LC Lawyers LLP > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Firm Profile

LC Lawyers LLP
Suite 3106, 31/F One Taikoo Place
979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay
Hong Kong

The firm: LC Lawyers LLP is an independent law firm, and the Hong Kong law firm member of the EY global network, in collaboration with other law firm members.

Our lawyers provide comprehensive legal services for:

  • mergers and acquisitions, amalgamations, listed company takeovers, privatizations, reverse takeovers, disposals, joint ventures, partnerships, tender offers, auctions and spin-offs
  • corporate restructuring and taxation optimization
  • listings and public offerings (including IPOs, dual listing, secondary offerings), corporate finance (equity and debt), pre-IPO investments, pre-IPO strategic corporate reorganizations, post-listing compliance, corporate governance, post-IPO securities offerings and spin-off listing
  • debt offerings including Eurobonds, dim sum bonds, bonds of investment grades, high-yield bonds and green bonds
  • fund formation, private equity and asset management
  • debt restructurings, insolvency, re-financing, angel investments
  • pre-acquisition due diligence, post-acquisition risk assessment and integration to reduce the risk of successor-liability issues, internal controls and governance
  • employment contracts, discrimination and harassment issues, employment disputes
  • financial services
  • commercial contracts
  • employee share-based incentive plans
  • family enterprises, wealth management, family trusts

Corporate/M&A: We represent multinational, PRC and Hong Kong corporations, financial institutions, listed issuers, private equity and asset management, governmental authorities and official bodies, as well as private clients on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions.

EY Law: EY Law network consists of over 3,400 professionals providing legal services in more than 90 jurisdictions globally to offer clients cross-border and integrated legal services with a sector-focused multidisciplinary approach.

With the wide coverage, EY Law is equipped to provide tailored solutions for clients to overcome the complex cross-border regulatory environment and advise on Belt-and-Road Initiatives. EY Law, together with EY’s services lines, provides extensive multidisciplinary services on cross-border investments (including Belt and Road Initiatives) in areas such as project assessment, governmental relations, project financing, project life cycle management, documentation, legal compliance, transactional management and corporate social responsibility.

Awards and accolades

  • asialaw Profiles: Recommended Firm in Capital Markets (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
  • asialaw Profiles: Notable Firm in Corporate and M&A (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
  • asialaw Awards: Award Winner for Hong Kong Client Service Excellence (2021), Finalist for Hong Kong SAR Firm of the Year (2022/23)
  • asialaw Client Service Excellence Awards: Award Winners for the Highest Rated Law Firm to work with of the Year in Corporate and M&A: Hong Kong (2021), Capital Markets: Hong Kong (2021)
  • Asia Legal Awards: Finalists for Securities Deal of the Year: Equity (2022), Intra-Asia M&A Deal (2023)
  • ALB M&A Rankings: Notable Firm for the Hong Kong market (2020, 2021, 2022)
  • ALB China Law Awards: Finalist for China Practice, Asian Law Firm of the Year (2020)
  • ALB Hong Kong Law Awards: Finalists for Rising Law Firm of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022), Transactional Boutique Law Firm of the Year (2022), Financial Deal of the Year (2022)
  • China Business Law Journal Deals Awards: Award Winners in Pro-bono service (2020), Capital Markets (2022)
  • China Business Law Awards: Award Winners in Automotive, Industrials and manufacturing (2023), Pro-bono Achievers (2021), Technology & Telecom (2021)
  • CORHUB-HKMOB Awards: Award Winner for Asia’s Most Trusted Legal Consulting Services of the Year (2021)
  • Financial Times “FT Innovative Lawyers Awards”: Top 20 Most Innovative Law Firms as “Highly Commended” Responsible Law Firm in Asia-Pacific (2020), “Commended” Innovative Practice of Law in Asia-Pacific (2020)
  • Global Law Experts: Recommended M&A Firm in Hong Kong (2021/22, 2022/23)
  • IFLR1000: Notable Firm in M&A (2020, 2021, 2022), Capital Markets: Equity (2021, 2022), Capital Markets: Debt (2022), Restructuring and Insolvency (2021, 2022)
  • IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards: Finalists for Most Innovative National Law Firm of the Year (2021), National Law Firm of the Year: Hong Kong SAR (2022), Jurisdictional Law Firm: Hong Kong SAR (2023)
  • In-House CommunityFirms of the Year Awards: Firm of the Year for Hong Kong Corporate and M&A (2022), Honourable Mention for Hong Kong Corporate and M&A (2021)
  • Legal 500 Asia Pacific: Tier Two in Commercial, corporate and M&A, independent Hong Kong law firms (2023)
  • Legal 500 Asia Pacific: Firm to Watch in Corporate (including M&A): Hong Kong (2022, 2023)
  • Leaders in Law: Recommended M&A Firm in Hong Kong (2022, 2023)
  • Legal Media 360: Ranked Firm as a Hong Kong: Domestic Multi-practice Firm (2021, 2022, 2023)
  • Lexology: Legal Influencer in Q1/2021 Future of legal services – Cross-border (2021)
  • The Law Society of Hong Kong: Gold Law Firm Award in Pro-bono service (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
Department Name Email Telephone
Corporate/M&As and Managing Partner Rossana Chu rosssana.chu@eylaw.com.hk +852 26291768
Corporate Finance LI Fai fai.li@eylaw.com.hk +852 26291722
Office Manager Claudia Woo claudia.woo@eylaw.com.hk +852 26293206
Photo Name Position Profile
ROSSANA CHU photo Ms ROSSANA CHU Rossana Chu is the Managing Partner and Partner of Corporate/M&A Department of…
LI FAI photo Mr LI FAI LI Fai is a Partner of LC Lawyers LLP.  He has significant…
DIANE FAN photo Ms DIANE FAN Diane Fan, is a Counsel of LC Lawyers LLP, advises on U.S.…
Partners : 3
Lawyers : 5
In EY global network : 3,400+
English
Mandarin
Cantonese
EY Law network
EY Global Network (previously Ernst & Young)

