We solve our clients' legal problems. Our goal is to deliver the best possible outcome, in the most efficient and cost effective way, so that you can get on with your business.
MinterEllison is a leading international law firm headquartered in Australia with offices in New Zealand, Asia, China and the UK. The Hong Kong office was established more than 20 years ago, and is the hub of the firm's business in Greater China. We draw upon our partners' collective experience to offer you practical and effective solutions in our four key practice areas:
Legal problems can take many forms, ranging from negotiating business deals to resolving disputes or defending regulatory action. Whatever the problem, choosing the right lawyer is essential. The right lawyer will help you to resolve your legal problem. The wrong lawyer may only make things worse.
We will assist you to solve your legal problem in the best possible way. Many of our partners have practised in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, and we have a proven track record of success. We will work closely with you to share our experience, with the aim of building a lasting relationship with you.
We understand that solving legal problems means delivering results, and will work with you to identify:
When you have made an informed decision on the best way to proceed, we will execute the strategy in the most effective manner.
Crucially, you will be engaged in the process at every stage. We will keep you fully informed throughout a matter and ensure that you control each step with a full understanding of what that step involves, how it will fit into the overall strategy and the cost. We encourage close communication and you can be confident that we will execute the agreed strategy, minimising the risk to you and allowing you to get on with your business.
Please contact any of our partners or consultants in the practice area in which you are interested by going to our People page, or if you would like to make a general subject-matter enquiry, please go to our Contact Us page and fill in the email form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Our corporate and capital markets team is led by partners who have practised together in Hong Kong for many years and collectively have unrivalled experience across the length and breadth of the Greater China corporate scene.
We use our experience and skills in corporate law and knowledge of the Hong Kong and global environment to enable our clients to execute their transactions efficiently and with success. We pride ourselves on partnering with our clients, understanding the commercial and legal risks in their transactions and enabling our clients to navigate those risks. We represent our clients' best interests with pride and energy.
Our team is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. For many years we have focused on the Greater China market and our transactions are often negotiated and documented in Chinese.
We advise clients on a full range of corporate and commercial transactions including investment and capital raisings across many industries including technology, IP, media, telecommunications, real estate, banking and financial services, energy and resources, infrastructure and transport, health and ageing, medical and pharmaceutical, food and beverage.
As a member of the MinterEllison Group we have the support of the largest law firm in Australia and often advise on China / Hong Kong / Australia cross-border M&A and other transactions.
Our corporate partners and consultants are closely involved in the details of each matter, ensuring that our clients get the benefit of our extensive experience. We also work closely with our dispute resolution, and intellectual property teams. By combining our knowledge and experience, we can bring a fresh perspective on issues.
Our insurance practitioners advise and act for insurers and intermediaries in respect of all aspects of their business including :
We also assist insurers and insurance intermediaries in responding to investigations and enforcement actions by the Insurance Authority, including disciplinary proceedings under the Insurance Ordinance.
We act for the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and assisted the Federation in connection with the changes to the Insurance Ordinance which introduced the current regulatory framework. We regularly conduct advisory seminars and training for industry participants on compliance issues.
Our Hong Kong Intellectual Property team are internationally recognized as leading IP protectors, problem solvers and litigators and are consistently highly regarded in legal directories.
The Hong Kong team is part of the wider firm's global-reaching IP practice which is also a market leader, comprising 20 partners and more than 65 qualified lawyers.
Our IP practice has both breadth and depth across our offices in Hong Kong (also covering China) and Australia, with the ability to act as a seamless resource for our clients with international IP portfolios. Our large and diverse team advises on the creation, registration, acquisition, commercialisation, protection and enforcement of intellectual property and related rights, and has forged an enduring reputation working with leading local and global organisations.
We have extensive experience of handling contentious and non-contentious matters relating to intellectual property rights, specifically on issues of trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, passing-off and confidential information/trade secrets. Our practice includes advising on media and entertainment contracts, gaming and personal data (privacy).
We have extensive experience in advising on, preparing and negotiating various types of IP agreements, including software acquisition or license agreements and technology transfer agreements. We are well-known for our enforcement work in the luxury and household goods sectors in particular.
We also have an extensive network of foreign trade mark, patent, design and general IP lawyers and agents with whom we work on a daily basis, enabling us to assist our clients wherever they do business.
We have an extensive track record of litigating in the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal, and before arbitral tribunals both locally and internationally.
If you become involved in a serious dispute, you need a good lawyer who can guide you through the process and help you to achieve the best outcome possible.
Our Dispute Resolution Team is one of the largest and best known in Hong Kong, comprising 9 partners and 24 lawyers in total. Our partners are all highly experienced, with most having spent their entire careers practising in Hong Kong. Together, our partners have encountered and successfully resolved almost every conceivable type of company, commercial and regulatory dispute which is likely to arise in the jurisdiction. This experience allows our team to provide you with accurate advice, quickly and efficiently.
Our Dispute Resolution Team approaches matters from the perspective that they are there to solve your problem. They will work with you to identify:
Importantly, you can rely upon our team to give you a frank and honest assessment of the merits at the outset, and to recommend the option which is best for you. Our team will not recommend litigation unless this is the right choice in the circumstances. In most cases, litigation should be a last resort, to be considered only after other options for resolving the matter have been explored.
If litigation is required, our team will conduct the matter in the most effective manner possible, giving you the best prospects of success. Our experience and long track record of success is evident from the wide range of publicly reported cases which we have conducted, which we would be happy to take you through upon request.
Our employment partners have many years of experience advising local and international clients on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment matters in Hong Kong, including employers' and employees' contractual obligations, preparation of employment contracts and associated policies and handbooks, the termination of employment contracts, the enforcement of post-termination restrictions (including non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses), and disputes in the Labour Tribunal and the Hong Kong courts.
