The Legal 500 > Asia Pacific > Hong Kong Bar > Administrative and public law

Administrative And Public Law

Denis Chang’s Chambers
Temple Chambers

Leading Silks

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Abraham Chan SC – Temple Chambers 'Abraham is a star advocate who obviously has the trust and respect of the court, as his advocacy is measured, persuasive, and forceful. He is practical and thoughtful in terms of strategy, he is extremely knowledgeable on the law, and he has an exceptional grasp on even the finest details on the facts of a case.'
Nigel Kat SC – Parkside Chambers ‘Nigel is one of the most passionate silks. A fearless advocate, he is always delivering eloquent submissions and is a number-one choice for the most difficult public law litigation and advice.’
Hectar Pun SC – Denis Chang’s Chambers ‘Hectar always delivers high-quality advice in a short amount of time. He conducts clear and concise advocacy, thinks quickly on his feet, and can always answer questions from the bench impressively.’
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Jin Pao SC – Temple Chambers ‘Jin is an extremely strong lawyer with very good intuition, and he is a fantastic advocate. He is also very user friendly and a pleasure to work with; absolutely top notch!’

2023 Silks

Anthony Chan SC – Temple Chambers 'Anthony is often capable of familiarising himself with the factual background and the key legal issues very efficiently, and is able to give advice on the overall tactics. He pays a great deal of attention to details and is often able to identify the missing links and weaknesses of each side's case.'

Leading Juniors

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Bonnie Cheng – Temple Chambers ‘Bonnie is a highly capable operator in the area of administrative and public law with a great depth and range of experience and excellent judgement.’
Earl Deng – Denis Chang’s Chambers 'Earl is strong in thinking outside the box while being comprehensive in his legal research, and one can often rely on him for exhausting remedies for a client. He is a first-class public lawyer.'
Catrina Lam – Des Voeux Chambers 'Catrina is one of the go-to counsel for administrative law cases. She is always well prepared and has a persuasive advocacy style.'
Tim Parker  - Temple Chambers  ‘Tim is an outstanding public law junior. He has the law at his fingertips and offers incisive analysis of the issues, coupled with first-rate communication skills and an assured manner in court.’
Jeffrey Tam – Denis Chang’s Chambers 'Jeffrey is a passionate and fearless advocate who always fights for clients in the most difficult and complicated cases. He always makes good judgement calls.'
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Joshua Baker – Prince's Chambers
Martin Ho – Temple Chambers 'Martin is very knowledgeable, he is familiar with the key public law principles and positions, he wastes no time in giving helpful advice, and he reads and works very efficiently. He is very thoughtful and often considers how to present the evidence or arguments in different contexts for clients' consideration.'

Gary Lam – Des Voeux Chambers 'Gary is a diligent barrister with a growing public law practice.'

Azan Marwah – Pantheon Chambers ‘Azan is one of a kind; he is uniquely passionate about almost every public interest case that he is engaged in, he has an astoundingly broad knowledge of different fields of law, and he is also familiar with the development of international jurisprudence in the space. He is the counsel to go to when others argue there are no channels of redress available, and he will advocate to the bitter end to challenge the court’s willingness to adhere to fundamental principles of law and argue against academic perspectives which go against fundamental objectives and the spirit of the law.’
Ernest Ng – Parkside Chambers ‘Ernest is a bright barrister who can always deliver thorough research and persuasive argument, both written and orally. He is knowledgeable in public law and his quality of work is unquestionable.’
Anson Wong Yu Yat – Denis Chang’s Chambers ‘Anson has deep knowledge of the law with great attention to detail and he cuts through issues with ease. He is a brilliant mind with incomparable work and he is excellent to work with.’

Rising Stars

Joshua Chan – Temple Chambers 'Joshua is a strong junior in the area of public and administrative law. He is highly intelligent, efficient, organised, and easy to work with.'
Andrew Christopher Lau – Denis Chang’s Chambers 'Andrew is a very hardworking barrister with outstanding advocacy and drafting skills. As a former journalist, he is particularly good at presenting his arguments in a logical way, making his written and oral submissions convincing and easy to understand, and he is also well-known for being good at explaining the most difficult and complex legal principles and cases in the most straightforward and practical way so that the clients would be able to comprehend them easily.'
Geoffrey Yeung – Denis Chang’s Chambers 'Geoffrey is a junior of the highest calibre. His research skills are excellent and he prepares meticulously, always spotting and addressing effectively the critical issues in a case.'