CLIENT: Philip NG – Head of Legal and Compliance, Legal and Compliance Department
COMPANY/FIRM: CMB International Capital Corporation Limited
TESTIMONIAL: Rossana Chu of LC Lawyers is undoubtedly a seasoned and experienced legal practitioner with plenty of skills to offer. From mega M&A and corporate finance deals to ad hoc specific advice in relation to some SFC’s rules, she has consistently demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the letter of the law whilst the commercial practicality and usefulness of the advice is never compromised. Her understanding of Chinese institutions, culture and complexity involved is unrivalled, including deals and transactions with cross border elements. Her responsiveness to questions has been impressive even during unsociable hours. Overall, you will get what you wanted at a very reasonable price and in a timely manner.


CLIENT: Horace CHU – Director
COMPANY/FIRM: Ample Capital Limited
TESTIMONIAL: LC Lawyers has been acted as Ample Capital Limited’s lawyer on a Hong Kong IPO engagement. I am very impressed by the professionalism of Rossana and her team. Her team has excellent IPO and listing rule knowledge, which made them capable on advising various complex legal issues during the IPO process. I will recommend Rossana and her team to others without any hesitation.


CLIENT: Ricky LAI – Company Secretary
COMPANY/FIRM: HKC (Holdings) Limited
TESTIMONIAL: As a Hong Kong listed company engaged in property development and investment as well as renewable energy business in China, we are constantly facing different compliance and legal challenges from both jurisdictions. Rossana Chu and her firm has constantly provided valuable advices and resources in helping us to deal with these challenges and to resolve them in a more than satisfactory manner. They are true professionals and valuable partners to us.


CLIENT: Lewis LAI – Director
COMPANY/FIRM: Red Sun Capital Limited
TESTIMONIAL: LC Lawyers has been advising us on an IPO engagement, the team is led by the highly experienced Rossana Chu. I am very impressed with the professionalism of Rossana and her team. They have been attentive and excellent throughout the course of the engagement. Their IPO legal advice is practical and to the point. The engagement team has good IPO knowledge with strong business acumen. We would recommend Rossana and her team to others without any hesitation.


CLIENT: LU Tao – Investment Director
COMPANY/FIRM: Hanergy Mobile Energy Holding Co., Ltd.
TESTIMONIAL: Rossana Chu, Managing Partner of LC Lawyers LLP and her team have been legal advisers worthy of our trust. They are able to deal with complex transactions in an ever-changing environment. Their practical insights and professional legal advice help Hanergy in making informed decisions. We cannot think of our work without her help in the complex process of listing and delisting, and also working with regularities.


CLIENT:  Daphne TSE – Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
COMPANY/FIRM:  Greenheart Group
TESTIMONIAL:  I have worked with Rossana and her team for many years.  Her team was very responsive and quick to provide solutions.  Rossana provides us with wise counsel and good guidance.  I am extremely pleased with the level of professionalism and expertise Rossana and her team has brought to our company over the years.   Rossana is well versed with the Hong Kong Listing Rules and Takeover Codes. Her experience and knowledge gives us a sense of confidence that a true professional is always standing shoulder to shoulder with us to safeguard our company’s interest anytime if needed.


