the HIP talks

For families raising a child or caring for a family member with different abilities in Hong Kong, the law can feel like a maze — full of critical protections and planning tools that are rarely explained in plain terms. Too often, parents, guardians and carers discover their rights only when a crisis has already arrived. That is precisely the gap that The Ability Bridges was designed to help close....

In this podcast episode, Raphael Wong and Maureen Mueller delve into parenting coordination (PC), a crucial service for separated or divorced parents. Maureen defines PC as a neutral third-party aid that helps parents resolve disagreements concerning their children's arrangements, especially when initial plans or court orders prove insufficient. SHOW NOTES: 02:15 PC vs. Mediation vs. Legal Represe...

In this podcast featuring Caroline McNally and family mediator Giles Surman, the duo champions family mediation as a superior alternative to litigation for resolving family disputes. Giles Surman, drawing on his extensive legal career spanning criminal and family law, defines mediation as a collaborative, non-adversarial process designed to help individuals craft their own agreements regarding chi...

Caroline advises on all aspects of family law and is a highly sought-after practitioner when it comes to high value, complex financial claims and high-conflict children matters. Caroline also regularly advises on pre and post nuptial agreements.   Find out more: https://www.hugillandip.com/solicitors/caroline-mcnally/

Kajal Aswani dives into the critical role of forensic accountants in family law with guest Tavish MacLean. The conversation explores how forensic accountants untangle financial disputes, uncover hidden assets, and provide clarity in high-stakes divorce proceedings. Kajal shares personal anecdotes from her 20 plus years in family law, highlighting the importance of financial transparency and early...

Hugill & Ip presents Series 6 of the HIP talks "Family matters", a compelling podcast collection delving into the complexities of family law in Hong Kong. This season, our expert solicitors engage with preeminent professionals, psychologists, financial advisors and mediators to explore the real stories behind divorces, custody battles and financial disputes. Hugill & Ip brings you this series as p...

Raphael Wong and Kathryn Weaver explore her family's transformative journey through the adoption of Max and Roxie. Kathryn offers profound perspectives on adoption, drawing from her experience both as a mother and an employment lawyer. After fifteen years together, Kathryn and her husband Alex deliberately chose adoption as their preferred path to parenthood. She champions the fundamental right to...

Raphael Wong talks to Joshua Blue about the adoption journey of him and his same-sex partner in the United States and Hong Kong. Joshua and his partner Taka carefully evaluated various family-building options, including single-parent adoption in Hong Kong and surrogacy, before deciding to pursue adoption in the United States whilst maintaining their Hong Kong residency. They engaged American Adopt...

In a compelling conversation with Raphael Wong, Megan Richardson and Jo Hull share their remarkable journey to parenthood through adoption, navigating the complexities of Hong Kong's adoption system as a same-sex couple. Initially contemplating fostering, the couple ultimately pursued adoption despite recognising the additional challenges they would face. Their account details extensive interactio...

Elizabeth Herbert, a barrister and co-founding member of Pegasus Chambers, discusses her career journey with Adam Hugill. They reflect on their history of working together, as well as other high-profile cases like the landmark internet defamation case, Oriental Daily vs Fevaworks which she worked on with fellow Partner, Alfred Ip. Elizabeth shares how she was drawn to the advocacy and courtroom as...

Pink Friday Event on legal and healthcare pathways for same-sex couples Mike Kung of Goldman Sachs talks to Lisa Lam about the origin of #PinkFridayPride and its significance. He also shares some good memories about the event in the past 10 years and some highlights about Hong Kong Gay Games 2023 and yesterday's quiz night, as well as the planned LGBTQ+ choir and ESG events happening later today....

Caroline McNally and Frances Irving sit down for a chat about her personal and professional life from the early days as a social worker first in Scotland then in Hong Kong and the opportunity to develop a second career as a barrister focused on family law.  They talk about helping people during one of the most difficult periods of their lives and about managing expectations in the hope of seeing t...

