Mayer Brown > Hong Kong, Hong Kong > Firm Profile

Mayer Brown > The Legal 500 Rankings

Hong Kong > Asset finance (including aviation and shipping finance)

Mayer Brown handles both shipping and aviation finance and has a longstanding reputation in the region. It services major airlines, shipping companies and financiers. Richard Stock, who has almost 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, advises lessors and lessees on secured debt financings. His expertise includes operating lease, finance lease and tax-driven lease products. In the shipping arena, the practice covers both transactional and contentious work, with financing, restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency, and regulatory matters representing key areas of focus. Maggie Cheung and Conor Warde are names to note for shipping matters. Cheung has strong links to leading international and PRC-based financial institutions. Warde is recommended for international transactional, corporate, regulatory and policy matters.

Hong Kong > Construction Tier 1

Led by Geoffrey Chan , Mayer Brown’s five-partner integrated construction and engineering team is well-positioned to advise a diverse array of public and private sector stakeholders on all aspects of Hong Kong-based and regional projects. The group's workload spans a myriad of transactional and regulatory matters, as well as litigation. On the transactional front, much of the deal flow is generated from the firm’s employer side client base and the firm is frequently engaged in big-ticket projects. Menachem Hasofer , who is a co-head of the firm’s international arbitration practice, has extensive expertise in construction/infrastructure disputes; his experience includes judicial reviews and representing public bodies in bid challenges arising under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Mei Ling Lew has the gravitas to advise developers, public bodies and contractors on all the most complex issues arising from litigation, arbitration and mediation. Hong Kong and UK-qualified partner Venna Cheng handles consultancy and construction contracts for building and infrastructure projects. Cheng also handles conventional construction disputes, and alongside Hasofer, is also a key contact for procurement challenges under the GPA.

Hong Kong > Insurance Tier 1

Mayer Brown's team has considerable experience of insurance disputes, including major casualty and property claims, and it also handles professional negligence and cyber security matters. Personal injury and professional indemnity are other key areas of focus for the group, which has been involved in a number high-profile disaster and accident claims in Hong Kong. Angela Yim, who heads up the practice, is recommended for insurance litigation. Tow Lu Lim handles regulatory and compliance matters, claims and dispute resolution, and also advises on cybersecurity and ransomware attacks. Marina Fung has over 20 years of experience in personal injury matters and insurance litigation.

Hong Kong > Labour and employment Tier 1

Mayer Brown fields a ‘well-resourced’ team with ‘unrivalled experience and expertise’ in employment matters. Its dedicated full-service practice is well-supported by its international network, which makes it well-positioned to handle multijurisdictional HR and employment matters. The team has considerable experience of disputes, transactional matters and strategic employment issues. Duncan Abate is recommended for employment and employee benefits law and regulation work. He co-heads the practice with Hong Tran, who handles compliance and discrimination matters. Litigator Jennifer Tam is experienced in representing clients in a range of settings, from the Labour Tribunal to the Court of Final Appeal.

Hong Kong > Real estate Tier 1

Led by Keith Cheung , Mayer Brown advises a range of developers, banks, end-users and investors on the full range of real estate work, which spans commercial, residential and retail properties. In addition to being active in matters relating to Hong Kong and mainland China, the team is also regularly engaged in outbound Chinese investments into international markets, including those in Europe and London. Robert Lyn and Fun Kuen Au have vast experience in the market and remain particularly active in relation to development work; Au is also a legal adviser to the Real Estate Developers Association. Elsewhere in the group, Alvin Yeung is also noted for his development work. Pheona Chow acts for a wide range of clients, including property developers, property management companies, institutional investors, universities and accounting bodies.

Hong Kong > Antitrust and competition Tier 2

Mayer Brown’s antitrust and competition team draws on strength from its global network in Asia, the Americas and Europe to provide a joined-up approach to cross-border matters. The team is led by John Hickin, and Cantonese and Mandarin speaker Hannah Ha; with Hickin handling court disputes work and regulatory investigations, and Ha assisting clients with investigations conducted by the Hong Kong Competition Commission. It acts for large companies and multinational brands, often advising on merger control issues in mainland China, and on interactions with the regulator. Given the firm’s focus on real estate and construction sector, it regularly advises a range of major clients in the sector on their competition needs.

