Our Consultant, Ms. Sylvia Siu JP, as the Chairperson of the Joint Mediation Helpline Office (JMHO), officiated the opening ceremony of the JMHO SIU Szeto Kit Kitty JP, MBE Training Centre (the “Training Centre”) on 24 October 2024.
Established in 2010, JMHO aims to promote mediation as a means of resolving disputes. Under Ms. Sylvia Siu JP’s leadership, JMHO was appointed by the Hong Kong Government to operate the West Kowloon Mediation Centre and to implement a pilot mediation scheme for suitable cases. The Training Centre represents JMHO’s commitment to equipping the legal sector with mediation skills and serves as a legacy of the late Madam SIU Szeto Kit Kitty JP, MBE, the mother of Ms. Sylvia Siu JP, who was a renowned philanthropist dedicated to community service for the betterment of society.
In the 2024 Policy Address, the Chief Executive stated that the Government will step up promotion of mediation services to establish Hong Kong as a regional centre for international legal and dispute resolution services. The Government also plans to launch a Pilot Scheme on Community Mediation to provide additional training opportunities and foster a mediation culture.
This year, three of our litigation solicitors completed a 40-hour mediation training course. Our firm collaborates with the Government and JMHO in their shared commitment to cultivating a mediation culture through training and mediation-related legal services.
Our Partner Roy Leung was invited to participate as a roundtable guest speaker in the DVC International Arbitration Symposium 2024, hosted by by Des Voeux Chambers on 22 October 2024, as part of the 2024 Hong Kong Arbitration Week.
The Symposium, themed ‘Bridging Horizons: Forging New Paths in Cross-Border Arbitration’, gathered leading practitioners to engage in dynamic discussions and share the intricacies of international arbitration.
The roundtable focused on “What makes a successful arbitration: the Perspectives from across the table (and border)”. Roy joined experienced and renowned panelists from Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, including former Justice of the High Court, to share frontline “war stories” on commercial arbitration and discuss the insights and tool-kit to make an effective and successful arbitration.
Our litigation department has a wide variety of experiences in commercial arbitrations, in connection with property development projects, intellectual property assets, share redemption and other contractual disputes. With our abundant experience in cross-border disputes and international arbitration, we are committed to fostering the development of Hong Kong as an international arbitration hub, and fighting for the best interest of our clients in arbitration cases.
From October 9 to 10, 2024, our lawyers, including Peter Sit, Simon Siu, Roy Leung, Wai Yin Chung, and June Wang, visited Jiangmen.
On October 9, our Commercial Partner, Simon Siu, was honored to be invited by Guangdong Hongxin Junrui Law Firm (廣東弘新君睿律師事務所) to attend a certificate awarding ceremony for his appointment as their foreign legal counsel. Simon recently passed the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Legal Professional Examination (GBA Exam) and is currently in the process of obtaining his GBA Lawyer’s Licence. We believe that Simon’s forthcoming qualification as a GBA lawyer will further strengthen our firm’s connections with counterparts in Jiangmen and enhance our brand presence in the local business community. Congratulations to Simon on this significant achievement!
Following the ceremony, we participated in a seminar titled "Exchange Meeting for Foreign-related Legal Services Work" (涉外法律服務專題工作交流會) at the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration Jiangmen (深圳國際仲裁院江門中心). Our Senior Partner, Mr. Sit, was invited by the Jiangmen Lawyers Association (江門市律師協會) to speak on legal issues for mainland investors looking to invest in Hong Kong (中國內地投資者赴港投資應注意的法律事項). He provided participants with a comprehensive overview of conducting business in Hong Kong, addressing key topics such as taxation, employment, intellectual property, dispute resolution, and competition law. The seminar, organized by the Jiangmen Lawyers Association and the Jiangmen Justice Bureau (江門市司法局), attracted local government officials, Jiangmen lawyers, entrepreneurs, and foreign legal practitioners.
On October 10, we visited several law firms in Jiangmen, including Guangdong Liangjiang Law Firm (廣東良匠律師事務所), Guangdong Yuanhao (Jiangmen) Law Firm (廣東源浩（江門）律師事務所), Guangdong Jinnong Law Firm (廣東金濃律師事務所), and Beijing Yingke (Jiangmen) Law Firm (北京市盈科（江门）律师事务所). We are optimistic about the collaborative opportunities that will arise from the growing interactions between Jiangmen and Hong Kong legal practitioners and look forward to establishing strategic relationships in this area. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for the warm hospitality extended to us by all the firms we visited.
We heartily welcome the visit of Blackstone Chambers from the United Kingdom, including Senior Clerk Mr. Gary Oliver, Chambers Directors Mr. Mat Swallow, Mr. Adam Sloane and Mr. Derek Sutton.
Our Litigation Department has a good history of collaboration with King’s Counsel and junior counsel of Blackstone Chambers, as well as many other top-notch silks and counsel from reputable chambers in London. Our good experiences in working seamlessly with legal experts in other jurisdictions have assisted our clients in dealing with a vast number of cross-border litigations and arbitrations, public law issues and complex legal proceedings whether within or outside Hong Kong.
