Jeff Yau

Call

2020 (Hong Kong)

Languages

English
Cantonese
Mandarin

Areas of Practice

Arbitration
Chinese Customary Law
Commercial & Banking Law
Companies
Compulsory Sales of Land
Construction
Employment
Equity & Trusts
Insolvency
Intellectual Property
Land Resumption & Land Compensation
Mental Health
Probate & Succession
Property & Land
Public Law & Judicial Review
Unjust Enrichment

Contact

Email: [email protected]

Secretary: Ms. Karen Leung
[email protected]

Jeff is a civil and commercial practitioner with a primary focus on company and securities matters, insolvency and bankruptcy law and employment disputes. In his private client practice, he also acts for and advises clients on conveyancing, trusts, wills and probate matters, both contentious and non-contentious, including rendering written opinions and drafting/ settling of wills and trust documents.

Jeff is frequently instructed to appear as sole counsel in all levels of the Hong Kong court system (up to the Court of Final Appeal), statutory boards (such as the Market Misconduct Tribunal) and arbitral proceedings. In so doing, he has amassed significant advocacy experience throughout the entire civil litigation process, including interlocutory applications, trials, appeals and taxation proceedings.

He has been recognized as a “Leading Junior” and “Rising Star” in Legal 500 Asia Pacific: Hong Kong Bar (2025) and (2026) in the areas of “Commercial Disputes” and “Labour and Employment”, being described as “skilled in interlocutory applications”.

He regularly acts for listed companies, high-net-worth individuals and professional trustees in complex and high-value disputes involving clients and laws in Mainland China, the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Italy. He has also acted for and advised public bodies.

He is also developing a practice in international commercial arbitration and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an HKIAC Accredited Tribunal Secretary.

Drawing on his experience in property and private client matters, he has been a Professional Consultant at the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2023, teaching conveyancing and probate practice on its Postgraduate Certificate in Laws course. He has also been appointed by the Hong Kong Government as a member of the Appeal Panel (Estate Agents Ordinance), involving in the handling of appeals against the licensing or disciplinary decisions of the Estate Agents Authority.

Jeff studied at the University of Hong Kong, where he graduated third in his cohort in law and was placed on the Dean’s Honours List for three consecutive years. He went on to read for a Master of Laws degree at King’s College London and graduated top of his class with the Dickson Poon School of Law Prize.

He is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. In particular, he has conducted proceedings, including cross-examination, in Mandarin.

  • LLM, King’s College London
  • PCLL, The University of Hong Kong
  • LLB, The University of Hong Kong
  • BBA (Law), The University of Hong Kong
  • St Joseph’s College, Hong Kong
  • Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) (2022)
  • Insolvency Preparatory I & II (as part of the Professional Diploma in Insolvency programme), The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2018, 2022)
  • Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator, Society of Mediators, UK (2019)
  • HKSI Practicing Certificates (Securities; Corporate Finance), Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (2015)
  • The Dickson Poon School of Law Prize (2019)
  • Second Honourable Mention for Best Mooter, the 16th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot (Asia-Pacific Region) (2018)
  • MW Lo Memorial Scholarship (2017)
  • Dean’s Honours List (2015, 2016, 2017)
  • CH Chan Scholarship (2012)
  • Professional Consultant, Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Contributor, Lexis Advance® Hong Kong Practical Guidance on “Intestacy” and “Will Drafting” by LexisNexis

Commercial & General Civil

High Court

  • Target Insurance Company Limited v Ng Yu & Ors:
    • [2025] HKCA 150 — resisting an appeal against a discharge of an ex parte Mareva injunction for US$150 million fraud claim involving the largest motor insurer in Hong Kong (led by Robert Whitehead SC)
    • [2023] HKCFI 7; [2023] HKCFI 565 — application for discharge of an ex parte Mareva injunction for US$150 million fraud claim involving the largest motor insurer in Hong Kong (led by Robert Whitehead SC)
    • [2022] HKCFI 1362 — applications for an interim stay and variation of a disclosure order (led by Robert Pang SC)

Market Misconduct Tribunal

  • Market Misconduct Tribunal Proceedings in the matter of Smartac Group China Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 612) and China Investment Fund Company Limited (Stock Code: 395) (sole advocate)

District Court

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

  • Dadra Inc. v Chan:
    • [2023] HKCA 707; [2024] HKCA 773, reported in [2024] 4 HKLRD 508; [2024] 6 HKC 480: appeal against an imprisonment order made under Ord.49B of the Rules of the High Court on the ground that the Court lacks jurisdiction to proceed with an examination and impose such an order against a bankrupt and interim stay application (sole advocate)
    • [2025] HKCFA 12: leave to the Court of Final Appeal (sole advocate)