Hong Kong > Banking and finance Tier 2

Mayer Brown advises lenders and borrowers on leveraged and acquisition finance, bi-lateral and syndicated loans, real estate finance, fund finance, structured finance and asset finance matters. It acts for regional and global leading banks and has an extensive presence in the region. Fanny Wang, Francis Chen and Dion Yu have steadily built a strong client base over the years and they act on both domestic and international transactions. Doos Choi advises corporates and financial institutions on multijurisdictional, multi-tiered, full and limited recourse financings. Richard Stock heads the practice.

Hong Kong > Intellectual property Tier 2

Mayer Brown acts for clients in the financial services, manufacturing, retail, luxury and fashion, hospitality and telecoms sectors, among others. Its team excels in managing the IP portfolios of top international brands. In addition, it is also strong in copyright, media and transactional IP matters, as well as licensing transactions and disputes. Gabriela Kennedy, who heads up the Asia IP and TMT group, is recommended for contentious and non-contentious work, including litigation, licensing, strategic advice and portfolio management. Amita Haylock handles trade marks, copyright, designs and patents, and has considerable experience of infringement proceedings relating to software and electronics.

Hong Kong > Restructuring and insolvency Tier 2

Mayer Brown’s restructuring team is regionally integrated, with practitioners in Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, it is well placed to handle matters in the Chinese and South East Asian markets. The team leans on its international network in Europe and the US for support on cross-border mandates and handles corporate debt restructuring for creditors, issuers and other debtors. John Marsden heads the team and has considerable experience in large-scale restructurings and insolvencies. Tom Pugh left for offshore firm Walkers.

Hong Kong > TMT Tier 2

Mayer Brown's 'knowledgeable and responsive' team is a strong choice for advice on transactional, regulatory and contentious matters in the TMT space. Team head Gabriela Kennedy, who provides 'sound and balanced advice', demonstrates prowess in relation to privacy and data security (including in the aftermath of cyber security incidents), as well as media and telecoms regulatory matters. Amita Haycock is 'responsive, commercial and extremely smart'; she stands out for her aptitude at handling telecoms and broadcasting litigation for clients, including in the context of judicial reviews. Elsewhere, the firm is notably active in innovative fintech projects and technology outsourcings, and it is at the forefront of advice to clients on the fast-evolving telecoms industry in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong > Capital markets (debt) Tier 3

Acting on its own, as well as frequently alongside New York and London-based practitioners, Mayer Brown has a strong track record advising on cross-border transactions. As well as work emanating out of Greater China, the team has developed a strong reputation for issuers and underwriters in high growth markets throughout central and south Asia. Team head Jason Elder excels at handling global offerings of investment grade and high yield debt offerings and has developed a particular niche practice advising on debt issuances for sovereigns and companies based out of Mongolia and Indonesia. Thomas Kollar is also recommended and handles Rule 144A/Regulation S transactions.

Hong Kong > Corporate (including M&A) Tier 3

Mayer Brown is well-equipped to support on cross-border transactions; the local practice is led by Hannah Ha, a lawyer who not only enjoys an edge in merger control issues, owing to her status of co-head of the Asian antitrust and competition team but who also thrives in respect of direct investment into China, private equity transactions and general commercial matters. Mark Uhrynuk is the other senior partner on-site, and also co-leads the firm’s private equity practice; he is acclaimed for his guidance on divestiture, joint venture and strategic alliance transactions in addition to international equity and debt capital market deals. The department aims to deliver a full lifecycle offering on transactions from strategy and planning through to exit and directs its focus to a number of heavily regulated sectors which include real estate, transportation, banking, culture, media, pharmaceuticals and insurance.

Hong Kong > Dispute resolution: international arbitration Tier 3

Mayer Brown‘s ‘highly efficient‘ international arbitration team counts disputes arising from construction and infrastructure projects among its specialisms, within which Menachem Hasofer is particularly experienced. Hasofer and John Hickin (who focuses on banking and commercial matters) jointly lead the team alongside Singapore-based Yu-Jin Tay.

Hong Kong > Dispute resolution: litigation Tier 3

Mayer Brown relies upon its local, as well as the firm’s global, expertise in commercial, financial and property litigation; this allows the team to act in cross-border disputes across multiple Asian jurisdictions. Particularly highly experienced in multi-jurisdictional work is John Hickin, who also leads the global litigation practice. Drawing on his prior experience as a Deputy High Court Judge, senior consultant Nicholas Hunsworth is a key contact for insolvency litigation in the financial services sector.

