves in the practice of IP disputes resolution.
The panel of Custodians included Mr. Andrew Liao S. C. (former Non-Official Member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR), Mr. Peter Cheung (former Director of Intellectual Property), Mr. Anthony Tong (Managing Partner of Robin Bridge & John Liu), Mr. Kenny Wong (Chairman of IP Committee of the Law Society) and Ms. Alice Lee (Associate Dean & Associate Professor of Law, HKU Faculty of Law).
The Session was attended by law students, alumni and distinguished guests which was preceded by a reception and followed by dinner afterwards.
On 1 April 2019, we published a statement on behalf of Mr Lau Luen Hung stating we have on that day issued an application in the High Court of Hong Kong for leave to apply for Judicial Review (the “Application”). The Application is in respect of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. A copy of the statement is attached hereto. The Application is handled by a team of litigators in our firm, headed by senior partner Peter Sit, co-headed by partner Roy Leung, assisted by senior associate Sidney Ho, associate Jenny Wong, three trainee solicitors, Joyce Cheng, Karis Chan and Marco Chong and other professional staff including in-house translator Kei Leung. The Application will be heard on 21 June 2019.
Senior Partner C. K. Kwong was invited by the MIND Group to their annual event “Eagle Eye” Investment Summit which was held at the Hyatt Regency Wangjing Hotel Beijing, and attended by over 1,000 participants comprising Mainland private enterprises. The event lasted for 2 days on the 28th and 29th March 2019 during which selected companies getting prepared for Initial Public Offerings and funding rounds carried out roadshows. Many of these companies (spanning from food, agriculture, energy, environmental and other heavy industries) have high intellectual property contents and/or occupy strategic positions in their particular fields of business.Mr. Kwong was invited for an interview on what Mainland companies should be aware of when they do business abroad especially in the intellectual property aspects.
On 3 January 2019, our Senior Partners, Peter Sit and C. K. Kwong presented Long Services Awards to the following members of the firm:
1. Alex Chan – Partner (25 years)
2. Leung Wing Fai – Legal Executive (30 years)
3. Law Shiu Chong – Managing Clerk for CAAO (30 years)
4. Monie Yau – Registration and Stamping Clerk (10 years)
5. Leanne Ching – Secretary (15 years)
Our Senior Partner C. K. Kwong has been reappointed to serve on the Board of ASTRI (Applied Science Technology Research Institute) for the third term of 2 years up to 20th October 2020. ASTRI is an institute established by the Hong Kong Government dedicated to apply technology research and development (R&D) to facilitate the growth and increase the competitive edge of technology – based industries in Hong Kong.
We act for HK Asia Holdings Limited (港亞控股有限公司) (the “Company”) in its successful listing on Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 1723) on 27 September 2018. The team is led by our partner Mr. Simon Siu and assisted by our various members including our senior associate Mr. Sidney Ho, our associate Ms. Vivian Ng, our paralegal Ms. Sophia Au and our trainee solicitors Ms. Louise Lam and Mr. Marco Chong. The Company, together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, are principally engaged in wholesale and retail sales of pre-paid products, such as subscriber identification module (SIM) cards and top-up vouchers in Hong Kong and was ranked first and second in Hong Kong’s pre-paid products distribution market targeted respectively at Filipinos and Indonesians in 2017.
Senior Partner C. K. Kwong was invited by the Hong Kong Government Department of Justice, in his capacity as the representative council member of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators (香港仲裁司學會代表理事) to deliver a talk on “Language in Arbitral Proceedings Involving Chinese and Foreign Parties, Costs of Arbitration, Interest on Damages and Costs” (“中外仲裁中所使用的語言、仲裁費用、索償金額及費用的利息”) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Guangzhou on 5th September 2018.
It was a part of the Hong Kong Legal Services Forum 2018 lead by the Department of Justice to promote Hong Kong as the leading center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia Pacific Region. Hong Kong positions itself to capitalize on the vast opportunities presented by the Bay Area Development Plan and to reinforce its presence in the Bay Area.
The event was attended by over 1,000 participants.
The PowerPoint used by Mr. Kwong (in Chinese only) can be found at the link provided below.
Our senior partner Mr Peter Sit has been re-appointed as a Member of the Appeal Board Panel (Town Planning) for a term of two years from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2020.
In view of the incomplete and erroneous reporting of our two letters both dated 14 August 2018, written by us on behalf of Mr Leung Chun-ying (梁振英先生), respectively to Dr Chung Kim-wah (鍾劍華先生) and Stand News (立場新聞), we append herewith the said letters and the exhibits for public viewing.
We are acting for Sun Hung Kai Properties in the sale of residential units in the “Lime Gala (形薈)” development. “Lime Gala (形薈)” provides a total of 650 residential units in which our firm is responsible for handling around 195 of them. The project is led by our partner Ms. Margaret Choi and assisted by Ms. Angela Wong (senior associate), Mr. William Chan (associate) and a team of experienced conveyancing clerks.
