Dr Benny Lo > Des Voeux Chambers > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Lawyer Profile
Des Voeux Chambers Offices
38/F Gloucester Tower
The Landmark
Central, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
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Dr Benny Lo
Career
Dr. Benny Lo graduated from Cambridge University in Law in 2006 (with firsts in contract, equity and land) and subsequently obtained the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (with distinction) from the University of Hong Kong. He was one of the two recipients of the Charles Ching Memorial Scholarship awarded by the Hong Kong Bar Association in 2007.
Benny’s practice focuses on commercial, company, general civil and intellectual property dispute resolution and he advises clients in litigation and international arbitration matters. Of particular note is his wealth of experience in company matters covering a wide spectrum of work including winding-up petitions, shareholder disputes, derivative actions, share capital reductions, appointment of provisional liquidators and injunction applications. Given his technological background, Benny also devotes part of his practice to IP matters as well as commercial matters with an IP element (especially patents, trademarks, copyright and registered design). In recent years, he has developed a substantial practice acting as counsel in arbitrations teamed up with local and international law firms.
Apart from acting as counsel, Benny has a growing practice sitting as an international arbitrator. He is an HKIAC, SIAC, ICC, CIETAC, BAC, LCIA, WIPO, CIArb, FIBA (BAT) and AIAC arbitrator and has been engaged as sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator on commercial, commodities trading, shareholder disputes, intellectual property, maritime, professional negligence, sports and investor-state matters. His jurisdiction award on a public policy issue was concurred with by the Hong Kong High Court in Grandom Asia Holding Ltd v Henry Wai & Co (a firm) [2018] 1HKLRD 808, the first time the Hong Kong court considered the arbitrability of solicitor-client fee disputes. Recently, he was appointed as co-arbitrator in an investment treaty arbitration Jin Hae Seo v The Republic of Korea brought under the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, having sat with a former Judge of the International Court of Justice and a former member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations.
Outside of practice, Benny is also active in public service. He has been appointed by the Chief Justice of Hong Kong to sit as a Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court and as Deputy District Judge. He has also been appointed by the Hong Kong Government to serve on various administrative and quasi-judicial boards and tribunals.
Year of call
- 2008 (Hong Kong)
Languages
English, Cantonese
Memberships
- Temporary Deputy Registrar, High Court (2017, 2019)
- Deputy District Judge (2017)
- HKIAC (General and IP), SIAC, ICC, CIETAC, BAC, LCIA, WIPO, CIArb, FIBA (BAT) and AIAC Arbitrator
- Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Former Visiting Lecturer (International Arbitration and Dispute Settlement postgraduate program), Tsinghua University School of Law
- HKMAAL, HKIAC and WIPO Mediator
- Chairman, Appeal Tribunal Panel (Buildings)
- Member, Liquor Licensing Board, Appeal Panel (Housing) and Fishermen Claims Appeal Board (Trawl Ban)
- Member, Asian Patent Attorneys Association
Lawyer Rankings
Hong Kong Bar > Intellectual property
(Leading Juniors)Benny Lo – Des Voeux Chambers ‘Benny is very knowledgeable, meticulous, and thorough, both on the law and on procedures. The humility that he displays is also impressive and he is extremely easy and comfortable to work with.’
Hong Kong Bar > Commercial disputes
(Leading Juniors)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.’
With ‘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.
Asia Pacific: Regional International Arbitration > Arbitrators
(Leading arbitrators)Benny Lo – Des Voeux Chambers ‘Benny is a very experienced arbitrator who is diligent and careful in his analysis, fair in his rulings and prompt in his responses. He is very experienced in private equity and sale of goods disputes. He is making a name for himself in the arbitrator field in Hong Kong. Benny displays impeccable legal skills in combination with a good grasp of the facts. He is also a pleasure to work on the personal level.’
Asia Pacific: Regional International Arbitration > Arbitration counsel
(Leading Juniors)Benny Lo – Des Voeux Chambers ‘Benny is meticulous, and his advocacy and cross-examination style is superb.’
Hong Kong-based set Des Voeux Chambers is home to Benny Lo, who regularly sits as arbitrator under the auspices of the SIAC, HKIAC, ICC, CIETAC, AIAC, BAC and WIPO. Lo’s workload includes investor-state issues and large-scale commercial matters. Calvin Cheuk is another key figure in the team, who is well-known for his expertise in handling construction arbitrations concerning projects in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and Macau.