One of the dominant players in the region, King & Wood Mallesons boasts a deep bench of experienced litigators in China and Hong Kong, offering clients broad coverage in Asia-Pacific supported by a wide international network. The firm represents clients before all levels of court and various arbitration tribunals, including CIETAC, HKIAC and ICC. The Hong Kong office is especially known for its construction and international arbitration capability. The firm is also active in contentious financial services regulatory work.
Key names in the commercial and international arbitration space include Yuwu Liu and Ariel Ye in China and Paul Starr and Barbara Chiu in Hong Kong. Beijing-based Zhongsheng Li and Jing Xu are notable in IP disputes and Kuncheng Zhao is known for insolvency. Edmund Wan in Hong Kong is a key name for construction. Chiu is also active in the regulatory and white-collar space together with Rachel Yu.
In a construction dispute example, the firm represented Global Switch Hong Kong in disputes under the design and construct contract and the negotiation of a new design and construct contract for the expansion of the almost complete data centre. It also acted for the Hong Kong Competition Commission in three of the first four cases prosecuted by the Commission concerning the breach of the Competition Ordinance by making and giving effect to market sharing and price-fixing agreements.
Other notable case highlights include acting for CMIG International Capital in commencing bankruptcy proceedings against the guarantor providing guarantees for two defaulted loans; and advising X-Fab Sarawak, an international microchip manufacturing group listed in Europe, on commercial fraud investigations and tracing of lost funds.
During the research period, Rachel Yu joined the firm from Herbert Smith Freehills as partner who focuses on financial litigation and regulatory investigations.
Clients of the firm include Industrial Bank Financial Leasing, Invictus International School, Sequoia Capital China Advisors, Shandong Chenming Paper and Qingdao Haier Medical.
