Welcome to our Newsletter Issue 2. In this Newsletter you will find feature articles, legal updates on Corporate M&A, Employment & Pensions and Competition law, as well as awards, recognition and events/conference activities.
Planning for an Amalgamation? Things you need to know now
Machiuanna Chu and Victoria Cheung
Since the commencement of the Companies Ordinance 2014, we have seen a steady increase in court-free amalgamation of companies. We have successfully completed many amalgamations, vertical and horizontal, in an array of industries including regulated entities. Here are our observations and thoughts: Full article »
Good News for Employers in China
Iris Cheng
Due to the uncertainties about the future development of the economy, there are voices from the top administrative authorities of China proposing to amend the controversial PRC Labour Contract Law in order to lower the labour cost and improve the liquidity of Chinese human resources. Full article »
New Milestone in Liberalisation of Trade in Services under CEPA
Myles Seto and Shelley Liang
Under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (“CEPA”), several developments have been made in the area of trade in services. In this article, we take a closer look at the developments and provide a general introduction about the new record-filing mechanism applicable to Hong Kong service providers. Full article »
Legal Updates
Corporate and M&A
Recent publications:
“Can a contract still be valid if one of two joint purchasers has not signed the contract, nor given the other authority to sign on his/her behalf?”
In this article, we discuss the English Court of Appeal’s decision in the recent case of Marlbray Ltd v Laditi and another (2016) EWCA Civ 476 that a contract which named husband and wife as the purchasers, entered into without wife’s consent and signed only by husband, was valid even though husband had no authority to contract on wife’s behalf.
Employment & Pensions
The September Issue of the Employment & Pensions Newsletter covers a range of hot topics including:
We also discuss a brand new start for the Equal Opportunities Commission in its work in promoting equal educational opportunities for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong and pregnancy discrimination.
Competition Law
Recent Publications:
“Getting competition law compliance on the agenda: whose responsibility?”
In this article, we discuss why companies should take into account competition law in their business planning.
“Practical considerations when assessing competition law risk exposure”
Understanding how competition authorities learn about potentially problematic business agreements, dealings and behaviours can better facilitate strategic compliance planning. In this article, we consider an agency’s key sources of intelligence and what this means for your company’s competition law risk exposure.
We will continue to update our Competition Webpage with legal developments in competition law and also regularly publish articles and briefings to keep you up to date with current issues in competition law and practice.
Awards and Recognition
Hong Kong’s largest law firm
Deacons continues to hold its position as Hong Kong’s largest law firm according to The Lawyer’s Asia-Pacific 150 report that ranks law firm by size. Also, we are privileged to be recognised as one of the fastest growing firms in the region. Deacons grew again in 2015, increasing its lawyer workforce by 22 percent.
Deacons recognised in Euromoney’s Expert Guides 2016
21 Deacons lawyers have been recognised in the 2016 edition of Euromoney’s Expert Guides as experts in their fields. The final selection was based on nominations by senior practitioners and in-house counsel worldwide, and consultation with legal experts. Cynthia Chung, partner of Corporate Commercial Group, was recognised as expert in Labour and Employment, Woman in Business Law.
Deacons a finalist at the China Law & Practice Awards
We are pleased to announce that Deacons has recently been shortlisted by China Law & Practice (an ALM publication) for “Firms of the Year” in the Hong Kong category at their annual awards.
The awards ceremony will be held on September 21st in Beijing. The event annually celebrates the top deals and top law firms in China in key practice areas. The winners are judged on their professional accomplishments as well as advocacy and influence within their fields over the last 12 months. For the past three years, Deacons has won the “Hong Kong Firm of the Year” award at the China Law & Practice Awards.