Denis Chang's Chambers

The development and adoption of A.I. have sparked debates in various industries, including the legal field. Mindfulness and reflexivity are often discussed regarding the ethical use of A.I. Our Head of Chambers, Denis Chang SC, will be delivering a lecture on “Mindfulness & Reflexivity, Law & Life in the Age of A.I.”. This interactive talk & sharing session will focus on a model of mindful-reflexive practice and Lonergan’s 4 plus-levels generative structure known as “Intentionality Analysis (I.A.)”.  This lecture extends beyond the Speaker’s own legal practice to encourage professionals to reflect both within and upon their own practice, promoting mindful-reflexive engagement with and wise ethical use of A.I. Details of the Talk are as follows:  • Date: Friday, 19 July 2024 • Time: 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm • Venue: Denis Chang’s Chambers, 9/F, Tower One, Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Admiralty Registration link: https://lnkd.in/gRZwM_tR RSVP now to secure your spot and we look forward to seeing you at our Chambers! #AI #Ethics #Law #Mindfulness #Reflexivity #ProfessionalDevelopment

On 4 July 2024, James Wood will host the first panel of the day at Global Restructuring Review (GRR) Live: Restructuring in Asia 2024 on the topic of the “Need to Know” cases and trends in the field of insolvency and restructuring during the past 12 months. The expert members of the panel will include Phoebe Lo (Clifford Chance), Mark Fairbairn (Linklaters), Richard Baird (Forbes Hare), and Wang Lingqi (Fangda Partners). GRR Live: Restructuring in Asia 2024 presents a unique opportunity to delve into the latest restructuring and insolvency issues in Asia and gain insights from experts in this field. Attendees can also take advantage of various networking opportunities, including a drinks reception and an all-inclusive conference dinner, where they can connect with prominent speakers and delegates from the international insolvency and restructuring community.    The event details are as follows:  Venue: 27/F, Clifford Chance, One Connaught Place, Jardine House, Hong Kong  Time: Registration and welcome coffee will commence at 9 am with the conference starting promptly at 9:30 am. The registration details can be found at GRR website: https://lnkd.in/gQQxv28G

For the very first time, the Court confirmed in 𝘚𝘈 & 𝘖𝘳𝘴 𝘷 𝘉𝘏 & 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘳 [2024] HKCFI 1357 that it has jurisdiction under Order 23 of the Rules of the High Court (“RHC”) to order security for costs in arbitration proceedings initiated by parties to set aside an arbitral award. While Order 73 RHC governs arbitration-related court proceedings specifically, it does not exclude or take precedence over Order 23 which deals with security for costs generally. Valerie Tang appeared for the Plaintiffs, whereas Mr Lawrence Li SC and Mr Tony HH Chow acted for the 1st Defendant. The judgment can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ghqR8RgJ Click here to view the full case commentary: https://lnkd.in/gfpUGBCT

In 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘠𝘶𝘢𝘯 & 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘳 [2024] HKCFI 536, the Court, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢, granted the Plaintiff relief from sanction under an unless order on the basis that the failure to comply could be attributed to the fault or negligence of the Plaintiff’s former solicitors, not least because Order 2, rule 5(1)(f) of the Rules of the High Court (Cap.4A) provided for a distinction between the fault of litigants and of legal representatives, of which there is no parallel in England’s Civil Procedure Rules. Secondly, the Court also found the sanction of dismissing the Plaintiff’s whole claim to be disproportionate where a more proportionate and effective sanction should have been barring the Plaintiff from taking out these interlocutory applications and imposing a date for setting down for trial without further ado.   Frederick Fong, instructed by Messrs. Wan Yeung Hau & Co., appeared for the Plaintiff who was granted relief from sanction albeit with conditions. Valerie Tang provides her analysis of the decision which can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g2x8mgUZ The judgment can be viewed here: https://lnkd.in/g7d6paUC

Members of DCC recognised in Doyle's Guide 2024 on Leading Employment & Labour Law Barristers (Hong Kong)     Denis Chang’s Chambers is delighted to announce that Hectar Pun SC and Earl Deng have been recognised in Doyle's Guide 2024 on Leading Employment & Labour Law Barristers in Hong Kong. Hectar Pun SC – Recommended Senior Counsel  Earl Deng – Recommended Junior Counsel For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g3RzaSd9 #employmentlaw #labourlaw #doylesguide2024

The development and adoption of A.I. has been a heated topic across industries, including the legal field. While Mindfulness and reflexivity are often the related extended topics that receive attention and debates when it comes to applications and ethical use of A.I. Our Head of Chambers, Denis Chang SC, will be the speaker at a lecture hosted by Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong, on the topic “Mindfulness & Reflexivity in Professional Practice in the Age of A.I.”. The lecture will focus on a model of mindful-reflexive practice and Lonergan’s 4 plus-levels generative structure of knowing and acting, which is also known as “Intentionality Analysis (I.A.)” The content of the lecture would be applicable to professionals across industries and it is hope that the insights shared will encourage the audience to reflect “in” as well as “on” their own practices and work. - Date and Time: 12 June 2024 (Wednesday), 6:00-7:30pm - Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Faculty of Law, HKU - Speaker: Professor Denis Chang, KC, SC - Discussant: Professor Tsui Ming-Sum For registration, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gfHTFKvU (1.5 CPD points being applied for)

