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Florence Yan

Associate

Practice Areas
Antitrust and Competition Law • Criminal Defence • Securities, Regulatory & Disciplinary Matters

Admissions: Hong Kong
Languages: Cantonese • English • Mandarin

Contact

Tel: (852) 2230 2842
Fax: (852) 2845 1637
Email: florence.yan@haldanes.com

Profile

Florence is a criminal defence lawyer who regularly appears in all levels of courts ranging from the Magistrates’ Courts to the Court of Final Appeal and frequently attends legal visits with clients at police stations as well as interviews with other law enforcement authorities.

Her practice encompasses areas including public order-related offences, dangerous drugs-related offences, dishonest offences, driving offences, sexual offences, offences against the person, and immigration offences.

Florence is also experienced in providing legal advice in relation to judicial review and election petition proceedings.

She has also developed a strong network with leading criminal Counsel and Senior Counsel in Hong Kong and abroad.

Florence provides legal advice to clients across many industries and on various investigations, regulations, and litigations related to competition law. She has extensive experience in handling different types of competition law matters, including providing written legal advice to clients regarding potential competition risks, as well as representing clients in investigations by the Competition Commission in Hong Kong, including accompanying clients to meetings with the Commission.

Florence frequently deals with complex commercial crimes and securities, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

She has considerable experience representing clients in dealing with cases involving the authorities including the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC), the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Florence is skilled at helping clients draft and revise written submissions in Chinese or English to various authorities.

Florence is a native Mandarin speaker with outstanding Chinese drafting skills and is excellent at advising on PRC-related matters.

Florence has also prosecuted cases as counsel on fiat on behalf of the HKSAR government. With her experience in criminal prosecutions, Florence possesses a deep understanding of the prosecuting considerations and strategic factors behind each case, which enable her to provide practical and effective advice in respect of defence strategies to clients.
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Notable Cases:
- Criminal Defence
  - Represented an appellant in an appeal against conviction and sentence for 2 counts of indecent assault (all convictions quashed) and also acted for the same in the subsequent retrial for 3 counts of indecent assault – acquittal secured on all counts
  - Represented a defendant facing the criminal charge of trafficking in and possession of dangerous drugs and successfully obtained bail from the High Court
  - Represented and advised a defendant in a District Court money laundering case with the relevant amount being over HKD 900 million
  - Represented a defendant who was the coxswain of a boat that was involved in a fatal accident. The defendant was acquitted of the charge of endangering others at sea
  - Represented a defendant who was charged of conspiracy to defraud with the relevant amount being over USD300 million and successfully obtained bail from High Court. In the end, the prosecution decided not to proceed the charge against our client
  - Secured an acquittal for a defendant who was charged of riot in a 91-day High Court re-trial before jury
  - Represented a defendant in a dangerous driving causing death trial and the defendant was acquitted of dangerous driving causing death
- Regulatory, Competition Law & Compliance Legal Advice
  - Represented listed companies and directors in various SFC investigations and proceedings
  - Provided legal advice on regulatory risks and taxation issues to a company operating cross-border peer-to-peer lending business
  - Provided written advice on competition-related issues for a listed biotechnology company
  - Representing companies and individuals in various Competition Commission investigations and proceedings
  - Provided legal advice from a Hong Kong law perspective for clients in investigations with PRC law enforcement authorities involved
Publications:
- CFI upholds SFC’s investigative powers on seizure of digital devices
- Voyeurism and Related Offences: An Imminent Need for Legislation
- The Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, and the new voyeurism and sex-related offences
Legal Education:
- Interviewed by Now TV, one of the world’s largest commercial deployments of IPTV and Hong Kong’s largest pay-TV provider, to discuss the Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, and the new voyeurism and sex-related offences.
- Handled a live interview with Henan TV to explain the legal principles and procedures concerning criminal proceedings in Hong Kong. The interview has garnered more than 7 million views on different platforms.
- Delivered a seminar to on “Practical Guide to Prevention of Bribery Ordinance”.
- Invited by the Hong Kong Law Society to shoot a Law Week promotion video.
What the legal directories say:
- “Florence Yan stands out in Chinese documents.” – Legal 500

Testimonials

“All I can say is that Florence and her team have been extremely accommodating to all the demands over the preparation. It is obvious that her team’s professionalism has resulted in this positive result.”

Counsel Quote

“Words can’t express my deepest gratitude for all the support and advice from Florence since the day of arrest. As a banker, I deal with lawyers on a daily basis, which gives me the stance to say that Florence is for sure the best and also the most considerate and professional lawyer I have ever met.”

Client Quote