Hong Kong > Structured finance and securitisation Tier 3

Forming an integral part of the firm's global securitisation and derivatives offering, Mayer Brown's Hong Kong-based team excels at advising a range of clients on cross-border mandates, including arrangers, issuers and sponsors. Triple qualified in Hong Kong, New York and UK, Vincent Sum  is an excellent resource for clients requiring multijurisdictional opinions and he is noted for his derivatives expertise, including from a synthetic perspective. Asset finance specialist Richard Stock heads up the firm's overarching banking and finance team and has niche expertise handling structured finance deals in the aviation sector. The arrival in July 2021 of Philip Hyde  from K&L Gates enhanced the firm's capabilities across a range of structured finance, derivatives, and securitisation mandates, particularly in light of his excellent credentials advising trustees.

Hong Kong > Capital markets (equity) Tier 5

Benefiting from strong relationships with regional banks and corporates, and also able to leverage significant global resources, including out of London and New York, Mayer Brown is a popular choice among issuers and underwriters on global offerings and listings. Drawing upon a deep well of regional corporate finance expertise, UK and Hong Kong-qualified team head Billy Au is regularly instructed by Chinese state-owned and privately-owned entities, which are also appreciative of his Chinese language skills.

China > Projects and energy: foreign firms Tier 2

Led from Beijing by the ‘impressive’ Hallam Chow, Mayer Brown provides ‘efficient and effective‘ advice to lenders and equity investors in projects involving gas-fired, coal-fired, renewables, infrastructure and manufacturing facilities. Noted for his ‘solutions-oriented and creative approach’, Chow is particularly effective in advising on complex project finance mandates, often involving a diverse group of finance providers. Recent highlights include advising on outbound mandates across a spread of jurisdictions, including a considerable number of matters for Chinese commercial and development banks engaged in African projects. Boya Shen was promoted to partner in January 2021.

China > Investment funds: foreign firms Tier 3

Addressing the legal, regulatory, tax and commercial challenges facing investment fund clients, Mayer Brown‘s Hong Kong-based practice acts for investment fund sponsors, institutional investors and other market participants in the alternative investment fund space. The principal practitioners are Robert Woll who advises both sponsors and investors, and private equity practice head Mark Uhrynuk who is recommended for establishing private equity, infrastructure and real estate funds, and assisting with private equity and venture capital investments, secondary transactions, and strategic alliances.

China > Restructuring and insolvency: foreign firms Tier 3

The cross-border work of Mayer Brown‘s Asia-Pacific restructuring practice is further supported by restructuring practices in Europe and the Americas. Key areas of focus for the practice include multi-jurisdictional restructuring, multi-bank workouts, liquidations, resumption of trading in listed shares through provisional liquidation mechanisms, and bond restructurings. Hong Kong-based John Marsden leads the team that regularly acts in high-profile and large-scale restructurings and insolvencies mandates, and is supported by Tom Pugh.

China > TMT: foreign firms Tier 3

Fielding ‘a deep bench of experts in the TMT space‘, Mayer Brown‘s Greater China team advises on technology outsourcing, data privacy, telecoms issues, domain name disputes, and regulatory and contentious media matters. In Hong Kong, co-leader of the global IP practice, Gabriela Kennedy, also leads the Asia IP and TMT group, in which recently promoted Amita Haylock is ‘a standout partner‘.

Mongolia > Leading firms Tier 3

Mayer Brown‘s Mongolian offering is located in Hong Kong and led by Jason Elder. The firm offers comprehensive advice across a wide range of transactional corporate matters to a client list of notable sponsors and issuers in a number of first-in-market transactions. Elder is widely regarded for his debt capital market practice, which focuses on high-yield, hybrid and structured-debt products. Thomas Kollar and Nishrin Hussain are also key individuals within the team, both working closely with Elder mainly in multi-jurisdictional capital market transactions.

China > Private equity: foreign firms Tier 4

Mayer Brown‘s Hong Kong-based group leverages the firm’s extensive international network to handle cross-border transactions. In addition to advising sponsors and investment funds on their investments, the practice assists with fund formation, fund finance, separate accounts arrangements, club deals, portfolio transactions, fund administration and regulatory matters. The key advisers are corporate and securities specialist Mark Uhrynuk , regional private equity head Steven Tran, and real estate experts David Ellis  and Ricky Yiu .

South Korea > International arbitration Tier 4

Mayer Brown is mainly instructed by clients in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sectors. The international arbitration team manages numerous LNG sector disputes, including highly specialised gas price review disputes as well as infrastructure and construction disputes across South East Asia. Its capabilities have further expanded with the October 2020 arrival of Paul Teo in Singapore, bringing more than 20 years of experience in arbitration, ADR and litigation matters, with particular focus on China-outbound and Japan-outbound matters. Based in Singapore, Yu-Jin Tay co-leads the team with Menachem Hasofer and John Hickin in Hong Kong.

