About Us
It’s the people that make a law firm
When it all started, we had an abacus to do our accounts, an air conditioner whose main function seemed to be to make noise … and a filing system held together by sellotape and goodwill.
With a staff of fewer than 12 people, including the lawyers, we spent our days running between our tiny law firm and the courts, fighting the antique typewriters in the office and dragging ourselves out at all hours to help clients in distress.
One thing hasn’t changed.
We’ve come a long way since then. But through all the changes, the multiple-legal awards, the installation of a wonderful team of dedicated lawyers, the media recognition, and the precedent-setting legal wins, our ethos hasn’t changed.
Being there for you.
It’s a simple ethos, but one that defines us today, just as it did over 45 years ago. Without it, we couldn’t have become one of the top law firms in Hong Kong. It’s fundamental to who we are. It’s about caring.
Our ethos is at the forefront of everything we do as a law firm and as lawyers
Because we’ve never lost sight of this one essential, our talented team now have a reputation that is second to none for providing our clients with the help they need, when they need it, across all practice areas. We’ve learned a lot and come a long way. Our air conditioning is better for one thing, and we’ve stopped using the abacus.
Latest awards
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime & Regulatory Investigations Lawyers – Hong Kong (Recommended)
Timothy Wan • Geoffrey Booth
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime & Regulatory Investigations Lawyers – Hong Kong (Leading)
Felix Ng • Andrew Powner • Paul Wang • Jonathan Midgley
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading Criminal Lawyers – Hong Kong (Recommended)
Geoffrey Booth
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading Criminal Lawyers – Hong Kong (Leading)
Jonathan Midgley • Timothy Wan • Felix Ng
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading Criminal Lawyers – Hong Kong (Preeminent)
Andrew Powner • Paul Wang
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading Criminal Defence Law Firm – Hong Kong (First Tier)
The China Business Law Journal – The A-List (Rising Star) 2024
Paul Wang
Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific 2024 – Greater China Region: Family / Matrimonial Leading Lawyer (Up and Coming)
Patricia Liu • Elaine Sum
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – White-Collar Crime – Domestic Firms – Highly Recommended
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – Family & Matrimonial – Domestic Firms – Tier 1
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – Family & Matrimonial Future Star
Patricia Liu
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – Family & Matrimonial Future Star
Elaine Sum
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – Top 100 Women in Litigation
Elsie Liu
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2024 – Family & Matrimonial Litigation Star
Elsie Liu
Doyle’s Guide 2024 – Leading Family & Divorce Mediators – Hong Kong
Elsie Liu
Testimonials
Jonathan Midgley
“An outstanding lawyer of excellent reputation.”
“Charismatic and masterful in steering and focusing legal teams to develop and advocate the strongest points for his clients.”
Geoffrey Booth
“A great lawyer and ADR expert”
“A very active and well-known name especially in commercial mediations.”
“One of the founders of mediation in Hong Kong.”
John McLellan
“Incredible attention to detail and passionate advocacy for his clients.”
Felix Ng
“Besides his exceptional professionalism, Ng is compassionate, empathetic and attentive … gave me the needed trust and confidence throughout the entire process and made this unbearable investigation a lot more bearable.”
Andrew Powner
“Andrew is an excellent operator.”
“He has excellent client handling skills.”
“Andrew is calm and unruffled under pressure.”
Paul Wang
“Paul effortlessly understands the culture of multiple jurisdictions, enabling his clients to be sure they have the best representation in what may not be their home jurisdiction.”
“Paul is an experienced criminal lawyer who considers from the client’s perspective. Paul provides high-quality succinct advice to the client.”
“They are really professional, and always focus on the big picture.”
“I am appreciative of the firm’s team and the lawyers’ ability to steer me in the right direction each time and to come up with innovative ideas to try and negotiate and tie up the case.”
“Haldanes has expert knowledge in all areas of family law. They are a first-rate firm who are excellent at advising their clients, preparing the case and navigating it through the courts.”
Elsie Liu
“She is very experienced with complicated and high-conflict divorces. She always advocates for the best interest for her clients and their children. She provides all detailed care and services to connect me to other expert professional counsels in all areas. She truly has a deep passion for her clients.”
Elsie Liu
“Elsie is very kind-hearted and very understanding. She is the one that listens and is able to give advice. I feel very comfortable when working with Elsie.”
Elsie Liu
“Came up with innovative solutions to the problems I encountered … also spent time to explain the process which other lawyers I encountered did not.”
Anita Leung
“Responsive, thoughtful.”
“Tackled the case skilfully.”
Patricia Liu
“Both on top of the details and strategically brilliant … fantastic in communicating with clients and advising them on how to get the best outcome in proceedings.”
Elaine Sum
“She understands my needs and concerns, and gives me truthful advice even if the outcome will minimise her financial gain. Elaine is very patient and good in explaining complex and legal matters in a way that is easier for me to understand.”
Xenia Lo
“I wish to thank you for your professionalism and your consistently timely replies to my emails. It made a long and complicated job as Executor just that bit easier.”
Xenia Lo
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your efforts in sorting out the estate of my late husband & is my pleasure to meet you. All the best to your near future.”
John McLellan
“John McLellan and his team at Haldanes have deep understanding and insights in the subject matters and has been instrumental in helping our firm navigate the complicated landscape.”
Haldanes in a minute
Our award-winning visual content series, “We Are Haldanes”. This is an insight into not only what our team does on a day-to-day basis, but also into the individuals themselves and why they do what they do.