Sidley Austin regularly represents clients in cross-border disputes and regulatory and enforcement actions. With a growing international arbitration practice, the firm is frequently called upon to advise on complex arbitration matters, both in commercial and investor-state arbitrations. The firm is adept in handling major multijurisdictional investigations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters across the region, particularly sought after by clients in the energy, PE funds, fintech and financial services sectors.
Yuet Ming Tham is recognised for her white-collar crime work while Friven Yeoh is reputable in the commercial litigation and international arbitration space.
In commercial and transactions, the firm is currently representing a Hong Kong-listed company and its affiliates in a high-stakes Hong Kong High Court action. The case involves a breach of a distribution agreement for cross-border sales of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and seeks damages exceeding $30 million. Notably, this litigation has been ongoing for nearly a decade, making it a highly significant and intricate matter. The complexity arises not only from the intricate contractual and tortious claims that necessitate meticulous analysis but also owing to the niche nature of the PCB industry, which limits available case precedents in Hong Kong.
In February 2023, Stephanie Chan joined the firm as a partner from Reed Smith Richards Butler along with two associates: Louisa Wong and Samantha Chan. Chan and her team excel in commercial litigation and arbitration, handling intricate disputes in diverse sectors such as financial services, real estate and manufacturing. They provide expert counsel to major Hong Kong and Chinese companies, resolving commercial disputes across multiple jurisdictions, with a specialisation in cross-border debt recovery, contractual disputes, shareholder conflicts, and insolvency and restructuring matters.
Client feedback
“They have an excellent arbitration team that now boasts substantial strength in depth.” – Commercial arbitration
“They were extremely on top of the papers and were able to offer immense support to the counsel team before and during the arbitration hearing. They were commercial and forward-thinking, and able to create strategies. They also have commendable client management skills.” – Commercial arbitration
“Very astute and dedicated team. Technically excellent with a broad range of expertise available.” – Commercial arbitration
"In relation to the above court case, it is very complex. Since the case commenced, there have been many rounds of legal proceedings and court applications involving various difficult legal and factual issues. Stephanie and her team have been on hand to assist us since the inception of the case. Even though the team has relocated to another law firm on two different occasions, our company’s management has insisted on transferring the case to Stephanie’s new firm because we have complete faith and trust in her to properly manage our case. In particular, the team has been very successful in assisting our company to secure favourable outcomes in the vast majority of the court applications taken out in the case. This includes a jurisdictional challenge and a strike out application on the plaintiff’s claims against our co-defending associated companies, which limited our group’s exposure.
The team has extensive experience and knowledge in commercial litigation and court proceedings, and they consistently provide us with highly strategic advice that greatly enhances our company’s legal position in the case. Although the case is still ongoing, based on the favourable outcomes that Stephanie’s team has delivered thus far, we are very confident that the team is more than capable and equipped to handle any complex and sophisticated legal matters.
Stephanie’s team has both senior and junior lawyers who can conduct legal work independently and at a high quality. We understand that tasks are assigned based on the team members' knowledge, experience and work capacity, as well as the urgency of the tasks, in order to be cost-effective and timely. At the same time, Stephanie remains very hands-on and closely supervises her team.
Although court deadlines are sometimes very tight, and we understand the team is always very busy, they are very well prepared for meetings and hearings. We can tell that they always put a lot of thought into the various issues when they provide us with their in-depth legal and factual analysis, which we find to be very useful for our understanding of the case and our consideration of the next steps.
