Data Privacy

Adam Hugill interviews Frances Lok of Des Voeux Chambers about her path that lead her to build a strong career as a barrister in Hong Kong. They elaborate about some contentious employment matters they worked on together in the past 15 years as well as some other cases that Frances deals with, including some in the contentious probate area.

Frances also discusses her temporary appointments as a judge in the District Court and High Court of Hong Kong and development related to growing work concerning Mainland Chinese parties and arbitration.

SHOW NOTES:
04:07 A career at the Hong Kong Bar
07:15 Anton Piller cases
10:02 “Merry Christmas, Frances” and the BFAM v Mills case
13:22 Increasing number of arbitration cases
15:51 Contentious probate practice
18:16 The role as a judge

Transcripts and more on our Employment practice: https://www.hugillandip.com/2024/01/the-barrister-series-s5e2-employment-law-with-frances-lok/

Frances Tsang speaks to Azan Marwah and Alfred Ip about the role of barristers vs solicitors and the importance that each role takes in contentious proceedings in Court, especially within the Hong Kong Family court. They discuss some examples of legal matters they have worked on together, during a collaboration that goes back a long time.

They also highlight the recent growing trend of some clients who are self-represented in Court and several specifics related to pre-nuptial agreements, inheritance provisions for dependants. Azan Marwah concludes talking about his passion for public law and pro-bono work and how helping people has always driven many of his professional and personal choices.

Show Notes
03:43 The role of a barrister vs the role of a solicitor
07:55 Financial statements and Form E in divorce proceedings
09:43 Where a financial claim starts and strategy
13:32 Advocacy skills and court work
19:08 Some cases we worked together
22:53 Self-representation in court
25:36 Why do pre-nuptial agreements matter?
35:09 Inheritance provisions for financial dependants
42:01 A passion for public law
45:18 Pro-bono and community service

Get transcripts and subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.hugillandip.com/2023/10/the-barrister-series-s5e1-financial-disputes-in-family-law-azan-marwah/

Exciting Announcement: soon the HIP talks will introduce a new legal podcast series, “The Barrister Series"!

In this innovative series, we will delve into the world of contentious legal matters, exploring a wide range of thought-provoking topics through discussions between renowned solicitors and barristers. Prepare to be captivated by insightful conversations, intriguing case studies, and expert analysis that will shed light on the complexities of the legal realm.

Our Alfred Ip discusses essential considerations related to the distribution of trust assets with Kerby Lau and Joshua Yeung of Des Voeux Chambers.

The DVC Trusts, Estates and Succession Series is a collection of seminars and events on topical issues and developments in the law concerning trusts and estates, being explored through the practitioner’s perspective. It aims to create a forum for the exchange of ideas between different stakeholders and practitioners.

In this inaugural seminar, the focus is on a commonly-used mechanism in structuring wealth and assets: the discretionary trust/power. In the absence of any fixed stipulations as to how assets should be distributed, what guidance does the trustee/administrator have when distributing and dealing with assets? What are the limits of such discretion? What are the pitfalls to avoid? These practical questions and more will be discussed and explored.

Download the presentation: https://www.hugillandip.com/2023/09/webinar-distributing-and-dealing-with-trust-assets-the-boundaries-of-discretion/

Tiffany Leung and Adam Hugill discuss anti-discrimination laws and the role of the Equal Opportunities Commission in Hong Kong, highlighting details of the process, its confidentiality, the efforts made to reach a conciliation and the eventuality of initiating an action at District Court level.

Show Notes
01:31 Anti-discrimination laws in Hong Kong
02:10 Who’s the EOC
03:27 The scope of the EOC
04:38 The complaints process
09:32 Confidentiality of the investigation
10:37 The conciliation process
14:20 Costs related to District Court actions

More on our Employment practice: https://www.hugillandip.com/legal-services/employment-and-immigration/

Transcript: https://www.hugillandip.com/2023/07/podcast-s4e6-employment-anti-discrimination-the-eoc/

Tiffany joined Hugill & Ip in 2022 as an Associate at the firm’s Dispute Resolution team.

Tiffany obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was admitted and enrolled as a Solicitor of The High Court of Hong Kong in 2020. She has experience in handling a wide spectrum of contentious commercial and civil matters including shareholders’ disputes, commercial litigation, contractual disputes and matrimonial matters.

Tiffany also has experience in non-contentious matters including drafting commercial agreements and assisting private clients in drafting wills, grants of probate and enduring powers of attorney.

Tiffany is a food lover and likes exploring new restaurants with likeminded people. She also enjoys hiking and travelling.

