Every year before long holidays i.e. Christmas, Easter and Summer, family law practitioners would often be busy dealing with their clients’ applications for temporary removal of children out of Hong Kong for their holiday travel. 2020 has been very different. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and with the lockdown and travel restrictions around the world, we have not seen the typical “seasonal” element to temporary removal applications as holiday travel is no longer a driving force behind these applications.
Chantelle Woo has written an article on the potential risks of having two wedding ceremonies for Cosmopolitan HK magazine.
Upon divorce, the Hong Kong Court has the power to make orders for financial provision between spouses. In making such orders, the Court has a duty to consider various matters which are set out in Section 7(1) of the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance, Cap. 192 (“MPPO”) including the parties’ financial resources and all the other relevant circumstances of the case.
Gall has contributed an article on Remote Hearings in Hong Kong’s High Court During COVID-19 to Lexis Nexis’ “The New Normal Guide 2020”. In the article, Nick Gall, Felda Yeung and Kritika Sethia explore the use of technology in court proceedings, including key considerations and challenges.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Hong Kong Courts were closed for several months and thousands of court hearings were adjourned during this General Adjourned Period (“GAP”). Although the Family Court has now reopened there are social distancing measures in place which mean that hearings are continuing to be adjourned. We expect this to be the ‘new normal’ for some time to come.
The Government has recently provided more clarity on the Employment Support Scheme (“ESS”) and expanded its scope.
Gall recently acted for the Plaintiff in Hong Kong’s first telephonic hearing in Cyberworks Audio Video Technology Limited v Mei Ah (HK) Company Limited & Ors which was a milestone in the Judiciary’s approach towards furthering the objectives of cost-effectiveness of practice and procedure, and expeditious dispute resolution. In this matter, Gall’s senior partner Nick Gall and senior associate Felda Yeung acted for the plaintiff. Please refer to our article on this unprecedented approach to case management during GAP here.
Caroline McNally wrote a letter to Hong Kong Lawyer exploring why it is critical for family lawyers to support colleagues with mental-health challenges, how to identify when peers or clients may need help, and the need for removing the stigma around mental health issues in Hong Kong.
In our recent article we discussed the legal ramifications of the force majeure clauses to “excuse” parties from performing onerous or impossible contracts in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Whilst it is not uncommon for commercial contracts to incorporate force majeure clauses, there remain circumstances under which a party may also consider to seek to relieve themselves from performing under the common law doctrine of frustration.
Executive Partner and Head of the Family and Divorce practice Caroline McNally explores why it is critical for family lawyers to support colleagues with mental-health challenges, how to identify when peers or clients may need help, and the need for removing the stigma around mental health issues in Hong Kong.
