HCAL 113/2021
[2021] HKCFI 3273
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST NO 113 OF 2021
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BETWEEN
KEUNG KIN WAH
Applicant
and
THE LAW SOCIETY OF HONG KONG
Putative
Respondent
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Before: Hon Chow JA (sitting as an additional judge of the Court of First Instance) in Court
Date of Hearing: 14 September 2021
Date of Judgment: 8 November 2021
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J U D G M E N T
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INTRODUCTION
1. In this application for judicial review, the Applicant seeks to challenge the refusal of the Law Society of Hong Kong (“the Law Society”) by its committees to give reasons for the decisions of the Investigation Committee (“the IC”) and the Standing Committee on Compliance (“the SCC”) dismissing the complaint made by Australian Medic-Care Company Limited (“AMC”) against Wilkinson & Grist (“the Firm”) and its former partner, Ms Choi Ching Yee Anne (“Ms Choi”).
BACKGROUND
2. The present application arises out of the Applicant’s long running history of grievances against Messrs Piper Alderman (“Piper Alderman”), a law firm in Australia. The Applicant is a director and the majority shareholder (66%) of AMC, which was the plaintiff in an action brought against Hamilton Pharmaceutical Pty Ltd (“Hamilton”) for breach of a distribution agreement in the Federal Court of Australia (“the Australian Proceedings”). Piper Alderman, retained through the Firm in Hong Kong, advised and subsequently acted as the solicitors on record for AMC and the Applicant in the Australian Proceedings during the period from 2006 to 2009.
3. A brief summary of the background facts which led to the Applicant’s complaints against Piper Alderman can be found in the judgment of the Supreme Court of South Australia in Keung v Abbott &
Another [2017] SASCFC 58, at §§17-23, as follows: