the HIP talks

Adam Hugill discusses Hong Kong's employment laws and provides practical guidance for both employers and employees to assist them in navigating the complexities of the Employment Ordinance, key considerations when hiring and managing employees, termination and protection of business assets.

SHOW NOTES

00.22 – Employment overview 06.30 – Types of leave 14.11 – Termination 24.56 – Labour Tribunal 31.02 – Employment litigation 33.25 – Notice and garden leave 34.56 – Post-termination restrictions

Adam Hugill, Jonathan Gray and Matthew Love discuss Hong Kong’s civil litigation structure with Margaret Wo, including the topics of trials, costs, procedures and the crucial step of enforcing judgments. They also highlight the pros and cons of arbitration and mediation as alternative methods of dispute resolution.

01:14 – Commencing legal action 05:18 – The trial process 11:20 – Preparing for trial 14:50 – Enforcement of judgments 23:54 – Arbitration 39:54 – Mediation

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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 confrontational behaviour, and Henry recalls treatment he received from a basketball coach. Henry finally found some peace when he went to study in the UK – he discovered more about gender identity whilst he continued to struggle mentally with his own changing body and appearance.

They chat about self-identity and fitting in with society. Henry highlights the benefits he gained by social services in the UK and how Hong Kong compares to it. The real struggle started when he moved back to Hong Kong for professional reasons. He received a lack of full recognition as a male individual and that’s when Henry decided to challenge the government on the issue of getting his gender changed on his Hong Kong identity card.

More LGBTQ content: https://www.hugillandip.com/the-hip-pride/

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.

Frances Tsang – Associate in the Family team at Hugill & Ip – discusses hopes and foreseeable future of LGBTQ+ equality in Hong Kong, while reflecting on landmark cases that saw brave individuals challenging the legal system at different court levels in the past two decades.

Lisa moves forward to the core topic of the event where Alfred Ip – Partner and Head of Private Client at Hugill & Ip – and Nick Tsui – Anesthesiologist and co-founder of Alongside – discuss key considerations on Estate Planning for same-sex couples.

Video and more Hong Kong LGBTQI legal content: https://www.hugillandip.com/2024/11/pinkfridaypride-building-tomorrow-together/

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 aspects of law, rather than the more transactional work of solicitors. She advises junior barristers to gain broad experience early on, as it helps develop their own unique style.

The conversation explores the challenges of discrimination cases in Hong Kong, including the reluctance of employees to come forward and the limited damages available. They also discuss internal investigations and the need to navigate non-legal decision makers.

She also shares insights into her criminal defense practice and the personal toll of representing clients facing serious charges. Lastly, Elizabeth offers advice to aspiring barristers, emphasizing the importance of self-care and not being overly critical of one's performance.

Show Notes02:00 Starting a career in law 05:38 Oriental Daily vs Fevaworks case 07:16 Discrimination cases 21:55 Criminal cases 27:39 Cross examination in civil vs criminal courts 34:29 Setting up Pegasus Chambers

Transcript and more of the Barrister Series: https://www.hugillandip.com/2025/01/the-barrister-series-s5e6-a-legal-journey-with-elizabeth-herbert/