In the area of harassment law, both statutes and the common law have undergone exponential change in recent times. This has resulted in a larger array of intersecting options for victims to respond to perpetrators of harassment. Context is key when it comes to selecting the most effective counter-measure. Isabel Tam and Jason Ko examines the said intersecting options in the evolving legal landscape, including the key developments in combatting criminal doxxing, the relevant civil torts, and statutory relief against domestic violence. The full article is available here: https://lnkd.in/edN8NhB7 #harassmentlaw #antidoxxing #civiltorts

In 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘵𝘥 𝘷 𝘓𝘪𝘶 𝘒𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘮 [2024] HKCFI 1209, despite finding that the defendant squatter had occupied the disputed land since 1980 for over 20 years, by drawing a clear distinction between occupation and possession, the Court dismissed the defendant’s counterclaim of adverse possession and allowed the plaintiff’s claim for vacant possession and mesne profit. Ross Yuen instructed by Messrs Hastings & Co represented the successful plaintiff. Firstly, it was the defendant’s case that he took over the land and began cultivation thereon with the consent of his parents (who were not the registered owners of the land). Applying 𝘛𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘰𝘰 𝘒𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘨 & 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘷 𝘊𝘩𝘶 𝘑𝘪𝘮 𝘔𝘪 𝘑𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘺 & 𝘖𝘳𝘴 [2017] 3 HKC 527, the Court held that the defendant must have taken possession of the land only by virtue of a licence granted by his parents. Coupled with the fact that there was no evidence showing that the defendant had at any time changed the nature or capacity of his occupation, it was found that the defendant had failed to prove that he had possessed the land in his own name and on his own behalf without permission or consent from anyone. Secondly, it was not disputed that most of the time the land was used for tree planting but there was no fence to exclude others from entering it. Although the Court accepted that there might be natural barriers indicating the boundaries of the land and that the villagers would respect those boundaries, it was held not sufficient for the purposes of showing 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪. After considering the Court of Appeal’s decisions in 𝘠𝘪𝘱 𝘠𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘷 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘪 [2018] HKCA 70 and 𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘵𝘥 𝘷 𝘒𝘸𝘰𝘬 𝘊𝘩𝘪 𝘠𝘢𝘶 & 𝘖𝘳𝘴, CACV 260/2014, unrep., 19 January 2016, the Court held that the proper test was to see whether the registered owner had been or could have been excluded. The voluntary acts of neighbours to respect the boundaries of the land did not mean that everyone else was prevented from entering into the land. Lastly, the Court also found on the evidence that the defendant had abandoned the land at least since 2015. However, following two Australian authorities (𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘵𝘺 𝘓𝘵𝘥. 𝘷 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘯 [2002] VSC 206; 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘷 𝘚𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 [1949] VLR 33), the Court found that if (contrary to its finding) the defendant had begun occupation of the disputed land in his own right from 1980, he would have dispossessed the paper owner by December 2015, and as the period of abandonment only began after the defendant had obtained title to the disputed land, it cannot be abandoned thereafter. The Judgment can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gdCupJtC #landlaw

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗖𝗖 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 & 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗴) 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘆𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 The Doyle’s Guide published today its ranking of Leading Family & Divorce Barristers (Hong Kong) for the year of 2024. As stated by the Doyle’s Guide, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 2024 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 & 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴.” Denis Chang’s Chambers is delighted to announce that two of our members have been recognised as Leading Family & Divorce Barristers (Hong Kong) by Doyle’s Guide 2024. Jeremy S.K. Chan – Preeminent Junior Counsel Vivien Leung – Recommended Junior Counsel For more information, please visit the official announcement on the website of the Doyle's Guide: doylesguide.com View Jeremy's profile here: https://lnkd.in/g54jxjvG View Vivien's profile here: https://lnkd.in/gCDBPfp6 #doylesguide #familylaw #familybarrister

On 26 April 2024, the Honourable Mr Justice Coleman (the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List of the High Court) handed down judgment in HCAL 1804/2023 ([2024] HKCFI 1020), allowing a judicial review of a decision (“Dismissal Decision”) made by the Secretary for the Civil Service (“Secretary”) which directed that the Applicant be punished by dismissal under section 10 of the Public Service (Administration) Order. The successful Applicant was represented by Anson Wong Yu Yat, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid. Notably, the Court remarked that at the substantive hearing on 11 April 2024, “the case was extremely well argued on both sides” ([8]). As Lord Hobhouse famously put it in 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘷 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭 [2003] 1 AC 120 at [51]: “The duty of the advocate is with proper competence to represent his lay client and promote and protect fearlessly and by all proper and lawful means his lay client’s best interests.” The present case illustrates the discharge of such duty irrespective of the conduct, opinion or belief of an individual client. The Judgment can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g6Q4FmvX Read the case note here: https://lnkd.in/gjjKHFrY #publiclaw #administrativelaw