Howse Williams

English, Cantonese, Mandarin

William specialises in contentious regulatory work and financial services and commercial litigation. He represents both institutional and individual clients in investigations by regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong on a wide range of matters, including market misconduct, money-laundering, bribery and corruption, mis-selling, internal controls failure, fraud, employee whistleblowing and data breaches.

As a litigator, he has almost 20 years of experience in advising financial institutions, listed and private companies, family offices and high net-worth individuals on high-stake commercial disputes (litigation and arbitration), from pre-action strategy and settlement negotiations, interim injunctive relief, commencement of proceedings and trial, to enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards.

On the advisory side, leveraging his in-house experience William provides counsel on a broad range of regulatory and compliance issues concerning financial institutions and listed companies, including new business initiatives (the drafting of client agreements), licensing issues, internal controls enhancements, as well as emerging trends such as the use of Tech and virtual assets.

William has been ranked by leading legal directories since 2018, including Legal 500 ("Next Generation Lawyer" for Disputes Resolution), IFLR1000 ("Rising Star Partner" in Financial Services Regulatory), Who's Who Legal ("Future Leader" in Investigations), LexisNexis ("40 Under 40") and China Business Law Journal ("20 Rising Stars in international firms").

2022 Howse Williams
2014 Clifford Chance
2011 Credit Suisse
2010 Merrill Lynch
2005 Simmons & Simmons

English, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese

2008 England and Wales
2007 Hong Kong

Member, Law Society of Hong Kong
Member, OLQE Eligibility and Exemption committee, Law Society of Hong Kong
Member, Investment Products and Financial Services Committee, Law Society of Hong Kong (2020-2021)
Member, Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel, HKSAR Government
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

2005 Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, University of Hong Kong
2004 Bachelor of Laws, University of Hong Kong