William Wong
Partner
| Direct | +852 2803 3602 |
| Mobile | +852 5298 3051 |
| Fax | +852 2803 3618 |
| [email protected] | |
| Jurisdictions | Hong Kong England and Wales |
| Languages | English, Cantonese, Mandarin |
Practice Areas
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 featured in leading legal directories since 2018, when he was ranked a "Next Generation Lawyer" for Disputes Resolution in Hong Kong by Legal 500. He was awarded "40 Under 40" by LexisNexis in 2022. Clients have consistently provided positive testimonials about William: "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 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 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 as a compliance manager and an in-house counsel at Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse for four years. He trained with Simmons & Simmons in Kong 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 a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). 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
2008 England and Wales
2007 Hong Kong
Member, 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
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)
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 major Chinese financial institutions on disputes arising from management of investments for an institutional investor, involving High Court proceedings Advising listed companies and their directors in MMT proceedings (concerning disclosure of false or misleading information and late disclosure of inside information) Advising financial institutions on 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 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 a PRC bank on challenges by a minority shareholder against board resolutions and AGMs (through arbitration) Advising crypto exchanges on investigations by the SFC Advising the liquidators of the first liquidation of a crypto exchange in Hong Kong Advising in the first private action arising from competition law issues in Hong Kong Advising on employment/ER (harassment complaints, alleged wrongful termination), data privacy (investigations for breach of DPPs under PDPO) and cyber security (crisis management) issues Advising a leading insurance company on potential fraud in the distribution of an insurance-linked assurance scheme and associated regulatory and criminal investigations, customer complaints and litigation (including urgent applications for injunction) Advising a PRC-headquartered securities firm in successfully winding up a listed company for unpaid redemption proceeds