Frivolous lawsuits and their impact on professional ethics

Thomas has been participating actively in the work of the International Bar Association (IBA) in London for more than 20 years. He is the former Chair of the Closely Held Enterprises Committee, which focuses on corporate law questions regarding start-ups, privately owned companies, and family enterprises. Currently, Thomas serves as member of the Advisory Boards for the Closely Held Enterprises Committee of the Corporate Law Section of the IBA Legal Practice Division (LPD) as well as the Professional Ethics Committee. His work as liaison officer in the LPD Council until 2022 included the participation in the Strategic Plan Implementation Group, as well as the special support for the Indigenous Peoples Committee of the Law and Individual Rights Section of the Association. At present Thomas also represents the LPD in the Bar Issues Commission (BIC) of the Association and serves as a member of the overall IBA Nominations Committee.

Hin Han is a Hong Kong qualified lawyer and Solicitor Advocate practicing in the telecommunications, media and technology group at a international law firm. Hin Han Shum has experience in mergers and acquisitions, setting up company start-ups, and company restructuring. Keeping abreast of technological developments, she has given practical solutions to clients in relation to cybersecurity, data collection and data breach matters, and has advised clients on legal compliance relating to new technological tools contemplated by clients in their bid to build their businesses. Having served as a legal representative in various litigation proceedings and being an accredited general mediator, Hin Han is familiar with the common fundamental issues leading to disputes and often assists to curb risks of those at the onset during the contract preparation stage. She has been seconded to an international securities firm and an international telecommunications company, to assist their in-house legal teams with each company’s day-to-day operations and major legal transactions and cases. These experiences have allowed her to further develop a pragmatic commercial approach to solve issues that arise in business operations. Hin Han also has experience with handling a range of criminal cases, including white collar criminal cases, both as a legal representative to defendants and to clients in reporting cases to authorities. She is also on the panel as a prosecutor on fiat for the Department of Justice. Hin Han is currently an Officer of the International Bar Association (IBA) Membership Officer of the IBA Young Lawyer’s Committee. She was formerly the Young Lawyer Liaison Office of the IBA Professional Ethics Committee and IBA Online Services Committee,. She is a Chairman of the Appeals Tribunal (Buildings) and she also serves as a member on the Standing Committee on External Affairs, Anti-Money Laundering Committee, Arbitration Committee and Mediation Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong. She publishes widely on topics including data privacy, technology related issues, anti-money laundering rules, and labour and discrimination matters. She has also authored data privacy practical guidance content for LexisNexis, and has contributed to the Annotated Ordinances of Hong Kong, and to the Butterworths Hong Kong Partnership Handbook. She has been a speaker at international conferences and risk management tutor on topics such as data privacy and blockchain, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity risks. She also serves as a member on the Standing Committee on External Affairs, Anti-Money Laundering Committee, Arbitration Committee, and Mediation Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Anne O’Donoghue is an accredited immigration law specialist with over 29 years of experience. She is the director and principal lawyer of Immigration Solutions Lawyers. Anne has developed her international affiliations through the International Bar Association (IBA) for over 20 years. Anne’s expertise lies in assisting high-net-worth individuals looking to invest in the Australian economy, & in assisting Australian and multi-national companies in their employment of foreign workers. Her experience and professionalism are crucial to clients throughout the sponsorship application processes and in complying with sponsorship obligations. She has assisted various businesses in the field of construction, mining, health, hospitality, media and in technical services. Anne was the Co-chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committer of the IBA. Anne also had the privilege of working on the Presidential Taskforce in Seoul 2019. Anne was awarded a high commendation for the NSW Law Society’s President’s Medal for this work. Anne was recognised as a Thought Leader, Global Leader and National Leader by the WWL from 2020-2022. In August 2021 Anne was appointed as a Member of the Ministerial Advisory Council on skilled migration and served in this position until August 2022. Anne was a finalist in the Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Awards 2022: in the category Pro Bono/ Community Legal Centre lawyer of the Year. Anne has recently been re- appointed as an Executive member of the International Law Section (ILS) of the Law Council of Australia for another 2 years until November 2024. Anne has previously served on the ILS Executive since December 2012.

Julie is a partner in the Regulatory team at Kingsley Napley LLP. Julie specialises in advising clients in the legal services sector on regulatory compliance, ethics, investigations, enforcement, and prosecutions. Recent work includes advising law firms in investigations arising out of counter inclusive behaviours and in SRA prosecutions concerning breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations. Julie is ranked as Band 1 in Chambers & Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession and listed in the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500.