CLIENT: Steve LEE – Financial Controller and Company Secretary
COMPANY/FIRM: IMS Group Holdings Limited
TESTIMONIAL: Rossana and her team have provided continuous support to our company and helped us resolve every technical issue that we encountered in our day-to-day operation. They are responsive and the advices they provided are all-rounded and insightful. The services they delivered always meet our needs and may even go above and beyond our expectations.


CLIENT: Joyce H.T. Li – Assistant Financial Controller
COMPANY/FIRM: Chun Wo Property Development Limited (Subsidiary of Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited)
TESTIMONIAL: LC Lawyers LLP achieved remarkable results. Not only was the team professionally strong, but also had the ability to stand in customer’s perspective and consider issues, and it effectively helped us solve many key issues. This kind of selflessness and feelings can’t be felt at other partners. The Managing Partner of LC Lawyers LLP, Rossana Chu, is an experienced lawyer and a successful leader. We have maintained long-term cooperation with her and her team. Her help for us is all-round. She gave us guidance in strategic height in addition to professional one.


CLIENT: Keres Pang – Company Secretarial Manager
COMPANY/FIRM: Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 00711)
TESTIMONIAL: LC Lawyers LLP has become the legal adviser worthy of our company. We are very satisfied with their performance. Rossana and her staff stayed in close contact with us and are highly professional, thoughtful, and very experienced and knowledgeable professional service and client advocate. We are thankful that we selected LC Lawyers LLP to represent us and would highly recommend them.


CLIENT: Bill Zhou (General Counsel) and Alice Song (Legal Counsel)
COMPANY/FIRM: Fullshare Holdings Limited
TESTIMONIAL: LC Lawyers LLP has achieved spectacular results in a short period of time. The firm is led by Managing Partner, Ms. Rossana Chu, a very experienced lawyer and to whom we have long cooperation relationship with. We are grateful to have worked with a team of competent professionals who have extensive knowledge in corporate finance and capital markets, who not only provide high standard legal services responsively, but are also communicative and understanding to what clients really need.


CLIENT: Kelly Tai, Company Secretary
COMPANY/FIRM: Li Ning Company Limited
TESTIMONIAL: We have known Ms. Rossana Chu, the Managing Partner of LC Lawyers LLP, for many years and she and her team are always the legal counsel we think of when we need legal advices. Both Rossana and her professional team are practically experienced in the capital markets and corporate finance fields. With their efficient high-quality work and attentiveness to clients, it is always reassuring to work with Rossana and her team.


CLIENT: Douglas MACLEAN – Executive Director
COMPANY/FIRM: Justice Without Borders
TESTIMONIAL: Kareena and her team’s achievement in this pro bono project not only significantly improves access to justice of the underprivileged applicants, but also takes Hong Kong one big step forward towards use of technology and video link in Hong Kong’s dispute resolution systems.


CLIENT: Tommy POON – Head of Compliance, Legal and Compliance Department
COMPANY/FIRM: CMB International Capital Corporation Limited
TESTIMONIAL: As the managing director of LC Lawyers, Rossana consistently performs her job at an exemplary level specializing in the legal areas of regulatory, corporate commercial and China practice. In particular, Rossana’s expertise in regulatory and compliance area is evidenced in her extensive knowledge of local regulatory regimes and Chinese legal practices, offering valued insight and advice to our various deals and transactions. Throughout the years of cooperation with Rossana, she has always been a dependable, highly responsive lawyer, constantly going above and beyond the call of duty in pursuing excellence at work, yet charging a fair and reasonable fee. With the aforementioned skills, knowledge and work attitude, she is our go-to lawyer and I undoubtedly nominate her for the award.


CLIENT: Dennis WONG – Chief Financial Officer
COMPANY/FIRM: Siberian Mining Group Company Limited
TESTIMONIAL: Ms. Rossana Chu is an extremely experienced lawyer. Before she takes up her present role as Managing Partner of LC Lawyers LLP, I knew her since July 2012 (more than 10 years ago) when she was a Partner of Baker McKenzie. She is well versed with Hong Kong Laws, Listing Rules, Securities and Futures Ordinance, Takeovers Code, etc. She from time to time rendered professional legal advices, assisted our company (a Hong Kong Mainboard Listed Company) to deal with regulators (such as Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Securities and Futures Commission, Financial Reporting Council, etc.). One of her most remarkable achievements is to lead the successfully trading resumption of our company, without her, it would be impossible. Our company always appreciates her professional attitudes, she never gives false hope to us and she always frankly and honestly analyses the situation for us and advises us the best available option. Our company always treasures her contribution.

