Deacons is a leading

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

in Hong Kong with over 300 attorneys and 700 employees. Founded in 1851, it provides full service for all major practice areas such as corporate mergers & acquisitions, regulatory compliance, intellectual properties, insurance, international arbitration and litigation. It serves a long list of private clients and high-profile conglomerates, including

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McDonald's Corp McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers R ...

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

Alibaba Group Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba (), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in E-commerce in China, e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzho ...

JP Morgan Asset Management JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Yahoo Inc!, and the

HKSAR Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

. The law firm is currently based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, with additional offices in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. It is the longest established and largest law firm in Hong Kong, and has experienced practitioners for every level of the court system. It also maintains connections with other large, independent law firms around the world to deal with multi-jurisdictional disputes. It is the only member firm of

Lex Mundi Lex Mundi is a professional services network. It is the oldest and largest law firm network. The network was established in 1989, incorporating in Delaware. The association was founded by Stephen McGarry of Minneapolis to help individuals and b ...

in Hong Kong.

History

The firm is named for the English

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

Victor Deacon, who in 1880 joined the legal practice established by

William Thomas Bridges William Thomas Bridges (1820 or 1821 – 30 September 1894; ) was a lawyer and public servant in British Hong Kong, where he held the post of Acting Colonial Secretary from 1857 to 1858. He was born in 1820 or 1821 in Blackheath, Kent. Having ...

in 1851 in Hong Kong. Bridges was the second barrister to commence practice in Hong Kong. Within two years, Victor Deacon was made a partner and within 20 years, under his own name, he had firmly established Deacons as one of the colony's leading law firms, a position it has retained to this day. In 1860, with offices on Queen's Road, the firm was based close to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. In 1910, the larger firm required bigger office space and Deacons moved to

Ice House Street Ice House Street () is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Named after the structure previously located on it that housed the city's only source of ice, it stretches from Lower Albert Road to Connaught Road. The st ...

. Deacons grew steadily throughout the 20th century, flourishing during Hong Kong's post-war boom. By the mid-1970s, Deacons was a busy, full-service business law firm and a highly respected name in commercial circles throughout Asia. Since 1985, it has resided in

Alexandra House Alexandra House ( zh, t=歷山大廈) is an office building in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong near Central station (MTR), Central station. The building has 37 levels. It hosts a shopping arcade, Landmark Alexandra, and it is connected ...

, Central, progressively taking more floor space to accommodate the expanding team of lawyers. Its headquarters is equipped with internal staircases alongside two private elevators, spanning 6 individual floors. It also operates an office location in Sheung Wan. Deacons formed a strategic alliance with

Graham & James Graham & James LLP was a law firm. It was founded as Graham & Morse by Chalmers Graham and Clarence Morse in San Francisco in 1934. Morse left the firm to become chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, and Leonard James, a maritime lawyer who ...

, operating in Asia under the collective name "Deacons Graham & James". The alliance dissolved in June 2000, with Deacons backing out due to Graham & James's failure to commit resources to Asia and dwindling position in US law firm rankings. In 1986, Deacons opened an initial presence in the People's Republic of China in Beijing. In 2002, Deacons established a representative office in Beijing and was one of the first Hong Kong law firms to be granted a licence to open a second office in the PRC. Deacons became the first firm to be awarded a third foreign law firm license in mainland China. Deacons celebrated 170 years in Hong Kong in 2022.

Practice Areas

Deacons is listed in ''The Legal 500'' and ''Chambers and Partners''. It is a globally ranked, first-tier law firm offering legal services for 15 key service areas, as well as additional specializations within each: * Banking & Finance *

Capital Markets A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers t ...

* China Trade & Investment *

Construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

* Corporate and M&A * Employment & Pensions * Insolvency & Restructuring *

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

Investment Funds An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages inc ...

* Litigation & Dispute Resolution * Private Clients * Real Estate *

Regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

Tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

Recognition

Deacons has been highly acclaimed for its service, corporate social responsibility (CSR), employee benefits, working environment and graduate recruitment over decades. A selection of the recent three years' awards includes:-

2017

* IFLR "Private Equity Deal of the Year 2017" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * Managing IP "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * Chinese Business Law Awards "Construction & Infrastructure Firm of the Year 2017" * Chinese Business Law Awards "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * The Asia Legal Award "M&A Deal of the Year: Private Equity & Venture Capital 2017" * Human Resources Asia "Best Graduate Recruitment Programme 2017"

2016

* Chambers Asia-Pacific "Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year 2016” * ASIAN MENA "Firm of the Year 2016" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2016" * Euromoney Asia "Best National Firm for Talent Management 2016" * Asian Legal Business "Employer of Choice 2016” * Asian Legal Business "Annual CSR List Awardee 2016" * HFM Asia Hedge Fund Services Award "Best Onshore Law Firm 2016"

2015

* Chambers Asia-Pacific "Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year 2015” * China Law & Practice's "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2015” * ASIAN MENA Counsel "Most Responsive Domestic Law Firm of the Year 2015" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2015" * Asian Legal Business "Employer of Choice 2015” * Asian Legal Business "Citizenship Law Firm of the Year 2015" * The Asian Lawyer

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.deacons.com.hk
PLC 'Which Lawyer?' web site

Findlaw.com website

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100305143902/http://www.deacons.com.hk/eng/index.htm
CRPS Lawyers
Law firms of Hong Kong Law firms established in 1851 1851 establishments in Hong Kong