Des Voeux Chambers is home to a number of ‘top notch barristers’, who are widely described as ‘excellent and easy to work with.’ Insolvency is a particular strength for members of the set, with senior barristers José-Antonio Maurellet SC and Rachel Lam SC leading on a number of high value insolvency matters. At the junior end, Catrina Lam is acting in many complex commercial disputes, dealing with developments of law in a range of contract and company law matters. Connie Lee and Cherry Xu possess strength in liquidation matters. Lee successfully led in Yeung Man v. New Winning Finance Company Limited, handle a series of enforcement and recovery actions. Kerby Lau continues to broaden his practice, often acting unled in a range of complex commercial matters. Frances Lok SC took May 2024, recently leading in the matter of In re Shimao Group Holdings Limited acting for China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited.
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Mentions
Profile
Career
Connie obtained double First Class Honours in both BSS (Govt. & Laws) and LLB at the University of Hong Kong as well as her master degree in Bachelor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford.
She was awarded the Bar Scholarship before she joined Chambers in 2009.
She has a broad practice in commercial litigation and arbitration including those with cross-border elements and with particular experience in company and insolvency matter. She regularly represents liquidators and trustees in bankruptcy in insolvency related proceedings.
She also advises on regulatory investigations and competition law matters. She has experience in representing directors of Listcos in disciplinary proceedings of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (both before the Listing Committee and the Listing Appeal Committee). She represented the SFC in the first trial for reversing an IPO (over a HK$1 billion buy-back offer) : SFC v. Hontex International Holdings CACV 128/2012 & HCMP630/2010. Recently, she is representing a Listco to stay and review the Insurance Authority’s decision to appoint managers to take over the largest taxis insurer in Hong Kong: Target Insurance (Holdings) Limited v. Insurance Authority ITA/1/2022.
Since 2016, she has been appointed to the Competition Commission’s Panel of External Counsel. She represented one of the parties in the first trial on market sharing and price-fixing as well as the first determination of penalty and its appeal in Hong Kong: Competition Commission v. W. Hing Construction Company Limited & Ors, CTEA 2/2017.
She is also the exclusive winner of Lexology’s Client Choice Award 2022 – Hong Kong – Competition.
Connie also sits as an arbitrator in both administered and ad hoc arbitrations. Since 2018, Connie has been regularly appointed to sit as a Deputy District Judge and Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court. Currently, she also serves on 6 administrative and quasi-judicial boards and tribunals.
Year of call
- 2009 (Hong Kong)
Languages
Cantonese, English, Putonghua
Memberships
Statutory Board/Tribunal, Advisory Panels
- Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court (2020 & 2022)
- Deputy District Judge (2018, 2019, 2021 & 2023)
- Member of the Appeal Panel (Estate Agents Ordinance) since January 2021
- Chairman of Appeal Boards (the Entertainment Special Effects Ordinance) from June 2020
- Chairman of the Appeal Panel (Housing) since February 2020
- Member of the Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance) since January 2020
- Adjudicator of the Immigration Tribunal since October 2019
- Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal Panel (Buildings) since December 2018
- Panel of External Counsel to the Competition Commission since 2016
- Member of the HKIAC List of Arbitrators
- Member of the Panel of Arbitrators of NAC, SHIAC and SHAC
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- Fellow, Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand INC
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Women in Arbitration initiative (WIA) appointed under the auspices of the HKIAC since 2020
- Vice Chairman, Hong Kong Bar Association, Committee on Competition Law
- Member, Hong Kong Bar Association, Committee on Company Law (2018)
Education
- BCL(OXON)
- PCLL (HKU)
- LLB(HKU)
- BSS(Govt&Laws)(HKU)
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'I have always been impressed by Des Voeux Chambers and most of the members I have instructed there. The Chief Clerk Elaine Chan is always a pleasure to deal with and is highly responsive.'
- 'DVC is the leader. From the most junior barrister to experienced silks, they provide effective and commercial legal solutions and are overall extremely strong advocates.'
- 'Highly respected Chambers with strength in depth at all levels'
- 'The range of talent in DVC is unparalleled in any chambers in Hong Kong. They are diligent and user-friendly, and well understand clients' needs. Their junior barristers are well supported and have plenty of opportunities to grow.'
- 'The Des Voeux Chambers as a whole has some of most competent counsel in Hong Kong with people specialising in different fields. They charge reasonable fees and are very efficient in providing their services.'
- 'DVC is pre-eminent in contentious insolvency and commercial dispute, from Senior silks to baby juniors.'
- 'I believe that Des Voeux Chambers as a whole is strong and available in handling commercial disputes. They are capable and well-trained to deal with matters of high level of complexity.'
- 'DVC has a wide range of barristers with different seniority and experience especially in commercial disputes. They have been involved in some of the big commercial dispute matters.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers is a set of chambers with many excellent-skilled barristers who are professional, approachable and easily accessible to solicitors and clients. They are fully equipped to act in any type of complex commercial litigation and arbitrations.'
- 'Des Voeux Chambers has a good mixed of senior counsel and junior counsel of different seniority. It has a team of very dedicated members who spend a great of time of recruiting and training law students with potentials to become pupils and future tenants of the chambers. This in turn helps to ensure the quality of all new tenants of the chambers.'