Hong Kong Office

Contact details

Slaughter and May
47th Floor, Jardine House
One Connaught Place, Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2521 0551
Fax: +852 2845 2125

Regulation

In Hong Kong we practise through a partnership known as Slaughter and May, whose principal place of business is at 47th Floor, Jardine House, One Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong. The partnership is regulated by The Law Society of Hong Kong.

All partners based in Hong Kong are partners of the above partnership and are solicitors of Hong Kong, and as such are regulated by The Law Society of Hong Kong. A number of the partners of the above partnership are solicitors of England and Wales or registered foreign lawyers and so regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. In addition, John Moore is an attorney qualified in the State of New York and regulated by the New York State Bar Association.

A copy of the Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct is available on The Law Society of Hong Kong's website, www.hklawsoc.org.hk.

A copy of the SRA Standards and Regulations is available on the Solicitors Regulation Authority's website, www.sra.org.uk. This includes the SRA Overseas Principles, which embody the key ethical requirements on firms and individuals who are involved in the provision of legal services outside England and Wales. If you think we have breached any of the SRA Overseas Principles, you can report the matter directly to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (see www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page).

An official copy of Rules of Professional Conduct applicable to New York attorneys (the “Rules of Professional Conduct”) can be obtained, in printed form only, from the New York State Department of State, Division of Administrative Rules. An unofficial version is also available on the New York State Bar Association website, https://nysba.org/attorney-resources/professional-standards/. This unofficial version includes a preamble, scope and comments which are published solely by the New York State Bar Association to provide guidance for New York attorneys in complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Some of the material on this website may constitute attorney advertising for the purposes of the professional rules and regulations applicable to New York attorneys. Please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Our terms and conditions

Advice is given and services are supplied by Slaughter and May on the basis of the firm's terms and conditions of business, which are available to clients by emailing terms@slaughterandmay.com. By instructing Slaughter and May, all clients of the firm agree to the firm's terms and conditions of business, subject to any amendments which the firm has expressly agreed.

No liability is accepted or responsibility assumed for advice given or services supplied to persons who are not clients of the firm, unless the firm expressly agrees otherwise.

Professional indemnity insurance

We take out and maintain professional indemnity insurance on a worldwide basis.

The primary layer of our worldwide professional indemnity insurance is with Lloyd’s Syndicate QBE 1886 (of 30 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BD), Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company (of One Creechurch Place, Creechurch Lane, London EC3A 5AF), Berkshire Hathaway European Insurance DAC (of 2nd Floor, 7 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin D02 KW81) and HDI Global Specialty SE, UK branch (of 20 Gracechurch Street London EC3V 0BG).

We also have the benefit of compulsory professional indemnity insurance provided by the Hong Kong Solicitors Indemnity Fund Limited.

Client complaints procedure

At all times, we aim to provide our clients with a professional service of the highest quality.

Any client who is unhappy with any aspect of our service is entitled to complain. We treat all complaints seriously and are committed to investigating them promptly, fairly and free of charge.

What to do if you have a complaint about our service

If you have any complaint, including a complaint about your bill, you should raise it in the first instance with someone from the team dealing with your matter. This could be the partner responsible for the relevant matter (the matter partner) or the person responsible for managing our relationship with you (the relationship partner). You can find their contact details in the engagement letter sent to you at the start of your matter and you may contact them either by telephone, email or in writing. The lawyer looking into your complaint will acknowledge receipt as soon as possible. They may need to ask you for further clarification about your concerns if further information is required.

It may be possible to offer a solution to resolve your concerns quickly and informally. If appropriate, the lawyer may send you a detailed reply to your concerns or suggest a meeting. When addressing your concerns, we will aim to provide you with a substantive reply or proposals within 14 days of receiving the necessary details of your complaint.

If that is felt to be inappropriate, or if you feel that the response of the relationship partner or the partner responsible for the matter is inadequate, you can write to Benita Yu, our Senior Partner, at 47th Floor, Jardine House, One Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong, or by using the queries@slaughterandmay.com email address.

We expect to resolve any problem to your satisfaction.

Referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman

If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction within eight weeks of you first raising it with us, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman (“LeO”) to consider your complaint if you are an individual; a micro-enterprise; a charity (with an annual income net of tax of less than £1,000,000); a club, association or organisation whose affairs are managed by its members, a committee or a committee of its members (with an annual income of less than £1,000,000); or a trustee of a trust (that had an asset value of less than £1,000,000), and the complaint is about the legal service you have received from us (including costs). Before accepting a complaint for investigation, LeO will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. 

You must take your complaint to LeO: within six months of receiving a our final response to your complaint; and no more than one year from the date of act/omission; or no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

You can contact LeO by telephone on 0300 555 0333, (and if you are based outside the UK you can telephone on +44 121 245 3050); by email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; or by post at Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.

If your complaint concerns acts or omissions outside England and Wales, LeO may dismiss your complaint if the circumstances do not have sufficient connection with England and Wales.

Complaints about your bill

If your complaint relates to your bill, you may also be able to apply to court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Please note, that if you apply to the court, LeO may decide not to deal with a complaint about the bill. LeO is an alternative to pursuing court action and they will not look at a complaint where there are ongoing court proceedings. 

Other concerns

If you are not a client but you nevertheless have a complaint you would like to raise in relation to our provision of legal services, please contact Benita Yu, our Senior Partner, using the contact information provided above.

We will deal with any such complaint promptly, fairly and free of charge.

Client account and interest policy

Any money held on behalf of clients by the Hong Kong office is held in a client account. We pay interest on amounts held to the extent required by the Hong Kong Solicitors’ Accounts Rules from time to time.