Denise Fung

Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations Partner, Hong Kong SAR

"I advise on large-scale investigations, commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings, with a particular focus on supporting corporates and financial institutions. I strive to provide advice that is clear, practical and takes full account of the commercial environment in which clients are operating."

Overview

Education and qualifications

Overview

Denise advises corporate and financial institutions on high-value contentious matters arising in company and commercial litigation as well as internal and regulatory investigations, and restructurings. 

She has particular expertise in the financial services sector, and has represented financial institutions at all levels of the Hong Kong Courts up to the Court of Final Appeal, in matters involving fraud claims, injunction and disclosure orders, creditor enforcement proceedings, insolvency, and shareholder and joint venture disputes.

Her experience also includes regular interactions with Hong Kong and international regulatory authorities. She supports clients on the planning, conduct and reporting of complex investigations and the resolution of matters with regulators and other stakeholders, and has advised financial institutions on a wide range of financial and non-financial misconduct investigations, including in the areas of mis-selling, insider dealing and AML.

She is deeply involved in the firm’s ESG practice, and leads the contentious ESG practice in Asia, regularly advising and delivering training on litigation and regulatory risks in connection with ESG matters in Hong Kong and Asia.

Denise is a solicitor advocate of the Hong Kong courts, with full rights of audience in the Hong Kong courts in respect of civil matters.

Denise is recognised as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 Hong Kong: Dispute Resolution: Litigation, and ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers Greater China: Dispute Resolution: Litigation (International Firms).

Work highlights

Highlights of her experience include:

  • acting for China Aoyuan and Add Hero on their schemes of arrangement for the restructuring of its offshore debt
  • acting for Moody’s in relation to enforcement action taken by the SFC, including proceedings before the Securities and Futures Appeal Tribunal and Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
  • representing financial institutions in relation to issues arising out of their role as sponsors in initial public offerings, including defending against regulatory investigations and collective compensation proceedings
  • leading an internal investigation for a global bank into allegations of inappropriate disclosure of inside information covering the US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong 
  • representing The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on a series of interlocutory injunction and strike out applications relating to Siberian Mining Group
  • advising a fertilizer producer on a PRC joint venture dispute, including in relation to HKIAC proceedings
  • acting for a leading investment bank on multijurisdictional default enforcement proceedings in relation to the Rightway Group
  • advising and representing clients on submissions to the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner in relation to the protection of customer data
  • acting for an international financial institution on potential foreign exchange trading misconduct, including associated regulatory and civil class actions in the US, UK and Asia Pacific
  • advising global investment and retail banks in respect of mis-selling claims arising out of the sales of Lehman-related structured products and other investment products, including acting for the Bank of East Asia (Hong Kong) on the HK$6.3bn Lehman minibond settlement

Education and qualifications

University of Oxford, B.A. (Hons) Jurisprudence.

The University of Hong Kong, Postgraduate Certificate in Laws.