London-based “magic circle” law firm, Clifford Chance has 34 offices across 23 countries. The firm established Hong Kong office in 1980 and operates in its Beijing and Shanghai offices. In addition, the firm has more than 150 lawyers and 400-plus lawyers in seven other Asia Pacific offices including Australia, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Highlights

The firm's Hong Kong offices remain on top tier in 15 practice areas. Among these, the firm’s champion practices include banking and finance, capital markets, restructuring and insolvency, financial regulatory services and corporate M&A. 

Industry strengths for the firm include work in the oil and gas industry, technology media and telecommunications and transport.

In the past year, the firm participated in numerous landmark transactions including advises EV maker Leapmotor on equity financing and strategic joint venture with Stellantis N.V. and advises on Bayfront Infrastructure's US$508.3 million infrastructure asset-backed securities issuance.

Key Clients

Key clients of the firm include Alvarez & Marsal, CICC, CLSA, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Huatai Securities, Leapmotor, Morgan Stanley, and FTI Consulting.

Testimonials

Banking and Finance

“CC has a very strong team, and their ability would be among the best in business. Handling partners are very hands on, providing quick and precise responses.”

Capital markets: Equity

“Professional, Timing, and constructive.”

“They are quite familiar with the listing rules and the industry practice for our industry, i.e. consumer industry.  They provide the advice which not only follows the listing rules but also is practical for the company to take.”

"I like their professional, practical and timely service.”

“Clifford Chance boasts top-notch experts across a full spectrum of corporate law and all key jurisdictions globally.”

“Practical, business savvy and good turnaround time.”

“Practical, good turnaround, good business acumen.”

Capital markets: Debt

“Clifford Chance offers exceptional services in the debt capital markets space. They acquit themselves admirably in both the New York law and English law space. In particular, I would highlight the work of Mark Chan, Gareth Deiner, Connie Heng, Johannes Juette, David Tsai, Torrance Shi and Matt Fairclough, who regularly offer top-tier counsel on investment grade issuances, liability management and emerging markets issuances.”

“Quite responsive, senior members of the teams deliver quality service.”

“Their team is professional and efficient and provides timely feedback to our company’s questions; they are very clear about the regulatory requirements and market practices for bond issuance, which saves our company time and effort in bond issuance.”

Capital markets: Structured finance and securitization

“I like the service provided by Clifford Chance.”

Financial services regulatory

“Responsive, strategic.”

“Creative pricing, very responsive, great expertise in the regulatory space, very business minded and practical in their advice."

Investment funds

“Responsive. Hard-working and client focused.”

“Our partner is Viola Lui. She and her team are extremely knowledgeable in this subject matter and have communicated valuable insights for our consideration during the process of drafting the offering documents. In addition, and probably most importantly, they have been extremely responsive and professional in our communication. Last but not least, they have stick to the quotation provided to us at the start of the project which is always helpful for people in my position where budget planning is very important.”

Leveraged finance

“Content depth, knowledge of our firm's procedures and result oriented team."

“Very sharp and commercial team that is always market leading on latest terms, structuring, and commercial dynamics in the leveraged finance market. The team is professional, efficient and communicates well with clients and counterparties - Edith Leung in particular stands out for her sponsor-side work, we always feel the work has been completed efficiently and we've achieved the best legal and commercial outcomes in our transaction, often on a very expedited timeline.”

M&A

“Knowledge on local regs and market practise, familiarity with the client.”

Restructuring and Insolvency

“Clifford Chance has a balanced team mix which enabled them to deliver quality work with costs well managed. Their R&I team could also leverage on the knowledge from their counterparts to advise us on HKEX compliance related issues.”

“Readily available.  Pragmatic and timely advice, which is technically sound but with a commercial overlay.  The team has good bench-depth and a wide range of experience, which has seen Hong Kong's evolving legal landscape and can react to it.”

“The team is diligent, responsive, commercially astute and a pleasure to work alongside. We are very much ad idem on client service delivery.”

“Every member of the HK restructuring team is responsive, hard-working and solution orientated."

“Clifford Chance have sector expertise and provide partner-led, commercial and timely advice.”

Amy Ho

“Adaptive, accessible."

Christine Xu

“Expert Rights and Problem Solving.”

Connie Heng

“Always value-added service and outstanding responses around the clock, from deal structure to documentation.”

Dauwood Malik

“Highly respected, technically very strong and extremely commercial. He's a pleasure to work with.”

Donna Wacker

“Responsive, easy to work with."

Edith Leung

“Sharp, commercial, market leading. Able to advise on complex transactions at a very early stage, bringing foresight and structuring innovation to the table which is highly value additive for our overall investment process. Edith is also a very diligent hard worker able to meet very tight timelines which is hugely appreciated.”

Jean Thio

“Jean is always responsive when needed and selflessly share her wealth of knowledge and experience.”

Jonathan D. Wong

“Excellent lawyer, strong black letter knowledge coupled with very good commercially minded and practical advice. Able to offer good rates and very responsive. A true trusted advisor.”

Mark Chan

“Mark Chan offers top-tier counsel on investment grade issuances, liability management and emerging markets issuances.”

Matthew Truman

“He is solution oriented and thorough in his domain. He always has a good network, including partner firms, which he leverages well. He is also well reputed among industry participants like lenders.”

Phoebe Lo

“Phoebe managed to leverage on her firm's resources and expertise effectively to assist me on various insolvency and restructuring scenarios.”

“Phoebe is technically astute, commercially focused on meeting client needs and objectives and makes herself readily available on matters. These attributes and her easy-going demeanor make working with her a real pleasure.”

“Phoebe Lo is technically very sound and able to find pragmatic solutions at speed.  She is well known for her ability to work for Asian and Western clients alike, being one of only a handful of lawyers in the region with the depth of experience and ability combined with business-fluent Chinese language skills.”

“Phoebe is a next generation partner, very capable, multi-lingual, clear in her communication and fantastic client (and intermediary) management skills. "

“Phoebe is an extremely knowledgeable lawyer - her ability to understand and navigate complex issues is market-leading.  Phoebe has an ability to stay calm under pressure and can identify the crux of the problem and find a commercial solution for it.”

“Phoebe is technically excellent and approaches stakeholder management with pragmatism and timely advice.  She is one of the best practitioners in town in my opinion.”

Rocky Mui

“Client-focused. Responsive. Friendly.”

Tianning Xiang

“He's very comprehensive and pragmatic, the best counsel I've ever worked with.”

Tim (Yanfeng) Wong

“Co-operate with him in many IPO case, like CALB.”

“He is familiar with the listing rules and willing to provide different solutions to the Company.  He can easily coordinate and involve other legal counselors within the firm to provide advice.”

Torrance Shi

“Professional and friendly.”

Vicky Ma

“Vicky has a good grasp of key issues and people dynamics and has a strong commercial acumen as well. Her truly versatile skillset helps us navigate and resolve complex issues effectively.”

Viola Liu

“Highly experience partner in Clifford Chance and very knowledgeable about our hedge fund industry's trends and best practices. She is extremely responsive and professional in our conversation. Very commercial from a business perspective.”

Virginia Lee

“Technical, professional and very hands on.”

“Practical, business savvy and innovative advice. Always available 24/7 and great turnaround. Concise and clear thinker.”

“Practical, business savvy, efficient, knowledgeable.”