William Wong

Partner


Direct +852 2803 3602
Mobile +852 5298 3051
Fax +852 2803 3618
Email [email protected]


Jurisdictions Hong Kong
England and Wales
Languages English, Cantonese, Mandarin

Profile

William specialises in contentious regulatory work and financial services and commercial litigation. He represents both institutional and individual clients in investigations by regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong on matters including market misconduct, money-laundering, bribery and corruption, mis-selling, internal controls failure, fraud, employee whistleblowing and data breaches.

 

On the advisory side, leveraging his in-house experience William frequently provides counsel on a broad range of regulatory and compliance issues concerning financial institutions and listed companies, including new business initiatives (the drafting of client agreements), licensing issues and internal controls, as well as emerging trends such as the use of Tech and virtual assets.

 

As a litigator, William has over 15 years of experience in advising financial institutions, listed and private companies and family offices/high net worth individuals on high-stake commercial disputes, from pre-action strategy and settlement negotiations, interim injunctive relief, commencement of proceedings and trial, to enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards.

 

William has been ranked by leading legal directories since 2018, including Legal 500 ("Next Generation Lawyer" for Disputes Resolution), Who's Who Legal ("Future Leader" in Investigations), LexisNexis ("40 Under 40") and Chinese Business Law Journal (20 Rising Stars in international firms).

 

Clients have consistently provided positive testimonials about William:

 

"William is highly praised for his top-notch litigation work representing clients on investigations relating to market misconduct and white-collar crime." (Who's Who Legal Investigations 2022)

 

"William has been a standout: he is commercially astute, technically sound and extremely responsive." (Legal 500 Hong Kong 2022)

 

"William Wong is meticulous, professional, thoughtful and willing to listen and consider client needs." (Legal 500 Hong Kong 2022)

 

"William is a seasoned professional with in-depth experience not just in law, but also possesses excellent compliance related skills and techniques to deal with regulators. He is also very competent in civil litigation. He is highly accessible and responsive." (Legal 500 Hong Kong 2021)

 

"William is a “very experienced and highly skilled litigation lawyer” whose “responsiveness and attitude is top class”." (WWL Investigations 2021)

 

"William is “knowledgeable” and has an “ability to deliver succinct and appropriate advice”." (Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018)

 

Before joining Howse Williams in April 2022, William spent over seven years at Clifford Chance's dispute resolution and regulatory practices after working at the Legal and Compliance Department at Bank of American Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse for four years. He trained and worked with Simmons & Simmons in Hong Kong and London.

 

William is one of the authors of the Hong Kong chapter of The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigation (3rd-6th editions) and Lissack and Horlick on Bribery and Corruption (3rd edition). 

 

He is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Experience

2022 Howse Williams
2014 Clifford Chance
2011 Credit Suisse
2010 Merrill Lynch
2005 Simmons & Simmons

Education

2005 Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, University of Hong Kong
2004 Bachelor of Laws, University of Hong Kong

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

2016 Civil Celebrant, Hong Kong
2008 England and Wales
2007 Hong Kong

Member, Law Society of Hong Kong
Member, International Legal Affairs Committee, Law Society of Hong Kong
Member, OLQE Eligibility and Exemption committee, Law Society of Hong Kong
Member, Investment Products and Financial Services Committee, Law Society of Hong Kong (2020-2021)
Member, Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel, HKSAR Government

The below is a list of his selected experience:

 

  • Advising multiple financial institutions and their senior employees on compliance with Banking Ordinance, Securities and Futures Ordinance (including circulars and Codes), HKMA SPMs/Circulars, AMLO, Listing Rules and Takeovers Code
  • Advising listed companies and their directors in internal investigations and investigations by HKEX or SFC
  • Advising financial institutions (which are covered by investment management or financial services liability insurance) on client complaints, SFC/HKMA investigations and High court litigation relating to a wide range of issues including mis-selling, sponsor work, publication of research reports, conducting unlicensed regulated activities, phone recording requirements, etc.
  • Advising major Chinese financial institutions on disputes arising from management of investments for an institutional investor, involving High Court proceedings
  • Advising a PRC bank in resisting arbitrations commenced by a minority shareholder in Hong Kong
  • Advising financial institutions on internal investigations of employee misconduct
  • Advising financial institutions on financial crimes matters, including AML investigations, sanctions compliance, anti-bribery corruption issues, and NSL issues
  • Advising crypto exchanges on investigations by the SFC