Tanner De Witt in the Media

South China Morning Post, 24 April 2011 - Ian De Witt is quoted in an report by Chris Davis headlined "Just how professional are the professional investors?". Ian expresses some views on professional investors, and advocates mandatory indemnity insurance for all advisers.

South China Morning Post, 2 February 2011 - Ian De Witt is quoted in an report headlined "Investors see downside of stock accumulators". He comments that the firm currently has three accumulator cases against two banks pending in Hong Kong's High Court.

Best Practice Management, September 2010 - Tanner De Witt is one of the corporate partners mentioned in an article on Corporate Social Responsibility by Orla Gilroy, CEO of Enlighten - Action for Epilepsy Charity.

South China Morning Post, 29 March 2010 - Tanner De Witt is featured in an report headlined "Lawyers hold court in the stands, on the field and in the citing room", in which Ian De Witt discusses the firm's "rugby bent", which includes offering a training contract to Hong Kong winger Rowan Varty and sponsoring Philippines rugby development and street children. The firm's bent for topical hold music also gets a mention.

South China Morning Post, 2 September 2009 - In an article about the continuing legal saga over the collapse of disgraced entrepreneur James Ting's Akai Holdings empire, it was noted that the judge, Mr Justice William Stone, placed all the assets of tycoon Christopher Ho, including Rolls-Royces, Porsches and an art collection, into the control of Robin Darton, the receiver, of Tanner De Witt, to prevent a "continuing dissipation of assets ... in breach of the original order".

South China Morning Post, 30 March 2009 - In a report on the redistribution of corporate boxes at the Hong Kong Sevens in the wake of the financial meltdown, Robby Nimmo interviewed Ian De Witt.

Another new corporate box-holder who is on the upward side of the swinging pendulum is Tanner De Witt. The firm is strong in litigation.

"We were delighted when a box came up this year and weren't sure that we could count on it," said Welshman Ian De Witt (decked out in a hat and shirt that looked more Caribbean than the colours of his rugby-fervent English and New Zealand legal partners). "The recession meant a shorter waiting time.

"The others' loss is our gain. We'd like to have a box again next year. We can do more networking here than many other social means and it's a great way to spend time with clients out of the office."

The boxes have always been coveted territory, and even in tough times De Witt has hit on one positive thought: Law firms and companies are thinking of their future and looking forward to booking the boxes again for the next Hong Kong Sevens. You've got to admire that optimism.

South China Morning Post, 15 March 2009 - Ian De Witt is mentioned as one of the influential Welshmen in Hong Kong in a tongue-in-cheek preview of Wales's chances of success at the Hong Kong Sevens following their surprise win at the World Cup Sevens in Dubai.

Asian Counsel, October 2008 - In a special report on restructuring and insolvency, Asian Counsel published a feature on Hong Kong and the credit crunch [PDF, 340KB], written by Robin Darton and Ian De Witt.

The Standard, 25 September 2008 - Ian De Witt featured in a report on the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers Annual Conference 2008. Ian gave a talk entitled Responsibilities Beyond Regulations: Mis-selling: Civil Liability for Negligence and for giving Negligent Advice.

Ian De Witt, a partner of Tanner De Witt solicitors, began by giving some basic principles, criteria and context to the law of negligence and misrepresentation. He explained that in the case of professionals the court will readily accept that a duty of care would arise whenever a professional undertakes to give advice and provide services to someone else, knowing that the recipient will rely on his professional competence and judgment. He cited some examples to illustrate how things can go wrong and how the courts have dealt with these issues.

The report also appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Times (Chinese) [PDF, 1MB]

Hong Kong Lawyer, April 2008 - Re Sweetmart Garment Works Limited was published in the official journal of the Law Society of Hong Kong. The article was also published in INSOL International's April 2008 electronic newsletter.

Leisure Industries, March 2008 - Ian De Witt receives a mention for his ‘fascinating’ discussion on the status of frequent-flyer programme members in bankruptcy proceedings in John Vernon's IBA Singapore Conference Report in The International Bar Association Legal Practice Division newsletter.

