Rocky Mui > Clifford Chance > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Lawyer Profile

Housing an insurance practice which is well placed to draw on the expertise of the corporate, regulatory, and litigation departments, Clifford Chance has an expanding client-base of global insurance brokers and reinsurers. From Hong Kong, Amy Ho heads the practice, specialising in management buyouts and complex auction bids, while Ling Ho heads the IP group in Asia, showcasing demonstrable expertise across the pharma and tech sectors. Rocky Mui is a strong regulatory lawyer, and Jonathan Wong acts for financial institutions and investors. Other key contacts in the group include Vipavee Map Kaosala and Andre Da Roza.

The practice at Clifford Chance LLP excels in advising on the gamut of fintech issues from regulatory, commercial and transactional matters to contentious mandates. The firm leverages its international strength to advise both global and Chinese clients. Over the last year the team has been at the forefront of fintech developments, advising on tokenisation, NFTs, smart contracts and AI. The team is co-led by Kelly Gregory and Rocky Mui who are based in Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively. Gregory advises major Chinese technology companies on their fintech offerings across Europe and Latin America and is noted for her expertise in cross-border investments and M&A transactions. Mui specialises in non-contentious fintech matters, he is well-versed in advising on regtech, virtual assets, blockchain, tokenisation and digital infrastructure. Terry Yang is noted for his work on fintech projects such as setting up a QR payment program.

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.

Clifford Chance continues to be a favoured option for international and regional fund managers thanks to its extensive institutional knowledge accumulated over years in the industry, and its capacity to leverage a wide array of resources regionally and worldwide via its global network of offices. The team remains best-known for its work in the alternatives market, with practice head Matthias Feldmann noted for his fund structuring work for managers focusing on hedge and private real estate strategies. Liyong Xing has expertise on China-focused funds across asset classes for both  established and emerging fund sponsors. As well as handling new money transactions, including on private equity and private credit strategies (for both sponsors and investors), Xing’s work flow also includes a considerable amount of work addressing liquidity concerns and issues brought about by the poor economic climate, including secondaries transactions. Rocky Mui is also a key member of the team, not only for fund structuring but also for regulatory considerations, including as it relates to licensing.

Clifford Chance excels in handling corporate transactions within the TMT sector, including IPOs, M&A and investments. The team also has strong fintech capabilities and has advised clients on tokenisation, blockchain, NFTs, and other digital assets. As part of the wider Asia Pacific TMT group, the practice works alongside its Singapore team and advises on regulatory issues, data protection, and IP matters. Ling Ho leads the team and specialises in handling contentious and non-contentious IP matters for technology companies. Corporate clients seek out Fang Liu for assistance on inbound and outbound M&A and IPOs. Rocky Mui leads on fintech matters and Clarice Yue advises on a mix of commercial and regulatory TMT issues.