About Lawrence
Lawrence has accumulated extensive experience in all aspects of criminal law, corporate and market misconduct investigations during his practice at the Bar and decades of earlier service with the Hong Kong Police Force.
In attaining his LLM (HKU), he focused on key areas of interest including corporate law, human rights, international law and the PRC criminal code.
He brings an understanding of a full range of criminal and regulatory offences to the cases he undertakes. He is frequently instructed to represent clients in disciplinary hearings brought by law enforcement agencies.
He has a robust practical knowledge under the Mental Health Ordinance and the emotional quotient for managing mentally handicapped persons or mentally disordered persons suffering from illnesses such as bipolar, psychosis, gender dysphoria, anorexic nervosa and major depressive disorder in the context of criminal cases.
He also acts for clients in relation to investigations initiated by the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, Buildings Department, Equal Opportunity Commission, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Physiotherapists Board and Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”).
He is particularly familiar with large-scale commercial crime and money laundering investigations. And, he regularly advises local listed companies and foreign entities on their internal investigations into corporate misconduct.
He frequently provides legal opinions on a range of matters, including criminal, corporate, money lenders ordinance, listing rules, common interest privilege and professional code of conduct.
He has advised on Hong Kong law with PRC elements, most recently providing a legal opinion regarding Hong Kong law for a case in the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (深圳国际仲裁院) (SCIA) involving cross-border financing transaction dispute.
On the civil side, he has developed an interest in the area of adverse possession, sexual harassment, employment and town planning law in the course of his practice.
Clients in this field include a statutory body, a publicly listed company, a CPA Firm, a property developer, an investment house, a global health care company and an overseas trading company.
Selected Cases
Murder
- Appeared as Junior Counsel for an appeal together with David Perry QC in Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal in relation to HKSAR v Nancy Ann Kissel CACC No. 66 of 2012 and FAMC No. 63 of 2013, also known as the 'milkshake murder'
- Appeared as Junior Counsel for a ‘murder’ trial: HCCC No. 417 of 2017
Drug-related offences
- ‘Trafficking in dangerous drugs’: DCCC No. 247 of 2016
- ‘Trafficking in dangerous drugs’: DCCC No. 1182 of 2018
- ‘Trafficking in dangerous drugs’ & ‘manufacturing a dangerous drug’: HCCC No. 357 of 2023
Sexual Offences
- Defendant was acquitted of ‘indecent assault’ with cost: WKCC No. 4421 of 2020
- Defendant was acquitted of ‘voyeurism’: WKCC No. 4399 of 2023
Mental Issues
- Is a mild grade mentally retarded person capable of forming the necessary guilty mind for the offences that he faced?: KCCC No. 2344 of 2024 ‘theft’ & ‘Indecent Assault’ and KCCC No. 850 of 2025 ‘theft’.
Disciplinary
- An application for permanent stay of proceedings resulted in the prosecution withdrawing all the respective disciplinary charges related to the ‘affront’ limb: Hong Kong Police Force v A defaulter Disciplinary Report No. 7 of 2018
- Advising an accountant firm on a breach of legal and/or professional duty
- Advising a law firm on professional conduct regarding statutory requirement for the provision of nominee director to client
Advisory
- Advising a statutory body on common interest privilege
- Advising a client on changes in town planning law
- Advising a listed company on whether the company is eligible to engage and enter into a joint venture contract in the property development business
- Advising a client on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance Schedule 2 Requirement Relating to Customer Due Diligence and Record-Keeping, Cap 615
- Advising a client on illegal loans offered by moneylender
- Advising an accountant firm on Main Board Lisiting Rule 3.13(3) and whether an existing INED not qualified as “independent” and has to resign from the board of directors before joining the accountant firm
- Advising a listed company on Main Board Listing Rule 14 & 14A
- Advising a listed company on the legality of the subscription agreement
- 出具香港法律意见书协助深圳国际仲裁院仲裁关于一宗跨境融资借款涉及《借款合同》的合法性与法律效力
Education
- LL.M., University of Hong Kong