We are the Diamond Sponsor of the Cross Strait Four Regions Forum Young Lawyers Forum, organized by the Law Society of Hong Kong on 19-20 September 2024.
Our Partner Mr. Sidney Ho is a member of the Organizing Committee and one of the emcees in the Forum.
The Forum brought together over 1,300 legal professionals from 113 law associations and government departments across the four regions.
During the forum, speakers shared insights on the opportunities and practical experiences that artificial intelligence brings to the legal profession.
We are grateful to the Law Society of Hong Kong for organizing the Forum and the Welcome Reception, providing our young lawyers a valuable opportunity to engage with legal professionals from various regions.
As Finalist of GBA Law Firm of the Year (Hong Kong and Macau) of the 23rd Annual ALB Hong Kong Law Awards, we were delighted to be part of the gala dinner and awards ceremony on 13 September 2024 hosted by Asia Legal Business, attended by our Senior Partner Mr. Peter Sit, Partner Mr. Simon Siu, Mr. Roy Leung and Ms. Jenny Wong.
We congratulate the other finalists and the winner in this category, and look forward to serving the legal profession in Hong Kong and the GBA together.
Our Partner Mr. Simon Siu passed the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Legal Professional Examination held in 2024. Mr. Siu will have to complete the training and pass the interview assessment before obtaining the relevant lawyer’s practice certificate and provide Mainland legal services in the nine Mainland municipalities in GBA on specified civil and commercial matters (including contentious and non-contentious matters) to which Mainland laws apply.
We recently celebrated the success in multiple sizable property projects handled by our Conveyancing Department, which showcased hard work and dedication throughout.
We act for the Respondent and have successfully appealed against a default judgment of the Lands Tribunal (the “Default Judgment”) and the order of the Lands Tribunal refusing to set aside the Default Judgment (the “Order”). In this case the Applicant obtained the Default Judgment in reliance of the alleged termination of a tenancy-at-will between the Applicant and the Respondent in 2018 but failed to mention about a notice to quit issued to the Respondent in 2008 upon applying for the Default Judgment. The earlier notice should have been pleaded upon application by the Applicant and the Lands Tribunal ought to have considered the said notice when granting the Default Judgment and dismissing the Respondent’s application to set aside the Default Judgment. On appeal, the Court of Appeal decided that the grant of the Default Judgment in the circumstances was an error of law and set aside the Default Judgment, the Order together with the writ of possession issued on the basis of the Default Judgment.
The case was handled by our associate solicitor Miss Koey Wong and our trainee solicitor Miss Shirley Yu under the supervision of our partner Mr Tommy Tam.
We acted for a company listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong (the “Company”), principally engaged in the dealership of luxury goods in Mainland China, in the completion of issue of new shares under the General Mandate.
The process was remarkably expeditious, taking less than two weeks from subscription agreements dated 19 July 2024 (after trading hours) to completion of issue of new shares on 31 July 2024.
We are glad that our round-the-clock efforts, swift responses to and smooth communications with the financial advisors, Mainland working parties and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong have altogether facilitated the Company to reach this milestone success.
Our team in charge is led by Partner Mr. Roy Leung and assisted by Senior Associate Mr. Olson Lai, Paralegal (Pending Admission) Ms. Sherrie Ma and Trainee Solicitor Mr. Manson Chan.
The Partners of Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum announce that Mr. Liu Pak Hong, Mathew has been admitted as Partner of the firm from 1 August 2024. Mathew joined the firm and was qualified as a solicitor in 2017. Mathew specializes in dispute resolution, with experiences in litigations of various natures, e.g., shareholders’ and board room disputes, insolvency and restructuring, land, family, criminal and disciplinary matters. He played an important role in a high-profile contentious case involving administration of a mega estate. With great delight, the Partners congratulate Mathew and welcome him to the partnership.
In late July, our China Practice Group headed by Senior Partner Mr. Peter Sit (GBA Lawyer), Partner Mr. Roy Leung (GBA Lawyer) and Partner Ms. Jenny Wong (GBA Lawyer), along with Senior Associate Ms. Wai Yin Chung and Associate Ms. Carrie Li welcomed a delegation of 22 mainland lawyers from 19 law firms across 6 cities in the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”) to visit our firm with huge enthusiasm.
During the visit, our partners provided a comprehensive overview of the firm’s history of development and our practice areas, highlighting civil and commercial legal issues in both Hong Kong and Mainland China, cross-border legal services, legal support for clients venturing abroad, litigation and arbitration, as well as advancements in intellectual property law. We introduced the new opportunities for the Hong Kong legal profession arising from the GBA initiatives. Our GBA lawyers are committed to fostering interflow and collaboration with our peer professionals in the Mainland China for providing legal expertise to clients in both places.
The delegates also shared experience and insights about the professional practice in Mainland China. The visit led to a lively and extensive discussion about further strengthening exchanges between the two jurisdictions. It’s well recognised by all participants that the discussion not only enhanced mutual understandings but also established a solid foundation for solid collaboration in the future.
