King & Company
Ms. JOANNA LAU ( 劉 麗 卿 ) M.H.
Partner
Ms Lau is our Managing Partner.
Having obtained her degree in law from De Montfort University U.K., Ms Lau was admitted and enrolled as a solicitor of The Supreme Court of Hong Kong in November 1986. She joined the Firm in 1987 and became a partner in May 1990. Ms Lau is also enrolled as a solicitor in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia (Northern Territories).
Ms Lau is a China-Appointed Attesting Officer. She is an Honorary University Fellow presented by The Open University of Hong Kong (now known as HKMU). On 1 July 2019, Ms Lau was awarded the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong Government SAR in recognition of her dedicated public and community service, particularly her valuable contributions to fostering the development and enhancing the governance of The Open University of Hong Kong (now known as HKMU).
Throughout her career, Ms. Lau has acquired ample experience and knowledge in the areas of commercial, litigation, matrimonial, regulatory and real estate. On the commercial side, Ms. Lau has dealt with and advised on mergers and acquisitions of businesses and corporations, commercial transactions, particularly related to retail business, telecommunications industry and trading of containers.
In the area of litigation, other than handling disputes over commercial and shareholders matters and contentious probate cases. Ms Lau possesses admirable expertise in acquisitions of land and buildings gained from her advising on (both majority and minority owners), acting for and handling compulsory acquisitions of land and buildings matters and proceedings including some high profile cases in prime areas under and pursuant to Land (Compulsory Sale For Development) Ordinance Cap. 545, as well as Land Resumption of privately owned properties by the Hong Kong Government. under Land Resumption Ordinance Cap. 124. Also, Ms. Lau has been involved in a number of arbitration proceedings both in Hong Kong and in other jurisdictions. Further, Ms Lau has developed significant expertise in legal issues surrounding the motorsports business.
Moreover, in terms of white collar crime, Ms. Lau has advised and acted for clients in both local and international high profile securities and futures related regulatory cases, including dealing with the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US. Along the same vein, Ms. Lau also has experience in representing clients in cross-border criminal cases and has directly dealt with the US Department of Justice. As regards fraud cases, Ms. Lau has extensive experience in handling cyber fraud cases and the subsequent recovery.
In terms of real estate, other than the usual sale and purchase transactions, Ms. Lau has handled the sale of units in a number of new buildings and developments (under both consent and non-consent schemes), drafted a good number of Deeds of Mutual Covenants and advised on all pre-sale procedures. For wealth management related disputes, she has handled many complicated matrimonial matters some of which were tried at the Court of Final Appeal and contentious high profile probate matters.
Outside of the legal sphere, Ms. Lau has been a devoted member of public offices. Currently, Ms. Lau is a Chairman of the Appeal Panel constituted under section 45 of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) (2018 - present) and a Member of the Court of the Metropolitan University of Hong Kong. She has also been appointed as a Member of the Council of The Education University of Hong Kong (April 2020 - present) and is also the Deputy Chair of the University's Finance Committee.
Previously, Ms. Lau had served as a member of the Social Workers Registration Board - Disciplinary Committee Panel (2005-2020), a member of Social Welfare Department - Lump Sum Grant Independent Committee Handling Complaints (2013-2019) and held other offices including the Open University of Hong Kong (Council Member (2010-2018) (now known as HKMU), the Chairperson of the University's Human Resources Committee (2015-2018) and Chairperson of the University's Main Tender Board (2014-2018)), Women's Commission (2005-2011), Social Welfare Department - Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee (2007-2013), the Board of Directors of the HKSAR Surviving Spouses' and Children's Pensions Scheme (2008-2016), Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants - Disciplinary/Investigation Committee Panel (2006-2018), and Hong Kong Mediation Centre (Vice President (2004-2006) and Chairperson of the Centre’s Committee for the Education and Course Development of Mediation (2003-2006)).
Contact:
Telephone: +852 2868 0909 / +852 3472 0100
Email: info@king-lawyers.com