1
Charles Sussex SC
Des Voeux ChambersWith ‘plenty of very high-quality barristers’, Des Voeux Chambers ’is regarded as one of the leading sets in commercial disputes’. At the senior end, insolvency experts José-Antonio Maurellet SC and Rachel Lam SC led on the landmark case of Citicorp International Limited v Tsinghua Unigroup Co., Ltd, which concerned the nature and extent of the obligations that keepwell providers have to bondholders, as well as novel issues of Greater China insolvency. Charles Sussex SC led Tom Ng in PT Asuransi Tugu v Citibank NA, which assessed bankers’ Quincecare duty, which dictates that a bank should not, in certain circumstances, take a payment from a customer’s account which is fraudulent. Catrina Lam‘s practice encompasses a wide range of contentious commercial matters, and she is also highly adept at handling domestic and international arbitrations, representing clients from the banking and finance, technology, real estate, media and entertainment, education, aviation, and gambling sectors. Benny Lo has also been increasingly active in international commercial arbitration proceedings, while a significant proportion of Frances Lok’s practice involves acting for listed companies, their shareholders, and directors across a range of mandates, including winding up proceedings and unfair prejudice petition matters. Christopher Chain SC made Silk in the 2023 round.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is well-known for having the best advocates in general commercial litigation. It leads the market and has generated a number of young senior counsels. You can feel confident entrusting cases to their barristers.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is one of Hong Kong’s largest commercial sets and a leading chambers. It has great strength in depth, availability of counsel, and rigorous training for pupil barristers.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is regarded as one of the leading sets in commercial disputes. They have plenty of very high-quality barristers and can be available on short notice.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is one of the top sets of chambers in Hong Kong with a strong pool of junior counsel.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers has a very good mix of barristers at all levels of seniority. The size of the set means that the clients will have options in case anyone is not available for a particular hearing.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is undoubtedly a first-tier leading set in Hong Kong with members who are consistently involved in big-ticket cases. They are particularly impressive for companies and insolvency work.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers comprises barristers with a wide variety of background and experience. The barristers there are generally very helpful, approachable and user friendly.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is particularly strong in commercial disputes, with a large number of silks and bright juniors. They often provide regular legal updates.'
Silks
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
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Clifford Smith SC
Des Voeux Chambers2
Barrie Barlow SC
Des Voeux Chambers2
José-Antonio Maurellet SC
Des Voeux Chambers ‘José is super smart and quick on his feet, he can see cases from different angles and devise innovative strategies and tactics, and his submissions are usually succinct and powerful.'
2
Anson Wong SC
Des Voeux Chambers3
Douglas Lam SC
Des Voeux Chambers3
Jenkin Suen SC
Des Voeux Chambers3
John Scott SC
Des Voeux Chambers3
Rachel Lam SC
Des Voeux Chambers3
William Wong SC
Des Voeux Chambers 'William is a great leader, with skills in advocacy, strategy, and cross-examination; the best in Hong Kong.'
2023 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Christopher Chain SC
Des Voeux ChambersJuniors
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
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Frances Lok
Des Voeux Chambers1
John Hui
Des Voeux Chambers1
Catrina Lam
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Catrina is very diligent and always well prepared. She is also very persistent, even when the case is not on her side, which is a very important quality for an advocate.'
1
Connie Lee
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Connie is no doubt a first-tier practitioner who impresses with her tactical, practical and commercial advice. In terms of advocacy, she is also a very effective advocate knowing how to push the right button, and it is very understandable why she is hotly sought-after, has very considerable trial and arbitration experience in her own right, and always punches above her weight.'
1
Benny Lo
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Benny is highly experienced in international arbitration and he has good strategic vision for the case and goes into the very details of the case facts. Submissions and other documents prepared by him are well organised and to the point, presenting convincing cases, and his examination of witnesses at oral hearings are very impressive.'
2
David Chen
Des Voeux Chambers2
Richard Zimmern
Des Voeux Chambers2
Sabrina Ho
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Sabrina is able to recall, understand, and accurately apply the law and procedure relevant to advocacy to the matters she is dealing with. She is thorough and pragmatic, presenting reasoned arguments in a clear, logical, concise and persuasive manner, and she produces coherent, well-structured and concise submissions, citing legal authorities and materials appropriately.'
2
Jason Yu
Des Voeux Chambers2
Patrick Siu
Des Voeux Chambers 'Patrick is very knowledgeable and is one of the top barristers handling commercial litigation. He knows the law very well, he has great client skills, and his researching skills are excellent.'
2
Gary Lam
Des Voeux Chambers ‘One of Gary's notable strengths is his responsiveness and ability to quickly grasp the subject issues, client instructions, and solicitor’s concerns related to the case. He has a remarkable aptitude for understanding the intricacies of a case from the outset, which allows him to provide insightful analysis and valuable guidance to both the client and the solicitor.’
3
Jacqueline Law
Des Voeux Chambers3
Alan Kwong
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Alan is a powerful advocate who is quick on his feet and his submissions are powerful and concise. Since he has taken up a part-time judicial appointment, he earns immense respect from the bench.'
3
Martin Kok
Des Voeux ChambersRising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.
Tom Ng
Des Voeux ChambersTiffany Chan
Des Voeux Chambers 'Tiffany is an absolute star of the junior bar and destined for greatness. She is incredibly hard-working, diligent, and technically brilliant, but very commercial and easy to work with.'
Jasmine Cheung
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Jasmine is a very bright junior. She’s intelligent, hardworking, and detailed minded, she is very well-prepared for every hearing, and her advocacy is well-paced, organised, and cuts to the chase.’
Tommy Cheung
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Tommy comes across as a very able and hard-working junior with a profound knowledge of the law. He is always able to suggest helpful solutions that take into account lay client’s requests and financial and timing constraints.’
Lai Chun Ho
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Lai is an outstanding barrister with a level of competence well beyond his years of call. He is always diligent with a firm grasp of the facts and in-depth knowledge of the law, and he is both commercially-minded and sensible, whilst being able to offer valuable and out of the box insights into cases.’
Cherry Xu
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Cherry‘s judgement and output is far superior to her year of call and she is incredibly bright, really thinks around the case, and fights hard to achieve the best outcome for the client. She is a very good team player with great tactical awareness, and as one of the few barristers with native Mandarin abilities, she is in pole position to deliver effective results in cases involving Mainland elements.’
Howard Wong
Des Voeux Chambers ‘Howard is exceptionally responsive, efficient and diligent in his high-quality work, and he takes his responsibilities seriously, making him a reliable and dependable counsel. He approaches each case with a comprehensive and thorough mindset that aligns with clients’ objectives, and his remarkable attention to detail is evident in all aspects of his work, from the initial drafting of legal arguments in pleadings and correspondence, preparation of a case, to the final presentation through robust skeleton submissions and excellent advocacy in court.’