Month: August 2020

Second tranche of the Employment Support Scheme set to open for applications

The Government has announced that the application for the second tranche of the Employment Support Scheme (“ESS”) is set to open on 31 August 2020 until 13 September 2020 (“Application Period”). Employers who wish to apply for ESS relief must submit a new application for the second tranche.Self-employed individuals who have already received a one-off lump sum subsidy in the first tranche will not be able to apply for the second tranche of the ESS.

COVID-19: Does the pandemic classify as a Barder event?

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 Advises on Hong Kong’s First Private Financial Adjudication Case

Executive Partner Caroline McNally and Associate Catherine Tso recently represented the husband in Hong Kong’s first private financial adjudication. The dispute was resolved under the Hong Kong Private Financial Adjudication (“PFA”) pilot scheme which was introduced in 2015 and is similar to arbitration in that parties sign an agreement to have the financial aspect of their divorce proceedings adjudicated by a jointly appointed family specialist practitioner, outside the formal court proceedings.

Gall Recognised in ALB Trailblazers 2020 Rankings

Gall has been recognised as a Small and Midsized Firm on ALB’s inaugural Trailblazers 2020 List. The list demonstrates innovation and boldness in law firms’ responses to the challenges brought on by COVID-19 where they showcase originality, leadership, impact and cutting-edge diversity and inclusion initiatives that set them apart.

Nick Gall Quoted in ALB Feature on the Digitisation of Dispute Resolution

Nick Gall was quoted extensively in a feature in ALB’s August 2020 issue exploring how the pandemic has sped up the adoption of technology, including in the disputes hearing process. He shared his experience advising the plaintiff in Hong Kong’s first telephonic hearing in Cyberworks Audio Video Technology Limited v Mei Ah (HK) Company Limited & Ors and was quoted saying “if this is the ‘new normal’ then lawyers and clients will have to learn to collaborate and change the way they usually work together.”

COVID-19 Scams – What to do if you are defrauded

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen an overwhelming demand worldwide for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which includes respirators, surgical masks, gloves and face shields. Regrettably, unscrupulous traders never miss an opportunity to capitalise on public fears and concerns.  Amid these difficult times, there has been a surge of fraud schemes associated with PPE transactions all around the globe. In Hong Kong, over 1,600 reports of online mask scams were received by the Hong Kong Police between January and March this year, consisting of more than 3,000 individual victims and local companies involving a total of HK$48.2 million. It has also been reported that fraudulent mask schemes totalling US$799 million were uncovered in United States in the last few months, and similar patterns have been observed across the Europe.