Damien Laracy is a Partner and Head of the Hong Kong office of Hill Dickinson, a full service office staffed by lawyers and advisors who have lived or practiced in the UK, China, New York, Singapore, South Korea, Dubai, Australia, and New Zealand.

He is an experienced commercial and maritime litigator, and international arbitrator, who has practiced law for more than 30 years. His practice involves complex commercial disputes and recovery of assets, debts and damages. The Hong Kong office also handles internet and employee fraud matters, shareholder and joint venture disputes, international trade and sale of goods disputes, and urgent interim relief applications.

Damien represents clients and stakeholders in the following industries and sectors: consumer products and foodstuffs; mining and resources; trade and transport; real estate and retail; financial and professional services; leisure and luxury.

Career highlights include:

– Numerous maritime and trade disputes resolved by way of litigation, arbitration or mediation in Hong Kong, China and globally.

– Acting for a multi-national United States consumer goods distributor suing Hong Kong vendors and Chinese factories in Hong Kong and in China in respect of defective face masks.

– Acting for a European bank to successfully recover proceeds of internet fraud in Hong Kong.

– Acting for two ultra high net worth individuals in relation to shareholders’ disputes in Hong Kong.

– Coordinating recovery action in Hong Kong and in Southern China against an employee who had diverted business from his employer to a new competing factory controlled by the employee.

– Winning a significant HKIAC arbitration in Hong Kong for a listed commodities trader against a Chinese state owned entity. This led to one of the earliest instances of recognition of a foreign arbitration award (non CIETAC) in the PRC.

– Numerous successful pieces of litigation to freeze or detain assets and bank accounts.

– Acted for an investment bank currency trader in connection with global LIBOR-fixing investigations initiated by the United States Department of Justice.

– Acted for a senior mining company executive in respect of a dispute arising out of a Mining Services Agreement concerning gold mining in Mongolia. Damien obtained an injunction preventing a hostile Board from convening a meeting to pass resolutions adverse to his client.

Damien also regularly sits as an arbitrator, as well as receiving party appointments as Counsel. He has participated in international arbitrations under the following rules: CIETAC, ICC, UNCITRAL, HKIAC, HKMAG, LMAA, SCMA, SIAC. The subject matter of these arbitrations has included infrastructure projects, business mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, loan agreements, professional services disputes, international trade and transport disputes, and real estate projects.

A personal highlight was when Damien was part of the team that successfully sued Aeroflot on behalf of Hong Kong families following an air casualty in Siberia in August 1992. A less dramatic highlight was when Damien successfully argued a case that confirmed that the Hong Kong Limitation Ordinance (Cap 347) does not apply to interpleader proceedings.

Damien qualified as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand in 1990 and is also qualified in Hong Kong and in England and Wales.

He sits on the Board of the Hong Kong Association of New York.