Donna Wacker > Clifford Chance > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Lawyer Profile

Clifford Chance‘s offering is led by a consortium of ‘excellent lawyers’, Donna Wacker, Stephanie Huts, Naomi Griffin, and Robert Tang, who regularly represent a wide range of clients including senior executives, corporations, and businesses. Risk management, due diligence, and regulatory investigations are among the team’s key strengths. Alexandra Zhu is another key contact in the team, assisting with alleged extortion cases.

Clifford Chance’s litigation and dispute resolution practice specialises in multi-jurisdictional litigation, as well as regulatory investigations across the world. In particular, team members are skilled in ‘business critical’ litigation, acting for a range of clients, including corporates, professional advisers and individuals, in litigation in the Federal and Supreme Courts in Australia and in international courts. Spencer Flay handles litigation within projects and construction, and Naomi Griffin is experienced in commercial litigation and parliamentary enquiries. Donna Wacker is regarded for her work acting for financial institutions and individuals in large-scale, cross-border litigation, including audit negligence claims, and Julia Dreosti handles cross-border litigation in a variety of sectors, including aerospace and defence. Alexandra Zhu is noted for her litigation expertise in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure industries, as well as leading the REACH (Race Equality and Celebrating Heritage) Network in Australia.

Harnessing four decades of on-the-ground experience in the Hong Kong litigation market, Clifford Chance continues to hold its position in high-value, multijurisdictional commercial litigation, financial services and white collar litigation and contentious IP and tech matters. Team head Ling Ho excels in IP and tech disputes, whilst Donna Wacker is established particularly in contentious insolvency disputes, and Soo Khim Keoy handles commercial disputes with a particular focus on corporate and commercial litigation, shareholders, joint venture and M&A disputes. Yvonne Shek practices in a broad range of commercial dispute litigation across multiple jurisdictions and Stephanie Wong is also recommended for defending financial institutions and corporates.

Leveraging ‘wide global reach and local insight’, Clifford Chance provides  ‘sensible, workable and practical solutions’ to local and international financial services clients seeking to navigate the local regulatory environment, as well as to manage risks in a global setting by virtue of the firm’s ability to provide a comparative analysis of worldwide regulations. The scope of the workflow is broad, encompassing standalone advisory guidance on compliance with new regulations/legislation, advice on new products, regulatory advice concomitant to transactions handled by the firm and advice on contentious matters. Donna Wacker takes the lead on much of the contentious work, regularly advising banks (and senior executives) and asset managers subject to regulatory enforcement actions, including those involving multi-jurisdictional probes. For non-contentious matters Rocky Mui is appreciated for his ‘strategic thinking, and unwavering commitment to client success’, both in relation to regulatory issues associated with the fund industry, and on the fintech front in the context of cryptocurrency/blockchain-related matters. Leveraging ‘excellent technical skills’, Jonathan Wong is also integral to the firm’s success on the contentious front, and regularly advises international and regional banks/funds on enforcement probes, internal investigations and civil litigation.

Fielding an ‘experienced and energetic’ team, Clifford Chance has vast expertise in acting as the supporting creditor in winding up petitions and advising on complex multi-jurisdictional restructurings, primarily in the aviation and real estate sectors. The practice demonstrates a growing presence in the crypto space, routinely representing companies in debt recovery proceedings and matters arising during liquidations. Scott Bache and Donna Wacker co-head the outfit, with the former specialising in security enforcement and general banking litigation, whilst the latter concentrates on asset recovery and cross-border insolvency issues. Phoebe Lo is an expert in corporate restructurings, Soo Khim Keoy stands out for his knowledge in commercial disputes, while Thomas Walsh is noted for assisting major financial institutions.

Fielding a core team of restructuring and insolvency specialists with broad expertise across funds, M&A, and capital markets, Clifford Chance is frequently called upon by global investment banks and private equity sponsors. The firm demonstrates extensive knowledge across a multitude of sectors, ranging from tech and media to real estate and aviation, and boasts a growing presence in the crypto insolvency field. From Hong Kong, Scott Bache and Donna Wacker co-lead the team, with the former being an expert in cross-border corporate restructurings, while the latter primarily focuses on representing liquidators and stakeholders. Phoebe Lo is experienced in distressed situations, and both Soo Khim Keoy and Thomas Walsh are also hailed as key contacts.

On behalf of financial institutions, financial investors and corporations, Clifford Chance LLP‘s Greater China team is particularly active in banking litigation. The firm additionally fields specialists in shareholder, boardroom, trust and commercial disputes, along with financial services, white-collar, competition, IP, technology, insolvency and employment-related litigation. It also has a robust defence-side regulatory practice. Experienced in PRC-related commercial litigation, mainland China managing partner Lei Shi is triple qualified in the PRC (non-practising), Hong Kong and New York. Ling Ho heads the litigation and dispute resolution practice in Hong Kong, where Donna Wacker is experienced in Asia-related commercial, financial services and insolvency litigation; Soo Khim Keoy is ‘a very experienced litigator’; and Michael Wang focuses on banking litigation and contentious regulatory matters.