Tiffany is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

To learn more: https://www.hugillandip.com/solicitors/tiffany-leung/

Alfred Ip and Azan Marwah talk about the difficult subject of death, giving real-life examples of same-sex couples who have struggled through the existing legal framework. They reflect on how those hurdles faced by same-sex couples can be just as significant as those facing heterosexual couples – if not more so.

They discuss related issues of mental capacity and guardianship, as well as Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPOA) and Advance Health Directives.

Azan addresses arrangements for the disposal of the bodies of loved ones.  He recounts the example of a recent client’s struggles, which ended up in court.  This case led to the recognition that same-sex couples must be treated equally with heterosexual couples. To understand more about this case, you can check our live seminar and webinar “Estate Planning Advice for Same-Sex Couples” that Alfred Ip and Henry Li previously conducted in Chinese for elements/Project Touch BGCA.

They go on highlighting changes related to inheritance rights for same-sex spouses whose counterparts die without a Will, commonly called ‘intestate’. Complications are many, often caused by incorrect assumptions such as that a spouse will always inherit the entirety of the estate or other issues like domicile, property rights, charitable gifts, the inexistence of a common law marriage, etc.

Azan and Alfred conclude the webinar by delving into the topic of inheritance provisions for financial dependants and how this also applies to same-sex partners. In many circumstances, these cases can get rather ugly as they often involve opposite camps of beneficiaries and complex family estate disputes. They explain how making a simple Will can for most people prevent such costly litigation.

SHOW NOTES:
00:14 Hurdles that same-sex couples face when a spouse is ill or passes away
03:53 Mental capacity and Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPOA)
07:00 Access to a spouse’s dead body and post-mortem arrangements
11:36 Inheritance rights when dying intestate
16:39 Inheritance provisions for financial dependants

the HIP pride hub page: https://www.hugillandip.com/the-hip-pride/

Private Client, Probate & Trust practice: https://www.hugillandip.com/legal-services/private-client-probate-trust/

Alfred Ip and Azan Marwah discuss family planning and marriage as a protection of a couple’s (and their children’s) interests.

They discuss adoption: from intra-family to step-parent adoption. So far, no married same-sex couple has brought forward any legal proceedings to adopt jointly; most children adopted by same-sex couples are adopted by one of the couple as a single parent. Similarly, nobody has challenged the bar that a single male parent can only adopt a child of the same gender as the applicant. 

Another topic Alfred and Azan speak about is in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and the lack of recognition of the rights of the non-gestational mother. Applying for a guardianship order is one of the first steps that couples in such situations should be proactive about and protect their rights and their children’s. Azan also explains the difference between guardianship orders, parental orders and adoption orders, whether obtained in Hong Kong or abroad.

They also touch upon the minefield of surrogacy arrangements – including parental rights, possible criminal liabilities and the role of the surrogate mother. Getting legal advice at the outset is paramount!

SHOW NOTES:
00:30 Marriage as a protection shield
02:27 Adoption
08:06 IVF
09:59 The difference between guardianship orders, parental orders and adoption orders
13:39 Surrogacy

Alfred Ip and Azan Marwah talk about divorce and the right to legally dissolve a same-sex marriage. They speak about the three big questions related to divorce (in general): the breakup of a relationship, the split of assets, the issues related to custody of children.

SHOW NOTES:
00:40 Dissolving a same-sex marriage
04:00 Children’s rights and AA v BB court case
07:40 Complications linked to non-traditional married couples
16:56 Communication as key element
19:11 Compensation and the concept of fairness
25:46 Prenups and wealth planning tools

the HIP pride transcripts and more > https://www.hugillandip.com/2023/06/to-divorce-or-not-to-divorce/

Alfred Ip and Azan Marwah discuss the importance of marriage and the value of family within society, including same-sex couples. Such value needs to extend protections afforded to everyone as a fundamental right, also when things break down, for example in case of divorce.

Alfred Ip provides practical reasons why same-sex couples should still get married (overseas): examples span from stamp duty to basic protections related to inheritance. He also comments on the high cost of time, pressure and money for individuals, the government and tax-payers to have these cases heard in court. Azan Marwah points out the need for more people to come forward and bring challenges in order to keep the pace of progress. Moreover, he highlights the rights that these individuals have in being protected by anonymity.

SHOW NOTES:
00:32 The importance of marriage and its value in society
03:55 Evolution of marriage in Hong Kong
08:05 Landmark court cases
13:36 Failing to implement new legislation
16:42 Practical reasons to get married
18:50 Rewards of changing the status quo
21:33 Anonymity orders