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May Ng

May Ng

Partner
About

May's practice concentrates on construction dispute resolution, the drafting and negotiation of construction contracts, and commercial litigation.

May's clients range from large blue chip, multinational companies to medium-sized enterprises, she regularly represents developers, contractors, engineers, suppliers and manufacturers in construction claims. May has handled major disputes and litigation involving a wide variety of construction projects, including infrastructure projects, shopping centers, residential buildings, office buildings, schools, casinos and hotels. May's tenacity, creativity and trilingual capability are an unbeatable combination that allows her to create innovative, successful legal strategies for her clients at all stages of construction. 

May is a panel arbitrator of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, South China International Arbitration Centre (Hong Kong), Shanghai Arbitration Commission and she is also on the list of arbitrator of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.

In 2021, May passed the Greater Bay Area Legal Professional Exam, allowing her to practice PRC law in the Greater Bay Area. 

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and WalesSolicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong

EXPERIENCE

  • Assisting Merlin Attractions Operations Limited in contract drafting and review for the development of the first three Legoland resorts in China, which are located in Shanghai, Sichuan and Shenzhen. The project comprises development of a Legoland theme park, a Legoland water park, and three hotels.
  • Advising the leading global design and consultancy firms in a joint venture regarding a claim for professional negligence by the Hong Kong Government on a major infrastructure project in Hong Kong. The claim amounts are over HK428 million. There are numerous complex issues and sensitive relationships in this case. The scale of the project was extremely large with voluminous project/claim documents. 
  • Representing one of the leading contractors in Mongolia's mining industry in two Hong Kong High Court actions against a Hong Kong listed company to enforce a parent company guarantee over a mining project in Mongolia. There are complex legal and technical issues on contractual standard of coal production, interpretation of contract on formula for progress payment and exclusion of liability clauses. The amount in dispute is over USD20 million. 
  • Acting for an international hotel group which had entered into agreements with a PRC local developer to provide consultancy services for the development and management of a hotel under its brand in Hangzhou, PRC. Prior to the opening of the hotel, the Owner terminated the agreements alleging that our client was in material breach of the hotel development services agreement. The Owner commenced arbitral proceedings against our client in Hong Kong. This matter involves complex PRC legal issues on termination and loss of profits, and disputes over the applicable procedural law and substantive law for the challenge on the tribunal's jurisdiction. We have successfully defended the jurisdictional challenge by Owner, which prompted the Owner to initiate settlement negotiation. 
  • Acting for an international specialist subcontractor in a project in Djibouti, Africa, for the construction of military defence force base in its dispute with the main contractor. The dispute relates to the calculation of the Final Account for the project and covers a broad area of construction law, including the valuation of the variations, damages for delay and contra charges by the main contractor as well as economic duress. The amount in dispute was over USD9.4 million. 
  • Acting for two high net worth individuals in parallel proceedings in California and Hong Kong. May has successfully assisted the client to discharge a Hong Kong mareva injunction initiated by a high profile US billionaire on misrepresentation claims. The amount in dispute was US$54 million.
Languages
  • Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
  • English
Education
  • The University of Hong Kong, PCLL
  • University of Sydney, LLB, B.Com

Recognitions

  • Named as Leading Individual for Construction & Infrastructure Litigation (Hong Kong) by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2019-2023
  • Named as Leading Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyers in Hong Kong by Doyles 2022
  • Recognised as Recommended Lawyer in Construction (Mainland China & Hong Kong SAR) by Who’s Who Legal 2022
  • Named as Top 100 Women in Litigation 2020-2021 by the Benchmark Asia-Pacific

Insight Overview

May has provided training and seminars to different professional organisations on construction law, including the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, Hong Kong Construction Association, Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers and Hong Kong General Building Contractors Association, and the Chartered Institute of Buildings (Hong Kong).

Publications

  • Construction Law Trends and Develpments in Hong Kong, Chambers Golbal Practice Guides 2022
  • Construction Law Law and Practice in Hong Kong, Chambers Golbal Practice Guides 2022
  • Hong Kong Court declined to grant interim interim injunctions under Section 45(2) of the Arbitration Ordinance in the absence of any arbitration on foot, 30 March 2021

Memberships

  • Society of Construction Law
  • The Law Society of Hong Kong
  • Panel Arbitrator of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration
  • Panel Arbitrator of South China International Arbitration Centre (HK)
  • Panel Arbitrator of Shanghai Arbitration Commission
  • List of Arbitrator of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre

Connect

Phone

+852 2103 0853
(Work, Hong Kong)
+852 2810 1345
(Fax, Hong Kong)