Stephanie’s team is very responsive. Even if we contact them outside of office hours, we can always reach them, and they are willing to accommodate our schedules. We trust them to manage our case diligently, and we feel that our concerns are always respected and addressed by Stephanie and her team. While the team works to deliver the best results for us, they still take the time to understand our thoughts and concerns. We are very grateful for their understanding." – Commercial and transactions
“Close attentiveness to detail and first-class legal support in terms of research and due diligence.” – Commercial and transactions
“Excellent command of law, approachable, with smart commercial sense.” – International arbitration
“Skilled team of arbitration professionals with strength in depth.” – International arbitration
“Sidney was meticulous in terms of collation and preparation of evidence. The team members were familiar with the case and were able to provide counsel with unfailing support. In terms of advising the client, they were sensible and practical and provided the client with good strategic advice at each stage of the arbitration.” – International arbitration
“Deep understanding of the law and Asia business culture, and very responsive to client's requests.” – White-collar crime
Desmond Ang
“He has an excellent understanding of the law, is highly approachable, and possesses a keen sense of smart commercial judgement.”
“Technically sound and always available. Gives good all-round commercial advice. Good value for money.”
“He demonstrates strong analytical and tactical skills, excels as a team manager, and is an effective communicator.”
“Desmond is a great litigation lawyer. He provides valuable legal advice to the clients who are under significant pressure, and always finds solutions for the clients and addresses clients' demands. He is very solid and cautious in providing advice and has been a trusted and reliable litigation lawyer to his clients.”
“Responsive and user-friendly.”
“Desmond has substantial experience in restructuring, litigation and arbitration. He is very hands-on and efficient in dealing with contentious and urgent matters including representing corporate clients in objecting to or striking out a winding-up petition during the implementation of a restructuring.”
“Very thoughtful and responsive. Able to articulate complex legal concept in simple terms.”
“Desmond was on top of the details of the case and was extremely strategic and possessed the ability for forward thinking. His responses were quick and thoughtful.”
“He gave solid legal analysis and practical legal advice.”
Samantha Chan
“Samantha is very strong in her language skills, and we can trust her to handle work in both English and Chinese. She is able to express her ideas and advice clearly and in a way that is easy to understand. She is also very responsive and accessible. We can always reach her when we have queries, which gives us the confidence that our work is being well-managed and handled by the team. Samantha Chan is also a very active member in Stephanie’s team on our case. She is a very responsible lawyer and she has a good understanding of our case. We are always very impressed with her strong language skills, which she uses to deliver legal advice and high-quality work in both English and Chinese. She is able to explain to us legal concepts and court documents in a manner that is easy to grasp, which is helpful to laymen who have no understanding of the law. It is always a pleasure to work with Samantha."
“Samantha is very diligent and always ready to respond to our concerns. She is also very gifted linguistically, which is no doubt a very helpful skill for a lawyer. She is able to deliver high-quality work in both English and Chinese and she speaks fluent Mandarin. Having a competent junior in the team helps to ensure that our matters can be conducted efficiently and cost-effectively.”
Stephanie Chan
“Stephanie is a very competent litigator with a lot of experience in commercial disputes and familiarity with court applications. We have developed an amicable working relationship with her over the years. Despite being the team leader and a partner of the firm, she remains very hands-on and closely supervises her team members. Whilst she is committed to deliver the best results for our case, she also takes the time to communicate with us to understand our business needs and concerns. We can always rely on her professional advice, and we are very grateful for her assistance on our cases all these years. We will commonly reach out to Stephanie first for any of our new legal issues as we trust that she will steer us in the right direction.”
“Stephanie is an exceptional lawyer with extensive experience in regulatory matters and litigation. Her dedication, expertise and thoroughness have greatly benefited us. She consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the best outcomes for our cases. She always demonstrates her strategic thinking and determination to achieve a favourable resolution for us. Stephanie's in-depth knowledge and practical guidance have been invaluable in helping us navigate complex regulatory issues. Working with her has been a privilege, and we highly recommend her for any legal assistance. Stephanie consistently offers us invaluable and perceptive guidance that caters to our legal and commercial needs. I am very impressed by her profound grasp of legal principles, regulatory dynamics, and her astute business acumen. Furthermore, her unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional work to clients showcases her commitment to excellence. Stephanie's team's exceptional responsiveness, efficiency and competence are a testament to her exceptional leadership. Stephanie’s ability to navigate complex regulatory frameworks and effectively communicate in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, coupled with 14 years of experience successfully handling complex regulatory and contentious matters, positions her as the ideal choice for managing our legal disputes.”