Administrative and public law in Hong Kong Bar

Denis Chang’s Chambers

Denis Chang’s Chambers is a ‘reputable set of chambers in Hong Kong‘, and among the preeminent sets for high-profile and significant administrative and public law work. It is home to Hectar Pun SC, who is active across a range of judicial review applications, and his client base is broad, representing institutional clients and individuals. Of recent note, Pun SC acted for the appellants in Q and Tse v Commissioner of Registration, a case regarding the refusal of the Commissioner of Registration to amend the gender markers on a transgender person’s Hong Kong identity card away from that of their sex recorded at birth. Administrative and public law specialist Earl Deng is also a key member of the team. Paul Harris SC departed chambers in June 2023 – he is now at Cornwall Street Chambers in Birmingham.

Testimonials

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is a legendary set, with its barristers frequently appearing in high-profile disputes before the Court of Final Appeal. It is the set to go to for any client challenging administrative decisions.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is well-known for its strong practice in public law matters. With its leading silks and strong senior-juniors, as well as young members, Denis Chang’s Chambers remains to be one of the leading and most well-known chambers in town.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is a strong set which renders a wide spectrum of legal service.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is one of, if not the, leading public law set in Hong Kong.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is a reputable set of chambers in Hong Kong, with an emphasis on public law matters.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers has barristers specialising in all of the key practice areas in Hong Kong. It is also singled out as the only set of chambers in Hong Kong that maintains a pre-eminent public law practice alongside a commercial dispute resolution practice.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers is a first port of call on the applicant side of judicial reviews.’

‘Denis Chang’s Chambers offers a variety of counsel and there is always the most satisfactory of collaboration. A distinct feature is that they have counsel experienced in administrative law and continue attracting like-minds, which has become rarer these days.’

Work highlights


Temple Chambers

The team at Temple Chambers is praised as ‘one of the market leaders in public and administrative law litigation with commercial or regulatory dimensions‘. Key Silks include Jin Pao SC and Abraham Chan SC, who represents both applicants and respondents, including corporates, public authorities, and individual claimants in high-profile and complex public law disputes. Anthony Chan SC made Silk in the 2023 round and is active in cases regarding the Basic Law. Chan SC acted in HKSAR v Li, which concerned claims that the conviction of villagers for conspiracy to defraud a public officer when they falsely declared they owned land was in contravention of the Basic Law. Bonnie Cheng is a key junior and she represented the Secretary for Environment and Ecology in a judicial review claim brought by a transgender person on the grounds of discrimination and infringement of the right to privacy based on the Public Conveniences Regulation, which prohibits people entering part of a public toilet that is assigned for the use of the opposite sex. Tim Parker joined the set in November 2023 from Denis Chang’s Chambers.

Testimonials

‘Temple Chambers has a number of barristers who can properly be called experts in the area of public law. They are known particularly for their respondent work, appearing for various public authorities, though their barristers do appear on both sides.’

‘They have significant experience in commercial judicial reviews, and often act as amicus curiae to assist the court in difficult public law cases.’

‘Temple Chambers stands unequalled in the area of administrative and public law in view of its combination of applicant and respondent instructions, the variety of sub-areas covered by its members, the quality of its advocates, and the highly sought after synergy that comes from the set’s strength in both the commercial and public law domains in public and regulatory matters where both private and public law elements combine.’

‘Temple Chambers is a clear leader in the field, particularly in relation to commercial judicial reviews, disputes in statutory tribunals, and the highest-stakes constitutional cases.’

‘Temple Chambers is unparalleled in this practice area in terms of the number of its silks and juniors and the range of their work, including high-value public law disputes with a commercial dimension.’

‘Temple Chambers is by far one of the market leaders in public and administrative law litigation with commercial or regulatory dimensions.’

‘Temple Chambers is a top set in Hong Kong.’