CPD Recap: Bridging Chinese Mainland & HK: Judgment Recognition & Enforcement
We were delighted to have Ms. Sarah Yee of Yingke Law Firm and Ms. Yarui Zhou of Tahota Law Firm, alongside Jeremy S.K. Chan, Isabel Tam and Matthew Suen from Denis Chang’s Chambers, to deliver a CPD session titled “Bridging Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong: Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments (in Commercial and Family Law contexts)” on 5 June 2026.
Speakers highlighted the crucial developments and practical considerations of the evolving legal frameworks, including the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, as well as matrimonial and family cases.
We are grateful to our panel and attendees for a thought-provoking session on this complex and evolving area of cross-border civil and family law practice.
Speakers’ profile
Jeremy S.K. Chan
“Jeremy knows his stuff and does well on financial matters.”
Chambers & Partners Greater China Region 2026 – Family/Matrimonial: The Bar – Band 1
Jeremy is a leading Junior Counsel specialising in all areas of Family Law with a particular focus on the areas of Matrimonial Finance, Private Clients, Inheritance, Probate and Trusts.
Called to the Bar in 2000, Jeremy has forged a career as a “go-to Junior” for Family matters and is noted for his “tough and very thorough” advocacy, he is “one of the top three Juniors in the field” and is considered to be “one of the most prominent Counsel here” in Hong Kong.
Jeremy is particularly noted for being “very numerate” and “with a good commercial sense” which “equip him particularly well in tackling high-value or financially complex cases”. Jeremy’s flourishing career has seen him be involved in the largest family disputes in Hong Kong, and he often represents clients within the Court of Appeal, often not associated with family proceedings.
Relevant to the issues discussed in this article, Jeremy represented the husband respondent in ML v YK (2010) 13 HKCFAR 796, a case involving a PRC divorce and in which the Court of Final Appeal in obiter dicta commented on the need for introduction of legislation enabling Hong Kong to provide, in appropriate cases, for ancillary relief in respect of marriages dissolved outside Hong Kong, ultimately leading to the enactment of Part IIA of the ) Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance (Cap. 192).
More details can be found in Jeremy’s Profile.
Isabel Tam
“She’s very articulate and is good at attention to detail. She gives us comprehensive advice that is very practical. I think she’s a good advocate.”
Chambers and Partners Greater China Region 2026
Administrative & Public Law: The Bar and Family/Matrimonial: The Bar
Recognised as Leading Junior in Legal 500 (2026, Administrative and Public Law & Family and private client) and ranked in Chambers and Partners Greater China Region 2026 (Administrative & Public Law: The Bar and Family/Matrimonial: The Bar), Isabel’s practice focuses on family law, public law, and regulatory matters. She has extensive experience in general matrimonial finance and preservation of assets, as well as particular expertise in complex legal issues arising out of LGBTQ/modern families and the dissolution of families with cross-border elements. She has acted as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, Court of First Instance, District Court, Magistrates’ Courts, and the Court of Final Appeal.
Isabel has been involved in landmark family law cases concerning modern families and LGBTQ rights in Hong Kong. Notably, she represented the non-biological parent in AA v BB [2021] 2 HKLRD 1225, securing guardianship and joint custody for a same-sex couple. She was involved in NF v R [2023] 5 HKLRD 58, a case resulting in a novel type of relief, a declaration of “parentage at common law” for a same-sex parent. Her expertise in family law is augmented by her experience in other related areas including in particular tax (Koo Ming Kown & Anor v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2021] 3 HKLRD 642 on liability for additional tax), mental incapacitated persons, and trust claims.
She is a contributor to the current editions of Hong Kong Civil Procedure and Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Hong Kong Precedents of Pleadings.
View Isabel’s profile for more details.
Matthew Suen
“Matthew has excellent technical skills, including legal research, legal analysis, very high-quality drafting, and excellent written and oral advocacy. He is also very well-organised, he displays very strong commercial awareness and understanding, and he has a great ability to solve legal problems for commercial clients with a creative and sensitive application of substantive law and procedural rules, applied effectively to the commercial circumstances of the case.”
Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026, Commercial Disputes, Rising Star
Matthew is a Charles Ching Scholar. Matthew is developing a broad civil practice across the full range of commercial litigation, international arbitration and advisory work. He is comfortable being instructed as part of a counsel team or in his own right, and has appeared unled in the High Court.
Before coming to the Bar, Matthew had a stint at one of China’s top Red Circle Firms where he acquired a good understanding of the mainland Chinese market in the context of cross-border commercial disputes. As barrister, Matthew is regularly instructed to act – as junior or sole counsel – in high-stakes commercial arbitrations administered by major arbitral institutions in Asia, including HKIAC, SIAC and CIETAC (HK). He also acts as secretary to arbitral tribunals.
Matthew read law in Hong Kong and mainland China and holds a Master of Laws degree in PRC Civil and Commercial Law from Peking University. He served pupillage with Mr Hectar Pun SC, Mr Adrian Lai JP, Dr Benny Lo, Mr Randy Shek and Mr Richard Yip before commencing his full practice in 2022. He currently serves in the Standing Committee on Mainland Affairs and the Committee on Arbitration of HKBA.
Please see Matthew’s profile for more details.
Sarah Yee
Sarah Yee is the partner of YingKe Law Firm (Shenzhen). She has been practising law in Shenzhen for 16 years, focusing on civil and commercial dispute resolution, with a particular emphasis on real estate transactions, marriage and inheritance, and corporate matters. In recent years, as exchanges between Shenzhen and Hong Kong have become increasingly frequent and dynamic, Sarah has assisted Hong Kong lawyers in handling a large number of cases involving cross-border matrimonial and family inheritance matters, the recognition and enforcement of judgments between Mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as real estate transactions and corporate disputes in Hong Kong. She has deeply engaged in and studied complex issues such as jurisdiction and applicable law in various types of cross-border civil and commercial disputes, accumulating substantial practical experience.
Sarah is well-versed in the challenges and pain points involved in cross-border legal disputes and is capable of providing clients with comprehensive solutions for complex and difficult cases, particularly in the areas of cross-border wealth succession and civil and commercial dispute resolution. At the beginning of 2025, Sarah was recognized as a Leading Foreign-Related Legal Talent (Seventh Batch) by the Shenzhen Lawyers Association.
Yarui Zhou
Yarui Zhou is the partner of Tahota Law Firm (Beijing). She has worked for many years at Fangda Partners and Han Kun Law Offices, gaining extensive experience in the legal profession. Her primary practice areas are cross-border dispute resolution, including domestic and international arbitration, cross-border litigation, and enforcement. She specialises in handling investment and financing disputes, corporate control disputes, international trade disputes, as well as the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and court judgments worldwide.
Zhou has represented both domestic and international clients in arbitration proceedings before leading arbitral institutions around the world, including the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), achieving results that have satisfied her clients.
In 2022, Zhou was recognised by LEGALBAND as a “Rising Star” in the field of dispute resolution (arbitration) on its list of China’s Top Lawyers.
This article was first published on 11 June 2026.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and seeks to set out the general principles of the law. Detailed advice should therefore be sought from a legal professional relating to the individual merits and facts of a particular case. The photographs which appear in this article are included for decorative purposes only and should not be taken as a depiction of any matter to which the case is related. The views and opinions expressed in this article/material are solely those of the members authoring it and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Denis Chang’s Chambers, or of any other member or members of Denis Chang’s Chambers.