Public Interest

01Apr2020

COVID-19 and the Competition Ordinance

In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the Competition Commission (“Commission”) issued a press release on 27 March 2020 on the application of the Competition Ordinance (Cap 619) (“Ordinance”) in terms of the supply of critical goods and services in Hong Kong. The Commission recognises…Read More

04Mar2020

Hong Kong’s High Court rules Government’s discrimination against same-sex couples in public housing policy unconstitutional

In a decision handed down today the High Court has ruled that the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HA”)’s exclusion of same-sex couples from eligibility for public housing as “Ordinary Families” is unlawful and unconstitutional. Background Applications to the HA for public housing are available to…Read More

28Feb2020

In The Midst Of A Crisis – An employment lawyer’s perspective

In response to the spreading outbreak of COVID-19, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong hosted its first webinar with Tanner De Witt Employment Practice partner Russell Bennett as one of the guest speakers. The event began with an update from Dutch Consul General…Read More

10Feb2020

Legal and Workplace Implications of Reported Cases of the Novel Coronavirus disease: COVID-19

Having experienced Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the years of 2002 and 2003 which resulted in 1755 cases and 299 deaths, the public health situation in Hong Kong is once again under threat by the novel coronavirus outbreak, COVID 19. There have already been…Read More

26Jan2020

What we learned from the WebSAMS data breach

Nine schools in Hong Kong were attacked in a recent cybersecurity incident, resulting in a data breach for four schools. Pádraig Walsh from the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group of Tanner De Witt reviews what happened, and what general guidance can be learned from the…Read More

09Aug2019

Mark Side attends International Centre for Family Law, Policy and Practice’s 2019 London Conference

Partner Mark Side was in attendance at the International Centre for Family Law, Policy and Practice‘s 2019 London Conference, which was held at the Westminster Law School of The University of Westminster on 3 to 5 July 2019. Over 250 delegates from more than 30…Read More

25Jul2019

Legal update: A Beneficiaries’ right to request information from Trustees

The principles established in Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd [2003] relating to a beneficiaries’ right to request information from trustees was recently confirmed by the England & Wales High Court in Lewis v Tamplin [2018]. In Lewis the settlor set up a trust and left…Read More

04Jun2019

Libel update: Definitions of words used in social media posts not to be found in dictionaries!

In a recent high-profile Facebook libel case following an acrimonious divorce in Stocker v Stocker, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that when determining the natural and ordinary meaning of words published on social media – fleeting and hastily written – the First Instance Judge…Read More

03May2019

Two Tanner De Witt teams emerge victorious in HK Centre for Pro Bono Service Quiz

It was an intellectual evening for the books on Thursday 25 April as the HK Centre for Pro Bono Service hosted its inaugural Quiz Night at Canny Man Bar. In true supportive fashion, Tanner De Witt entered two teams in this eleven-team tournament, and both…Read More

08Mar2019

Happy International Women’s Day 2019!

From all of us at Tanner De Witt, Happy International Women’s Day! We are celebrating this wonderful occasion by supporting a number of events: On Friday 1 March, we were a Silver Table Sponsor at The Women’s Foundation‘s International Women’s Day Gala Lunch. Kim Boreham,…Read More

25Oct2018

Legal update: UK Supreme Court held no discrimination by bakery shop not producing cake with “Support Gay Marriage” message

The recent judgment handed down by the UK Supreme Court in the case of Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd & Others [2018] UKSC 49 (“Lee”) provided some important guidance concerning direct discrimination and how other competing rights should be weighed. In Lee, Mr. Lee…Read More

24Oct2018

Tanner De Witt attends HKRU celebration of men’s Sevens wins

On 19 October 2018, Partner Eddie Look, Solicitors Herman Pang and Jonathan Yeung and Trainee Solicitor Joanne Lam attended a reception hosted by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (“HKRU”) to celebrate the recent Gold medal wins of the Hong Kong national men’s Sevens team in…Read More