South China Morning Post, 9 November 2007 - Mark Side is mentioned in a report about the prosecution of Thomas Li Kit-loi, the assistant manager of former Ngong Ping 360 cable car operator Skyrail-ITM. Mr Li pleaded not guilty at Tsuen Wan Magistracy to charges of criminal negligence in connection with the cable car plunge on Lantau in June. He is being represented by Mark Side.

The story also appeared in The Standard and the Hong Kong Chinese press. The photo (right: Mark Side second from left) appeared alongside the report in Apple Daily.

INSOL World, October 2007 - Insol International's quarterly journal published What Did I Do Wrong? Possible Pitfalls in Asia by Robin Darton.

TVB Pearl, 21 August 2007 - Ken Choy was interviewed for an item on the 7:30pm News programme concerning a school in Guangzhou accused of trademark infringement by Beacon College in Hong Kong. Ken stressed the importance of trademark registration in China.

South China Morning Post, 4 November 2006 - Mark Side and Robin Darton were quoted extensively in an article in Classified Post: Demand spurs law firms into recruiting China experts by John Cremer. The article discussed the growing demand among Hong Kong law firms for solicitors with significant commercial experience, fluency in Putonghua and qualifications to practise mainland law.

Rugby Talk, October 2006 - Bigger and Better

Asian Legal Business, October 2006 - Ian De Witt is listed as one of ALB's Hot 100, the hottest lawyers of 2006.

Rugby Talk, July 2006 - Fat Boys Set to Roll Once More

Britain in Hong Kong, March 2006 - Legal and Workplace Implications of Avian Influenza was reprinted in the newspaper of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Human Resources, March 2006 - Legal and Workplace Implications of Avian Influenza was reprinted in the journal published by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management.

Playtimes, February 2006 - Working Mothers first appeared.

South China Morning Post, 14 January 2006 - Mark Side and Robin Darton were quoted in an article in Classified Post: Making the case for a career in the legal profession by John Casey. The article discussed the growing demand for solicitors and barristers in Hong Kong and the likely effects of increasing integration with the mainland.

South China Morning Post, 14 October 2005 - In the wake of the seminar on flexible benefits jointly hosted by Tanner De Witt and Black Mountain, Classified Post reported under the headline HK employers to offer more flexible perks, quoting Russell Bennett.

Asian Legal Business, October 2005 - Growth Spurts: Firms on the Rise - A look at law firms across Asia that are on the march.

Rugby Talk, October 2005 - It Was a BIG Event

South China Morning Post, 3 September 2005 - Ian De Witt was quoted extensively in an article discussing the effectiveness of regulation of the financial planning industry in Hong Kong.

Ian observed that the system in Hong Kong is ineffective and confused, with no clear division of supervisory responsibility between the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers (CIB). However, since the case of Field v Barber Asia, in which Ian represented the plaintiff Susan Field, the duty of care of financial advisers has been clarified. "It was previously thought that so long as financial advisers complied with the regulatory rules that govern them, they would not be liable for losses an investor suffers in a fluctuating market. This is not the case."

In consequence financial advisers need to adopt good practices, ensuring that they understand their clients' needs and that their clients understand the products they are being sold. In particular financial advisers should avoid conflicts of interest when advising on investments, and should accept that as professional advisers they cannot avoid the responsibility that goes with giving advice. "When the public goes to a financial adviser they require expert advice, just as they would need expert advice from a doctor if they were sick or a lawyer if they had legal matters," said Ian. "In a sense, they are passing the responsibility on to an adviser and he or she is accepting that responsibility and is remunerated for it."

Ian also pointed out the need for financial advisers to take out professional indemnity insurance and to disclose their commissions, and he added that until the system changes investors should ask investment companies whether they have such insurance cover and should ask investment advisers to disclose their commissions.

The Standard, 4 July 2005 - Guided by Greed - Financial Planning in Hong Kong SAR

Rugby Talk, July 2005 - Tanner De Witt Nomads' Perfect Year