Wellington Legal

Corporate & Commercial

A successful business invariably involves a series of corporate actions, starting with business formation, fund raising, mergers and acquisitions to perhaps the sale of business or listing on a stock exchange.

Our corporate team recognises the importance of business drivers in every corporate transaction and we work with our clients to achieve a strong commercial platform for their operations.  Coupled with a strong commercial sense and niche legal expertise, we are responsive to our clients’ needs and provide them with customised legal options and solutions.

Our corporate team members have experience in handling a full range of corporate matters and are particularly strong in mid-market transactions. We regularly advise clients in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, corporate governance, securities compliance and regulatory matters.

Over the years, our corporate team has served a diversified client base from start-ups, SMEs, listed companies to PRC state-owned enterprises and multinational institutions.

Our firm’s main practice areas include:

Capital Markets

Mergers and Acquisitions

Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance

Commercial

Intellectual Property

Unknown to many people, intellectual property is probably one of the most valuable company assets.

Intellectual property is anything from your logo and corporate identity to anything that differentiates your products, services and processes from your competitors. 

Safeguarding your intellectual property is more than just registration of your trademark, design or patent. Protection extends to an effective strategy to take swift action whenever infringement is discovered. Our litigation team is also experienced in handing contentious IP litigation and frequently acts for clients in taking swift and forceful steps to stop the infringement to protect our clients’ IP rights.

Our experienced intellectual property team has assisted many clients in their valuable IP portfolios in Hong Kong and internationally through our partners worldwide. Our lawyers advise our clients on a wide range of non-contentious IP matters including registrations, management, acquisition, commercialisation and monetisation of our clients’ IP portfolios.

Our areas of work include:

Trademarks

Copyrights litigation

Trade secrets and confidential information

Designs

Sponsorships

Entertainment

Licensing

Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

Legal disputes, especially when escalating into Court action or arbitration, are daunting and stressful. Litigation is like a game of chess: no two litigations are the same and the key to a successful outcome is the ability to anticipate the strategy of the opposing party and develop the appropriate counterstrategy. 

Our litigation team is detail oriented and we take the time to gain a thorough understanding of the factual matrix and objectives for each case to develop the right approach for clients. We seek to provide practical solutions and options firmly rooted in commercial realities.

We pride ourselves on our ability to listen and to adapt and adjust our strategy to meet developments in litigation; we are just as comfortable amicably negotiating a compromise or fighting in your corner tenaciously to protect your interests. Our litigation team has many years of front-line courtroom experience advising on all forms of civil and commercial disputes, particularly complex and high value litigation cases. We handle cases from the very early stages to resolve matters amicably through to heavyweight litigation.

Our areas of work include:

Shareholders disputes

Fraud, asset tracing and recovery

International arbitration

Defamation

Employment litigation

Regulatory Investigations & Criminal Defence

Do you explain or do you keep quiet?  This is the primary question everyone who is subject to an investigation wants to know. The usual advice given is to remain silent because you are presumed to be innocent until found guilty by the Court. The burden is on the prosecution to prove the offence and hence the adage “silence is golden.” However, new legal developments dictate this may no longer hold true and, in some circumstances, there may not be a right to remain silent, such as investigations by the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”). 

It is important to seek proper legal advice promptly once you become aware of any criminal or regulatory investigation so that you understand your rights and any potential personal liability to formulate an effective defence strategy.  Our litigation team regularly advises both corporate and individual clients in investigations by various public authorities, including the Hong Kong Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (“ICAC”), the Customs and Excise Department and the SFC.  We have successfully defended clients on a variety of offences, some of which have attracted media attention. Our team is experienced in handling cases from arrest to trial at all levels of Hong Kong Courts and in assisting clients with mitigation and plea bargaining in Courts and other relevant regulatory authorities. 

We understand the pressure, stress and exposure that comes from being arrested and we are available for confidential consultations on an emergency basis.

We defend clients under investigations and/or prosecutions by the following:

Hong Kong Police Force

SFC

ICAC

Customs and Excise Department

Commercial Crime Bureau

Immigration

Law Society of Hong Kong

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Family Law

The breakdown of a relationship is traumatic and stressful for anyone, regardless of whether you are the one who initiated it or not.

The already stressful situation is compounded by the uncertainty of myriad matters that will arise in a breakdown, such as the division of the family assets, maintenance, custody of and access to children You may also find out unexpected matters, such as a spouse with a long planned divorce and a large sum of money from a joint account being withdrawn without your knowledge. How these matters are resolved will have a significant impact on your life and facing all these issues can be both emotionally and financially draining.

Our family law team fully understands the emotional nature of matrimonial proceedings and guide you through the difficult times and assist you to plan for your future. We will explore and identify the best approach which suits your personal and financial circumstances. Our family law team seeks to provide practical advice that combines professional judgement with empathy and common sense.

We also frequently advise clients on pre-nuptial agreements and post-nuptial agreements.

We offer expert advice on:

Divorce or separation

Jurisdiction disputes

Financial settlement on divorce or separation

Children arrangement or parenting disputes on divorce or separation

Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements

Nullity

Wardship proceedings

Prohibition and injunction orders

Unmarried co-habiting parents

Enforcement and/or variation of court orders