“Stephanie stands out as one of the best litigators we have collaborated with in Asia. Stephanie is widely recognised as a leading individual in litigation matters.”
“With her exceptional business expertise, she is capable of offering insightful, tailored and situation-specific guidance, along with practical and focused solutions. These valuable contributions greatly enhance our endeavours to promote our company's strategic goals and address our management's priorities.”
“Stephanie's impressive technical expertise and her ability to navigate cross-border commercial disputes across multiple jurisdictions have consistently delivered favourable outcomes for us. We greatly value her profound knowledge, strategic advice, and exceptional responsiveness. Additionally, Stephanie's exceptional ability to craft optimal solutions distinguishes her as an outstanding lawyer in the field of dispute resolution.”
“Stephanie is without doubt one of the best disputes lawyers in Hong Kong and it is our privilege to have worked with her. Stephanie is a sharp, industrious and experienced lawyer, she is exceptionally well placed and experienced to assist us to resolve our contentious matters. We have greatly benefited from her extensive expertise and insightful guidance, which allowed us to strategically navigate our case and achieve the best result.”
Tai-Heng Cheng
"Tai-Heng Cheng is the consummate lawyer. He is highly intelligent and formidable, truly world class. He puts his heart into every assignment and is a very effective advocate who reads the tribunal well. Having him in your corner in any complex dispute is a great advantage."
Adrian Tang
“We work with Adrian regularly. He is a rare breed of a multi-disciplinary lawyer who can speak and understand the language of not just the law but also finance and accounting. His skillset is very valuable as he is able to communicate on the same wavelength as our deal team and be able to readily grasp the considerations and concerns arising in one of our matters. He is also able to sense-check our financial calculations and draw our attention to any identified inconsistencies and errors. We rely on Adrian for his solid technical expertise and knowledge, and he is notably capable of quickly understanding our complex transaction structures and documents, and pinpointing the salient provisions for consideration so that a strategic plan can be formulated. Adrian is always ready and willing to provide us with insightful advice from both legal and business standpoints. It is most helpful to have Adrian assisting us on our matters and we look forward to continuing working with him on different matters.”
“Adrian is a resourceful and highly competent lawyer. His exceptional ability to identify key legal issues, combined with his background in finance, brings significant value to the team by helping to navigate new problems and develop innovative solutions. Notably, he provides excellent guidance to junior lawyers, ensuring that all deadlines and requests are met. Working with Adrian is a pleasure, and we greatly appreciate his methodical approach to managing our cases.”
“My main interaction with the Sidley team is through Adrian Tang, the senior associate in Stephanie Chan’s team. I find him to be a very accessible and diligent lawyer, who can be trusted to dutifully manage a regulatory inquiry on behalf of our company. He always stands ready to provide us with sound advice on both substantive and procedural matters related to the inquiry, and I trust in his professionalism and expertise in the field. He is able to explain complex concepts and procedures to us in an easy-to-understand manner and deliver his oral and written advice in English and Mandarin. I particularly note that his strength lies in his ability to readily identify key legal and commercial issues, which strongly reflects his dual background in law and finance. Coupled with his succinct and persuasive writing style, it helps him to deliver excellent written submissions to advance our company’s position.”
“I greatly appreciate the fact that Adrian is highly responsive and flexible in answering queries and making himself available on short notice to attend calls and meetings to render advice to us. This significantly helped our management team to better anticipate the next steps and make commercial decisions to properly manage potential risks. Adrian’s guidance throughout the regulatory process was particularly helpful as our company did not have any experience in handling a regulatory inquiry and there were clearly various strategic considerations that may not have been taken into account without the Sidley team’s timely and thoughtful advice.”