HKD-RMB Dual Counter Model in Hong Kong’s stock market

The Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)-Renminbi (RMB) Dual Counter Model was launched in the Hong Kong stock market on 19 June 2023.

Listing in Hong Kong of a World Bank catastrophe bond

WORLD BANK CATASTROPHE BOND Hong Kong has taken another step in developing the city as a leading international risk management center. On 28 March 2023, a US$350 million World Bank catastrophe bond was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange[1]. This is the first World Bank bond and the first catastrophe bond ever listed in Hong Kong. This catastrophe bond is also supported by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority which administers a grant scheme established in 2021 to encourage the development of the insurance-linked securities market in Hong Kong[2]. THE ISSUER The issuer is International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) which is part of the World Bank Group, and the bond was issued in form of floating rate notes (Notes). The Notes issue is a risk coverage transaction for Chile to manage the country’s earthquake risks. On the date the Notes, the Republic of Chile and IBRD entered into an insurance agreement, under which IBRD will make payouts to Chile upon occurrence of an earthquake that fulfills certain conditions, and Chile will pay insurance premium which is linked with the interest payable under the Notes. The insurance arrangement allows Chile to mitigate the potentially disruptive economic effect of earthquakes (including resulting tsunamis) affecting Chile on its budget and to reduce any need for increases of debt or for transitory tax increases to address those economic effects. IBRD issued the Notes to support its obligation to make payouts to Chile under the insurance agreement upon occurrence of an earthquake. Accordingly, one unusual feature of the Notes is that the outstanding principal amount may be reduced by the payout amounts if an earthquake occurs in Chile. The noteholders may lose all or a portion of the Notes principal. THE INVESTORS The Notes were offered and sold only to professional investors including qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and those professional investors who meet the requirement under the Insurance (Special Purpose Business) Rules (Cap. 41P of the Laws of Hong Kong). That essentially means that the Notes were not sold to the public or retail investors in Hong Kong due to the peculiar and risky nature of the Notes. SOFR The interest of the Notes is payable on a monthly basis and the interest rate is linked to (a) index values published by the administrator of the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) which currently is the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, (b) the funding margin which is of 0.04% per annum and (c) the applicable risk margin which is generally 4.75% per annum. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee convened by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identified on 22 June 2017 the SOFR as the rate that represented best practice for use in certain new US dollar derivatives and other financial contracts. The SOFR is also a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralised by US treasury securities. MATURITY DATE The maturity date of the Notes is 31 March 2026 but may be extended to 30 June 2026 under certain circumstances. On the other hand, the Notes may be redeemed by IBRD in some situations such as if insurance agreement entered with Chile is terminated. TYPES OF CONDITIONS A payout is to be made to Chile if the earthquake fulfills three types of conditions, namely, (a) earthquake location condition, (b) depth condition and (c) magnitude condition. The payout rate depends on the magnitude measured in terms of the total seismic energy radiated from the earthquake rupture. FROM THE SPOKESPEOPLE Mr. Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank, said that the World Bank is pleased to support the Government of Chile in their efforts to leverage capital markets to secure financial protection in case of earthquakes. This catastrophe bond is an example of how the World Bank can provide financial solutions to support the disaster risk management strategies of the member countries. The World Bank is proud to have partnered with the Hong Kong Insurance Authority and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on this transaction that was very well-received by both the capital markets and the reinsurance market. To date, the World Bank has provided almost US$6 billion in insurance coverage for clients through risk transfer transactions2. Mr. Stephen Yiu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Insurance Authority, indicated that given that the frequency and intensity of natural disasters are on the rise, Hong Kong will continue to offer staunch support as a risk management center to bolster safety and resilience of the global community2.
By Rossana Chu, Managing Partner, LC Lawyers LLP
[1] https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0328/2023032800239.pdf and https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0327/2023032700232.pdf [2] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/03/28/world-bank-and-hong-kong-partner-on-a-350-million-cat-bond-for-chile

LC Lawyers receives the 2021 Gold Law Firm Award and four Individual Awards

The Hong Kong Law Society announced the results of Pro Bono and Community Work Recognition Programme 2021 (“the 2021 Programme”) on 29 November 2021.  We are delighted to announce that LC Lawyers LLP has won five accolades at the 2021 Programme including Pro Bono Law Firm Award and four Individual Awards.