China > Real estate and construction: foreign firms

Mayer Brown‘s integrated construction and real estate practice is well-equipped to advise a varied array of stakeholders, including funds, developers and end-users, across the gamut of contentious and non-contentious matters throughout Greater China. The ‘sheer volume of deals that they undertake every year is astonishing’ and this ensures that the team has an excellent perspective of market trends across the myriad of development, finance and M&A-related matters intersecting with commercial, residential, retail and logistics properties. While it does handle some contractor work, the construction team is best-known for its employer-side offering, where as well as advising on the front-end of deals  including a major piece of ongoing work for the Hong Kong Jockey Club on the 150-hectare construction of a facility for the training of Hong Kong’s thoroughbred racehorses, it is also extremely adept at advising on any disputes that may subsequently arise. Tom Fu, who splits his time between Hong Kong and Beijing, is leading on the aforementioned matter and is frequently at the forefront of the firm’s most significant construction projects throughout Greater China, as well as outbound and Belt & Road infrastructure and power projects. Shanghai-based partner Andy Yeo takes the lead on most of the highest-profile PRC-based real estate projects and is adept at advising on matters throughout the life cycle of a deal. Beijing-based counsel Rosalyn Han has a well-rounded construction offering and is a key member of the team that also includes Shanghai-based real estate-focused senior associate Ellen Zhang.

China > Intellectual property: foreign firms

Mayer Brown‘s Hong Kong-based IP practice is an active player in diverse sectors ranging from financial services, and construction to retail and TMT. In addition to its IP disputes credentials, the group has developed a sophisticated copyright licensing and franchising practice. Other areas of strength cover strategic IP reviews and audits, portfolio management, domain names, and trade mark advisory and enforcement work. Leading the IP team, Gabriela Kennedy is a member of the HKIAC panel of arbitrators for IP disputes and she handles the full spectrum of IP work, from litigation to licensing. Promoted to partner in 2020, Amita Haylock‘s track record includes a number of copyright and patent infringement proceedings involving software and electronics. Recently elevated to counsel, Michelle Yee predominantly handles non-contentious IP matters.

China > Banking and finance: foreign firms

Mayer Brown‘s team advises on leveraged and acquisition finance and bi-lateral and syndicated loans, along with real estate, structured and asset finance. The practice also houses experienced project and trade finance practitioners. Hallam Chow works with Chinese and international lenders and borrowers on major outbound and inbound transactions in multiple sectors, and project and structured finance expert Boya Shen was elevated to the partnership in January 2021. Richard Stock leads the Asia banking and finance practice from Hong Kong.

Singapore > International arbitration

Mayer Brown‘s international arbitration team is well-versed in energy, infrastructure, construction and TMT sector disputes. The ‘excellent‘ Yu-Jin Tay (who is particularly active in disputes involving Singapore and Indonesia) leads the team alongside Hong Kong-based Menachem Hasofer and John Hickin. Paul Teo‘s arrival in Singapore from Baker McKenzie bolstered the group’s energy and projects international arbitration expertise, as has Kay-Jannes Wegner who has joined from Kim & Chang in South Korea.

China > Corporate and M&A: foreign firms

Mayer Brown is well-equipped to support on cross-border transactions. The practice is led by Hannah Ha in Hong Kong and is adept in a broad variety of transactions including asset sales and purchases, spin-offs, stock transactions, venture capital and private equity transactions, joint ventures and direct inbound investments. The department advises on a balanced mix of strategy and planning through to exit and directs its focus to a number of heavily regulated sectors which include real estate, transportation, banking, culture, media, pharmaceuticals and insurance.

India > Foreign firms

Yu-Jin Tay heads the Mayer Brown International LLP team, based largely in Hong Kong and Singapore, which has an acknowledged reputation for its extensive work in the energy sectors; LNG, traditional oil and gas, renewable power and energy-related commodities. Infrastructure/construction and natural resources are other areas of strength. Renewable energy-related disputes is a growing source of disputes and arbitrations with an India, (Indonesia and Vietnam) aspect. Yu-Jin Tay is a prominent arbitration specialist, well known for his extensive Asian practice, and the group’s international arbitration capabilities have been increased with the arrival of partner Paul Teo in Singapore, who joined from Baker McKenzie FenXun in October 2020, bringing a specialism in construction and infrastructure disputes. Menachem Hasofer and John Hickin in Hong Kong are other noted international arbitration and disputes specialists.