Alfred Ip and Kerby Lau share their experience working as a team in many contentious trusts & estate matters, touching on the initial motivation to embark on legal careers. They go on discussing the role of administrators, executors and trustees and their duties, highlighting the possible pitfalls and ways to manage conflicts, which sometimes can potentially lead to the removal of administrators....

Florence (Sai Wing) Chan speaks to our Alfred Ip about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: from the pure concept of it to the reasons why businesses need to look at DEI as a necessity to strengthen their workforce, show empathy and build appropriate policies, programs, initiatives to achieve a better and more equitable balance. Issues can be diverse: they range from women empowerment, disability trai...

Alfred Ip and Henry Li talk about Henry's personal story with husband Edgar Ng while touching upon legal protections – or rather the lack of – related to inheritance and housing rights in Hong Kong for same-sex couples legally married overseas. They delve into the hurdles and (direct and indirect) discriminatory treatment connected to the lack of recognition of same-sex relationships and marriages...

Alfred Ip talks to Film Director Ray Yeung about his life story – growing up in Hong Kong and then furthering his education in the UK, where he studied law, then finding his passion in film making. Ray talks about " 叔叔  Suk Suk" which introduced the novel topic of two elderly gay men falling in love in Hong Kong, representing a minority within a minority. He goes on to talk about his latest film...

Alfred Ip interviews Henry Tse about his life while growing up in Hong Kong as well as after moving to the UK to further his education. Henry realised quite early in his life about his gender identity and struggle. He went through a hard time whilst studying in a religious secondary school, made more difficult as he lacked LGBTQ role models. Often, he – and other students – faced biases and confro...

Raphael Wong interviews Felix Li about his calling and dedication to family law, especially in regards of children-related matters. They discuss the divorce process and the different roles of barristers and solicitors. They go on talking about the evolution and specifics related to child custody in Hong Kong and the essential role of co-parenting and handling the relationship with other third-part...

Adam Hugill interviews Frances Lok of Des Voeux Chambers about her path that lead her to build a strong career as a barrister in Hong Kong. They elaborate about some contentious employment matters they worked on together in the past 15 years as well as some other cases that Frances deals with, including some in the contentious probate area. Frances also discusses her temporary appointments as a ju...

Frances Tsang speaks to Azan Marwah and Alfred Ip about the role of barristers vs solicitors and the importance that each role takes in contentious proceedings in Court, especially within the Hong Kong Family court. They discuss some examples of legal matters they have worked on together, during a collaboration that goes back a long time. They also highlight the recent growing trend of some client...

Exciting Announcement: soon the HIP talks will introduce a new legal podcast series, "The Barrister Series"! In this innovative series, we will delve into the world of contentious legal matters, exploring a wide range of thought-provoking topics through discussions between renowned solicitors and barristers. Prepare to be captivated by insightful conversations, intriguing case studies, and expert...

Our Alfred Ip discusses essential considerations related to the distribution of trust assets with Kerby Lau and Joshua Yeung of Des Voeux Chambers. The DVC Trusts, Estates and Succession Series is a collection of seminars and events on topical issues and developments in the law concerning trusts and estates, being explored through the practitioner's perspective. It aims to create a forum for the e...

Tiffany Leung and Adam Hugill discuss anti-discrimination laws and the role of the Equal Opportunities Commission in Hong Kong, highlighting details of the process, its confidentiality, the efforts made to reach a conciliation and the eventuality of initiating an action at District Court level. Show Notes 01:31 Anti-discrimination laws in Hong Kong 02:10 Who's the EOC 03:27 The scope of the EOC 04...

Tiffany joined Hugill & Ip in 2022 as an Associate at the firm's Dispute Resolution team. Tiffany obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was admitted and enrolled as a Solicitor of The High Court of Hong Kong in 2020. She has experience in handling a wide spectrum of contentious commercial and civil matters including...

Alfred Ip and Azan Marwah talk about the difficult subject of death, giving real-life examples of same-sex couples who have struggled through the existing legal framework. They reflect on how those hurdles faced by same-sex couples can be just as significant as those facing heterosexual couples – if not more so. They discuss related issues of mental capacity and guardianship, as well as Enduring P...