Stephen’s main area of practice is in commercial litigation and arbitration. He has over 15 years’ of experience handling multi-jurisdictional fraud and asset tracing involving freezing, gagging and other urgent interim injunctive measures. He is also well versed in technology-related disputes (including matters involving cryptocurrency and virtual assets), shareholder and company disputes, and contentious employment matters. 

In addition, Stephen has strong capabilities in international arbitration work arising from a broad range of commercial disputes across a range of sectors including private wealth, financial services and technology. He has experience in most of the world’s leading arbitral seats (including London, Hong Kong and Singapore) as well as under the rules of key arbitral institutions (including HKIAC, SIAC, ICC and UNCITRAL rules). Stephen is a committee member of the Law Society of Hong Kong’s Arbitration Committee.

Stephen speaks fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin. He is admitted to practise in Hong Kong, and is qualified as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

Max specialises in complex disputes involving claims of civil fraud and asset recovery for high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, liquidators and corporates. His practice has a particular focus on digital assets.

He was part of the team that acted for the Claimants, at first instance and on appeal, in what the Chief Justice of the DIFC Court described as “one of the first cryptocurrency litigation disputes in the region and one of the few reported cases anywhere in the world which addresses issues such as safe transfer of cryptocurrency between buyer and seller and the obligations owed by a custodian of cryptocurrency”. That case focuses on the misappropriation of 300 Bitcoin and the client’s attempts to recover them. The case also considers interesting questions as to the legal status of different digital assets and the rights that attach to them, the rights and obligations of intermediaries, and the practical differences between the way the modern court system (and the professionals who operate within it) deals with these types of fraud claims. The Court of Appeal heard the case in January this year over three days and judgment is expected later this year.

Max is a founder member of the Middle East chapter of the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery (CFAAR) network and co-author of the UAE chapter of the Law Review’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Review. He regularly speaks and writes on all aspects of digital asset law and regulation across the Middle East

Wayne has deep bench of knowledge in both his mixed criminal and civil law practices, with recognised expertise specializing in financial crime and compliance, civil fraud and asset recovery. He also has notable and extensive experience in public international law cases involving cross-border litigation.

Prior to commencing practice at the private Bar in 2018, Wayne spent a 25-year career with the Department of Justice, Hong Kong, where he prosecuted white-collar crime and corruption cases and oversaw all major criminal cases and certain civil cases involving cross-border litigation and international cooperation. Before this, he was a prosecutor with the Serious Fraud Office in New Zealand, a solicitor in commercial litigation and for 3 years an Inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.