  • Re China Zenith Chemical Group Ltd [2025] HKCA 253 — resisting an appeal by the Company against the finding by the judge that there is no bona fide dispute as to the debt (sole advocate)
  • Re Hu Siyun [2025] HKCFI 579 — bankruptcy petition involving the question as to whether the subject debt in a margin account is time-barred and the court found that each margin call in monthly statements created a new cause of action for different amounts rather than continuing a single debt (sole advocate)
  • Re Zhu Guoling [2025] HKCFI 458 — bankruptcy petition involving the questions as to whether the debtor was domiciled, resident, or carrying on business in Hong Kong and whether there was a bona fide dispute over whether her personal guarantee covered the debt arising from a financial advisory agreement
  • Re Ma Ting Hoi Albert [2024] HKCFI 3460 — bankruptcy petition involving the questions as to whether different debt amounts in statutory demand and petition gave rise to jurisdictional issues and whether the security value exceeded the debt (with Vincent Chen)
  • Re China Zenith Chemical Group Ltd [2024] HKCFI 2097; [2025] HKCFI 1181 — applications for substitution and discharge of undertaking by the company in a winding-up petition, with the court finding no bona fide dispute as to the debt and ordering the company to pay the same failing which the company will be wound up (with Vincent Chen); winding-up of the company (sole advocate)
  • Acropolis Ltd v W&Q Investment Ltd & Ors [2024] HKCFI 482 reported at [2024] 3 HKC 249 (application for trial of preliminary issues); [2024] HKCFI 1065, reported at [2024] 2 HKLRD 912 (trial of preliminary issues); [2024] HKCFI 1645 (costs) — review of taxation of former provisional liquidators’ bill and trial of preliminary issues concerning a cap on the fees of former provisional liquidators (sole advocate)
  • WMFS v HSLA [2023] HKCFI 1088 — setting-aside of a statutory demand on the ground that no security has been created over the underlying debt and failure to state the same in the statutory demand does not render it invalid (sole advocate)
  • Re Ashit Sud (Debtor) [2022] HKCFI 1269, reported at [2022] 2 HKLRD 898; [2022] 4 HKC 575 — winding-up and bankruptcy petitions for a US$30 million debt on the ground that the creditor rejected a reasonable offer to compromise and secure (sole advocate)
  • NKW CCL [2022] HKCFI 3595, reported at [2023] 4 HKC 160 — review of a decision to set aside a statutory demand (sole advocate)

Will, Trusts, Probate, Mental Health & Family

High Court

District Court

Employment

  • Lee Cheuk Lam v Tai Ping Carpets Ltd [2025] HKCFI 2733, reported in [2025] 4 HKLRD 90: appeal involving the weight to be given to claimant’s description of extra work as outside scope of duties in the determination of the legal nature of relationship by the Labour Tribunal in a claim for wrongful deduction of wages for extra work (sole advocate)
  • Yang Zhizhong v Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited [2024] HKCFI 2192 — trial of an employment claim brought a former Head of China of an investment bank against his former employer for loss of discretionary bonus and unvested bonus awards (led by Robert Whitehead SC)
  • Lam Sin-yi Sindy v Leung King-wai William t/a William KW Leung & Co:
    • [2021] HKCA 720 — resisting an application for leave to appeal on the ground that the Court of First Instance has the jurisdiction to draw factual inferences on appeal from statutory tribunals (sole advocate)
    • [2020] HKCFI 2525, reported at [2020] 5 HKLRD 170 — appeal against a decision of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board dismissing a claim for unpaid wages on the ground that there were special circumstances when the appellant tendered her resignation (sole advocate)
  • Advising a statutory body on various employment issues (led by Sara Tong SC)
  • Advising a former head of an investment banking division of a bank on a potential discrimination claim

Property & Conveyancing

Civil Procedure

High Court

District Court

Arbitration

  • Kamling International Ltd v First Resources (HK) Development Ltd [2023] HKCFI 1713 — application for stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration in the PRC (sole advocate)
  • HKIAC Rules: acting for a prominent cross-border payment company in a trial involving a claim of over RMB¥150 million against a service provider for breach of a service agreement and counterclaim of procurement of breach of contract (sole advocate)
  • HKIAC Rules: resisting a claim for the specific performance of an investment agreement and advancing counterclaims with a view to unwinding a merger of various corporate entities (sole advocate)
  • HKIAC Rules: acted for a PRC beverage company in defending a claim of over US$450 million, which involved various interim proceedings such as applications for injunctive relief, joinder, jurisdictional challenge, etc. (with Vincent Chen)
  • Advising a Russian client on the enforcement of a Russian arbitral award in Hong Kong and related enforcement proceedings
  • Advised a PRC media company on the recoverability of damages for over RMB¥170 million arising from a breach of investment agreement (led by Robert Whitehead SC)

Judicial Review and Administrative Law

  • Lau Kwong Man v The Director of Environmental Protection & Anor [2022] HKCFI 1466 — leave for judicial review against the decision of the Secretary for the Environment in exercising its independent judgment in building a tunnel in Tuen Mun (with Valentine Yim)
  • Vivid Limited v Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Authority (Appeal Case Nos. (1) 53-1/2022 & (2) 54-2/2022) — appeal before the Appeal Board (Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation) regarding refusal to renew a license and construction of the word “hotel” under section 12 J of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) (sole advocate)
  • Re 3rd Floor, No. 53 Ma Tau Chung Road, Kowloon (Appeal Case No. 2023-001) — appeal before the Home Purchase Allowance Appeals Committee against the Lands Department’s refusal to grant full allowance to two former registered owners regarding owner-occupier status (sole advocate)
  • Nam Lun International Trading Co Ltd v Director of Marine (AAB No. 18/2023) — appeal before the Administrative Appeal Board against the Director of Marine’s decision not to grant various permits at a public cargo working area (sole advocate)