John Scott SC

Career

John Scott, KC, SC, JP is a Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple and an accomplished trial advocate with over 30 years of experience in many areas of commercial litigation. He has a long-standing track record in complex company, commercial, construction and arbitration cases. Mr. Scott is active as both a litigator and an international arbitrator. He also has an extensive family law practice. Mr. Scott was named Asia Pacific Leading Silk by Legal 500. According to Chambers & Partners, Mr. Scott has earned a reputation for being a “smooth yet forceful advocate who knows how to cut to the chase”.

Arbitration

John Scott SC, KC, JP frequently appears as Counsel and sits as an arbitrator in Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere in the region. He has been appointed as arbitrator in substantial construction and infrastructure projects, and has sat as an ICC, SIAC and HKIAC-appointed arbitrator in numerous disputes over the last 20 years.

Commercial Litigation

In the context of commercial litigation, Mr. Scott acted on behalf of the successful appellant in a widely reported Court of Final Appeal decision clarifying the correct test in an application for ancillary relief in aid of foreign proceedings (Compania Sud Americana de Vapores S.A. v Hin- Pro International Logistics Limited (2016) 19 HKCFAR 586).

In Bel Global Resources Holdings Ltd. v Elite Dragon Limited [2017] HKCFI 718 and HKCFI 1247 Mr. Scott acted for a Hong Kong-listed company and obtained a substantial judgment for the Plaintiff against that company’s former managing director.

Company Law

Mr. Scott has an extensive contentious and non-contentious company law practice having acted in various prominent cases, including the contested privatization of PCCW, schemes of arrangement and reductions of capital, having appeared in the high-profile restructuring of the Hutchison, Cheung Kong and Hopewell groups of companies by way of Schemes of Arrangement.

Mr. Scott was the senior counsel in the recent milestone case of Re Allied Properties [2020] 5 HKLRD 766, where the Court of Appeal sanctioned a privatization scheme of the arrangement, making this a pioneering and welcome addition to HK’s company law landscape.

His contentious banking expertise also entails involvement in landmark cases, including acting for the successful bank in Natamon v Citibank N.A. concerning KYC and AML issues.

Matrimonial and Family Law

In matrimonial matters, Mr. Scott has acted in substantial MPS and ancillary relief hearings dealing with the valuation of shares in listed and private companies and the valuation of trust property. He recently acted on behalf of the Respondent in a milestone family law case concerned with the Jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Courts: TO also known as TT and KO FCMC 12767/2018 [2020] HKFC 149.

Security Regulatory & Disciplinary Matters

Mr. Scott frequently appears in securities regulatory and disciplinary hearings, including in Re Mayer, a case concerned with the disqualification of listed company directors. More recently, Mr. Scott appeared for the SFC in Re Magic, a Market Misconduct case concerned with corporate disclosure requirements during a Takeover.

Public Services

John Scott SC, KC, JP is a Justice of the Peace and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association Committee on Company Law. He also chairs the ICC’s subcommittee on Commercial Law and Practice.

Publications

Among his many publications, John Scott SC, KC, JP co-authored Halsbury’s Laws Vol 25 on Arbitration (Cap. 609), and the 2020 Re-issue of Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong on Arbitration Vol. 2.

In 2021, Mr. Scott authored an article “Electronic Signatures and Related Issues” with DVC’s Jonathan Lee. This article appeared in The Hong Kong Lawyer’s e-newsletter dated 14 May 2021.

For more information, please refer to https://www.dvc.hk/members/john-scott

Languages Spoken

English