Louisa Wong
“Louisa is an exceptionally gifted linguist and we are very impressed with Louisa’s ability to communicate and interchange languages with ease. She is trilingual and is capable of delivering concise legal advice in both English and Chinese. Her written work is always very detailed and well-structured. She is also able to explain complex legal concepts in simple layman’s terms to facilitate our understanding. She is mindful of our time constraints and is always ready to provide verbal legal advice in our chosen language when called upon. Louisa is notably very well-prepared in her presentation, which inspires great confidence in her work. We look forward to working with Louisa again.”
“Apart from Stephanie, we also closely work with Louisa Wong. She is a very diligent and responsible lawyer who always attends meetings and hearings very well-prepared. To facilitate our understanding of the case, she would often take the time and effort to prepare summary materials in advance which sets out the matter in an easy-to-understand manner. She would then walk through the details with us to ensure that we fully appreciate the implications. Louisa has been exceptionally helpful in assisting us to complete court documents such as affirmations. We look forward to continuing to work with her going forward.”
“Louisa is a very keen and diligent lawyer who always comes prepared to our discussions and meetings. She takes the time to understand the facts of our cases and helps to draw out the key issues to be considered and discussed. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English and is always able to deliver well-structured and clear legal advice. Louisa is exceptionally helpful in all respects, and we enjoy working closely with her.”
Yan Zhang
"Lawyer Zhang Yan, as the head of the Sidley Austin legal team in Hong Kong collaborating with our company, has shown meticulous attention to detail in handling the matters entrusted to our company. She is capable of thoroughly studying relevant materials, demonstrating clear thinking in formulating solutions for disputes, employing rigorous logic, and effectively managing negotiation dynamics. Through orderly progress, she has successfully facilitated the resolution of the disputes."
“Her unique background enables her to provide valuable advice on cross-border issues to client. She is smart and pleasant and always adopts a sensible approach in resolving issues in a case.”
Friven Yeoh
“He has built a strong team and comes across as competent and pleasant. He is a skilled advocate and able to lead from the front.”
“He is a skilled advocate, who engages well with the arbitral tribunal and listens carefully.”
Friven Yeoh and Nathaniel Lai
“Their analysis and advice on Hong Kong law was outstanding. The team comprised of Friven Yeoh (partner) and Nathaniel Lai (counsel), both of whom are extremely talented lawyers and handles cases efficiently.”
Adrian Tang, Louisa Wong and Samantha Chan
“Stephanie and her team, which includes Adrian Tang, Louisa Wong and Samantha Chan, are top-notch lawyers in the industry and are extremely capable of handling large-scale, cross-border and sophisticated matters. The team is particularly well placed to assist financial institutions in resolving litigation and regulatory matters and delivering highly positive results for their clients. Their deep financial knowledge enables them to communicate with us effectively regarding the complicated underlying transactions and to fully understand our business needs. We can always trust them to render insightful and tailored advice. Stephanie’s team is very responsive and committed. They are always available to address our queries promptly and are willing to accommodate our schedules. We can also feel that our concerns are always respected and addressed by Stephanie and her team. Stephanie and her team members are all fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. They are also able to deliver both written and verbal legal advice succinctly. Where we have any future cases which require technical language capabilities, Stephanie’s team would be the first that we turn to when seeking legal assistance. Stephanie’s team provides us with a lot of clarity on fees. They would supply us with detailed narratives for the work they performed and a clear breakdown of their fees, which we found very helpful for our cost management. Stephanie would also assign different team members to complete different workstreams, in order to conduct our cases in the most efficient and cost-effective way. She understands our budgetary concerns and her team therefore commonly implement measures to deliver excellent work while still staying within the agreed fee estimates. We are also impressed with the diversity in Stephanie’s team. Not only are both genders well represented in the team, but they also have different education backgrounds and a broad range of experience in different fields including law, finance and accounting. The team members notably contribute to the team in different and complementary ways and they work very well together to deliver excellent outcomes for us.”
