Proskauer

Regulatory Enforcement and Compliance

David has significant experience with internal and government investigations in Hong Kong and the U.S., including in particular matters involving the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Independent Commission Against Corruption and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has handled cases in the Hong Kong courts involving director misfeasance and shareholders’ disputes and has also worked on a broad range of matters arising from failed securities and commercial transactions. Representative clients and matters include:

• A multinational financial services firm, licensed with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, in one of the largest settlements with the SFC in Hong Kong arising from allegations of mis-selling
• An SFC licensed asset manager and advisor in an insider dealing investigation in Hong Kong, for which an enforcement action in respect of the same trades had previously been brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

• An independent director of a New York Stock Exchange listed PRC company, advising on allegations of false accounting, and U.S. class actions

• A Nasdaq-listed technology company, conducting an internal investigation in Taiwan in connection with the largest insider trading case involving a hedge fund in the U.S. history
• A Fortune 50 U.S. IT company, conducting an internal investigation into its sales practices and operations in Taiwan
• A Hong Kong-listed media and sports entertainment company in an investigation by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission into the accounting treatment of various accounts receivables

Securities and Corporate Governance-related Litigation

• A PRC-based multinational in its dispute with a Hong Kong listed company over a failed HK$3 billion financing transaction
• The minority shareholder of a company listed on the Bursa Malaysia Main Board in its derivative action in Hong Kong for damages of HK$600 million against two directors of its Hong Kong subsidiary in connection with non-armslength dealings by the directors
• Gaming operators in Macau, to whom the Macau Government had granted a gambling concession, on the scope of share transfer restrictions in their agreement with the government
• A major U.S. film studio in an arbitration arising from its termination of a joint venture with a PRC operator and cinemas
• A leading Hong Kong-based Asian actor and entertainer in a highly publicized shareholder dispute with a Hong Kong listed company over the parties’ obligations under a shareholders’ agreement
• Court-appointed provisional liquidators of a BVI company in a HK$300 million claim against the company’s Singaporean and Indonesian directors for director misfeasance, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with their purchase and subsequent charging of shares in a Hong Kong public company

Competition Law-related Matters

Proskauer’s global antitrust practice is a top-tier practice as ranked by Legal 500 and our bilingual Hong Kong competition law practice extends our Firm’s expertise in this area to China, where our lawyers have advised major multinationals in the hotel hospitality, telecommunications and other sectors, on the Hong Kong Competition Ordinance which came into force on 14 December 2015. Representative engagements include:

• A global telecommunications company with over 250 million subscribers worldwide, on the provisions in the Competition Ordinance for follow-on damages action consequential upon a contravention of the Ordinance
• A leading global hotel group, on their business practices and pricing strategies in Hong Kong in the light of the Hong Kong competition law
• A Hong Kong non–profit organization advocating a ban on the sale of specified products at restaurants in Hong Kong, in relation to the restrictions in the Competition Ordinance on activities which may be deemed to be anticompetitive.

Sports and Entertainment-related Matters

With more than 50 years of experience in sports law, Proskauer is regarded as the go-to firm for handling the full range of complex legal matters for companies and individuals in the sports industry, with Chambers USA calling the Firm the “dream team of sports lawyers.” Our Firm’s expertise in this area, and also on matters representing clients in the entertainment industry, have involved a number of engagements in Hong Kong and China, including:

• A leading global brand in the design, construction and marketing of golf courses, in Hong Kong High Court proceedings, brought against a PRC based company and individuals, in relation to the business practices of the individuals conducted in breach of the parties’ joint venture agreement
• A North American based professional sports league in relation to their I.T. related commercial arrangements in Hong Kong
• A North American based professional sports league, with player developments in China, in relation to compliance with U.S. and Chinese anti-corruption legislation
• A Hong Kong-listed media and sports entertainment company in an investigation by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission into the accounting treatment of various accounts receivables
• A major U.S. film studio in an arbitration arising from its termination of a joint venture with a PRC operator and cinemas
• A leading Hong Kong-based Asian actor and entertainer in a highly publicized shareholder dispute with a Hong Kong listed company over the parties’ obligations under a shareholders’ agreement