Simmons & Simmons

Employment

Fiona is widely recognised as one of the most experienced labour law specialists in the region, having been one of the first solicitors in Hong Kong to specialise in this legal area. With her more than 35 years of experience, there are few types of employment law problem or scenario which she has not encountered.

Fiona founded the firm’s Employment practice in Asia, and advises on all aspects of the employment relationship. She deals with the cross-border labour needs of many clients and, in addition to handling Hong Kong cases and matters, is closely involved in the Singapore and mainland China arms of the practice. She works on regional projects and investigations, and on both contentious and advisory matters.

Fiona has received multiple individual recognitions since the late 1990s to date. She has been, for many years, recognised as a Band 1 lawyer and Leading Individual for Employment Law in Hong Kong by Chambers Asia-Pacific, and is ranked in the Hall of Fame of legal practitioners for Labour and Employment in Hong Kong by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. Her Hong Kong team has also been consistently ranked as a Tier 1 practice by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific since 2001, and Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific since 2008, following the launch of the directory in the region.

Fiona has chaired, for two two-year terms, and continues to sit on, the Employment Law Committee of the Hong Kong Law Society. Fiona headed the firm’s Hong Kong office during 2013-2021, and was a member of the firm’s board from 2013 until February 2022. She is a trustee of the firm’s Charitable Foundation, an active member of its Pro Bono committee and The Number One Club (TNOC), the firm’s women’s network. Fiona is a hands on practitioner and extremely interested in mentoring more junior lawyers; many in-house lawyers based in Hong Kong have worked with Fiona over the past three decades.

Fiona was admitted as a solicitor in England in 1985, in Hong Kong in 1987 and in Australia (ACT) in 1990, and has been registered in Singapore as a foreign lawyer since 2020.

Fiona Loughrey has worked as a lawyer in Hong Kong since 1987, and is head of the employment team in China of around 20 fee-earners across Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. She was one of the first lawyers in Hong Kong to specialise in employment law, and is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales (1985), Hong Kong (1987) and Australia (ACT) (1990). She has extensive experience of advising financial institutions and multi-national employers in various sectors, and has a special interest in discrimination and privacy laws. Fiona is the current chair of the Employment Law Committee of the Hong Kong Law Society and sits on the Legal Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. She was head of the employment and immigration law committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association for two terms, before stepping down in 2013. She is a frequent invitee speaker and participant at conferences on employment issues both in Hong Kong and internationally, and the author of numerous contributions to legal textbooks and journals.