Deacons is a market leader in the employment sphere, which as well as an extensive advisory practice tackling such employment issues as those presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, also boasts an impressive contentious offering which benefits enormously from one of the largest and long-established litigation practices in Hong Kong. Leading the employment team and bringing almost three decades of experience is Cynthia Chung, who in recent years has served as a seasoned advisor to both local and international clients on contemporary issues such as remote working and vaccination requirements. Elsie Chan is widely renowned and respected for her handling of contentious matters, regularly called upon by some of the largest employers in Hong Kong to act in high profile cases, often involving statutory bodies and appearing before the most senior courts. Helen Liao has developed a significant practice guiding employers through the complex and sensitive area of discrimination law.

The ‘outstanding’ offering at Mayer Brown is the consequence of a fully integrated and dedicated group of full-time employment specialists, involved in every aspect of employment law from the advisory and contentious to the coordination of multi-jurisdictional HR projects. The scale of expertise offered is epitomised by the firm’s exceptional client portfolio, consisting of Hong Kong’s largest employers from particularly diverse sectors such as aviation, finance, education and retail. Team head Duncan Abate possesses extensive employment knowledge and advises on the establishment, maintenance and restructuring of retirement and mandatory provident fund schemes. Hong Tran is highly experienced regarding contentious matters, representing employers involved in proceedings from the Labour Tribunal through to the Court of Final Appeal. Jennifer Tam is also an impressive employment litigator, whose practice has an emphasis on discrimination, harassment and data privacy disputes.

The international presence of Bird & Bird allows it to draw on employment expertise from multiple jurisdictions in support of its Hong Kong practice, which has been significantly utilised recently in providing advice on the implementation of cross-border employment projects. Despite relocating to the San Francisco office, Pattie Walsh heads the Asia Pacific employment team and has vast knowledge of the Hong-Kong market and will remain heavily involved in the region; advising international clients on issues such as contracts, high-profile redundancies and workplace reductions. The team has been significantly bolstered by Diana Purdy becoming partner this year, having both extensive advisory and court litigation experience and heading much of the Hong Kong practice in Walsh’s stead. The team is also supported from Shanghai by both Ying Wang and Jeannette Tam.

DLA Piper has not only a particularly strong reputation within the Hong Kong market, but is also one of the dominant employment firms in the Asia Pacific region; acting across a diverse range of key sectors from banking and life sciences to retail and hospitality. The dedicated employment team covers the gamut of employment issues, including contentious and investigative work and complex multi-jurisdictional projects. The team is headed by the hugely experienced and triple qualified Helen Colquhoun, who is sought after by various multinational employers for advice on issues such as risk management, restructuring and senior employee hiring and terminations. Wendy Wong has re-joined Simmons & Simmons in January 2023.

Howse Williams acts across a broad range of employment matters, both contentious and non-contentious, covering a wide range of industry sectors including aerospace and defence, education, healthcare and financial services. The team has in-depth experience advising employers and statutory bodies on internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings, also representing a number of individuals in SFC and HKMA investigations. The team is headed by Patricia Yeung, who has extensive contentious experience and regularly represents plaintiffs and defendants in proceedings from the Labour Tribunal to the High Court.

The established and longstanding employment team at Tanner De Witt has been heavily involved in many of the contemporary issues within the Hong Kong market caused by the global pandemic, including vaccination requirements and remote working. The firm has an extensive advisory practice, providing advice to domestic and international clients in relation to employment documents, potential redundancies and terminations and discrimination claims. The practice still benefits from the wealth of experience provided by employment veteran Kim Boreham, despite stepping into a consultancy role. Russell Bennett is the founder and head of the team, with a significant part of his practice involving advising clients in the financial services industry, particularly when it comes to matters which require input on potential regulatory consequences.

Clifford Chance offers an employment practice well renowned for its capability to handle cross-jurisdictional complex litigation and employment projects for a broad range of clients, especially those in the corporate and financial service sectors. The disruption to the employment market caused by the pandemic has not disturbed the steady practice, having been increasingly active in conducting cross-border projects relating to vaccinations and return to work issues. Team head and senior consultant Anita Lam is highly respected in the Hong Kong market, regularly involved in the most complex employment disputes, internal investigations and contentious exit of C–suite executives. Consultant Vickie Leung joined from Deacons last year to bolster the firm’s non-contentious offering.

Adam Hugill leads the employment team at Hugill & Ip, which covers all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law including individual and mass terminations, high-profile transfers and labour restructurings. The team is also involved in a number of high-profile equal opportunity and discrimination cases, which remains relatively rare in the Hong Kong market. Supporting the team is Christopher Hooley, who has developed a strong reputation regarding the hiring and termination of senior executives and employment strategy advice. Jade Tang bolsters the regional presence, her practice focusing on advising clients throughout PRC and Asia Pacific.

Acting mostly for large corporations headquartered in Hong Kong and multinationals throughout the Asia Pacific region, the employment team at Lewis Silkin boasts specialists across the board on employment matters. The team is particularly skilled when it comes to contentious work and employment litigation, appearing regularly in complex disputes from the Labour Tribunal through to the High Court. Practice head Catherine Leung  has developed an impressive advisory practice, providing employers with strategic guidance through complex data privacy and discrimination issues. The team was bolstered when Jezamine Fewins joined from Stephenson Harwood in 2022, bringing a strong reputation in High Court work involving team moves, restrictive covenants and misuse of confidential information.

As well as a strong base of expertise in Hong Kong, the international presence of Stephenson Harwood results in extensive capabilities in complex cross-border employment work, meaning they are often sought after by large multinational corporations. Team head Ian Childs has a strong advisory practice, especially in regard to employers, guiding them through complex remuneration disputes, terminations and confidentiality breaches. Jezamine Fewins left the firm in 2021 to join Lewis Silkin.

Dentons Hong Kong utilises a global network of employment specialists to offer multinational businesses genuine cross-border expertise, providing assistance across the range of employment issues from employment contracts and policies, to transfers and restrictive covenants. Richard Keady heads the team and has an extensive contentious practice, appearing regularly before the full hierarchy of Hong Kong court’s. He also possesses specialist knowledge of employment disputes arising from regulatory issues, including the relevant codes and guidelines and engaging with regulatory authorities.

Eversheds Sutherland has a dedicated stand-alone employment practice, supporting multi-jurisdictional transactions and focusing on high end strategic matters. The team advises some of the largest and most significant global organisations, navigating them through complex employment issues including Covid-19 working arrangements and termination of senior and C-suite executives. Previous team head and employment veteran Jennifer Van Dale has retired this year, leaving Jack Cai of the Shanghai office and Hong Kong based Mark Hughes leading the team; the latter specialising in managing contentious employment and investigations.