Mind Matters: Navigating Mental Health Issues in Criminal Proceedings – 19 July 2022, 5pm to 6.30pm
Hong Kong Criminal Law Seminar
In this upcoming hybrid event, perspectives from the legal and psychiatric disciplines converge to bring attendees dual-faceted insights and guidance. Randy Shek and Ted Chan will share their experience in handling criminal cases which turned on their client’s mental health issues, and offer practical tips for both solicitors and barristers. They will be joined by clinical psychiatrist Dr. Henry Kwok, who will provide additional insights based on his experience in making psychiatric assessment and giving evidence at numerous criminal trials at all levels of courts of trial.
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Date: |
19 July 2022 (Tuesday) |
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| Time: | 5pm to 6.30pm HKT | ||
| CPD Accreditation: | 1.5 CPD points applied for (subject to confirmation by the Law Society of Hong Kong) | ||
| Venues: | • In-person Attendance — Denis Chang’s Chambers, 9/F, Tower One, Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Admiralty (Limited to 10 persons fully vaccinated with three doses of COVID-19 vaccine)
• Online Attendance — Zoom |
Seminar Overview
Criminal defence is challenging enough as it is. The complexities are further compounded if the client suffers from mental health issues such as insanity, impairment, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and adolescent brain development, which impact on individuals in different ways.
In such cases, what steps and strategy could legal practitioners adopt to ensure effective representation for impaired clients throughout all stages of the criminal process?
At our upcoming seminar, perspectives from the legal and psychiatric disciplines will converge to bring attendees dual-faceted insights and guidance.
Randy Shek and Ted Chan will share their experience in handling criminal cases which turned on their client’s mental health issues, and offer practical tips for both solicitors and barristers. They will explain the law which governs expert opinions, fitness to plead and stand trial, and the use of psychiatric and psychological evidence in criminal trials.
Also joining the panel of speakers is clinical psychiatrist Dr. Henry Kwok, who will share his insights based on his experience in making psychiatric assessment and giving evidence at numerous criminal trials at all levels of courts of trial.
The three speakers will also explore ways in which solicitors and clinical psychiatrists could work and communicate with each other effectively for the benefit of the client.
In-person Attendance
A maximum of 10 places will be available and allocated on a first come first served basis.
In order to safeguard the health of Chambers’ Members and staff, only attendees who have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the seminar date (19 July 2022) will be admitted. All confirmed attendees are required to provide their vaccination record in either digital or printed form for inspection by Chambers staff. Thank you in advance for your understanding and co-operation.
Due to health concerns, at this stage, we will unfortunately not be able to admit persons who are medically exempted from vaccination.
| In-Person Attendance: Click Here to RSVP |
Online Attendance
To attend via Zoom, please click on the button below to secure your place.
| Online Attendance via Zoom: Click Here to RSVP |
We look forward to seeing you at our event. For enquiries, please reach out to Sonia Chan, Practice Development Manager, at [email protected].
Presenters
| Randy Shek
Randy’s main areas of practice include criminal law, human rights and civil liberties, and public law. While he regularly receives instructions to prosecute on behalf of the Department of Justice, Randy is mainly a criminal defence counsel. Randy has a long and established track record for defending cases arising from high profile public order events, which frequently involve human rights and civil liberties dimensions. His experience also extends to conventional crime, white collar crime, SFC investigations, and serious crime, including sexual offences and murder. He has conducted trials and appeals in all court levels, both as led junior and on his own right. Randy particularly enjoys jury advocacy and is able to accept both private and legal aid instructions for trials in the Court of First Instance. Moreover, Randy is experienced in handling and challenging expert forensic evidence including diverse areas such as explosives, clinical psychology, neurology, telecommunications, computer forensics, DNA, and video identification etc. He has also rendered advice on and is familiar with criminal legal issues concerning cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Find out more from Randy’s profile.
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Ted Chan
Ted was called to the Bar in 2019. He regularly advises on and handles criminal and civil cases involving mental health issues. Recent highlights include KCCC 1762/2020, a public nuisance case in which the defendant’s below-average IQ raised issues as to his fitness to plead and stand trial, involving evidence from two psychologists, four psychiatrists and two social workers. He also acted for the applicant in HCMH 94/2021 for appointment as committee of a mentally incapacitated person under Part II of the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap.136). Other notable experience includes appearing as co-counsel for the Respondent in Secretary for Justice v SWS [2020] HKCA 788, where the Court of Appeal set out the general approach to sentencing juvenile offenders. Ted is the author of “Fitness to Stand Trial: 3 Common Issues and How to Handle Them as the Defendant’s Lawyer”, to be published in the July 2022 edition of Hong Kong Lawyer. From 2017 to 2018, Ted was appointed as a Judicial Assistant in the Court of Final Appeal. He was responsible for conducting legal research for the judges and preparing judicial bulletins and press summaries. Ted is a law reporter for the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports (HKCFAR) and the Hong Kong Law Reports & Digest (HKLRD). Visit Ted’s profile for more details. |
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Dr. Henry Kwok
Dr. Kwok is a Hong Kong-based psychiatrist in private practice with over 30 years of experience. He has special interests in the mental health of children and adolescents as well as individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has given evidence at numerous criminal trials in the Magistrates’ Courts, District Court and Court of First Instance as an expert witness, and is regularly engaged to provide psychiatric examinations and medical reports for the Courts. Dr. Kwok holds a number of international and academic positions. He is, among others, a World Health Organization (WHO)-appointed member of the International Expert Working Group for the Revision of ICD-10 to ICD-11 on Mental and Behavioural Disorders, Vice-President of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), and has been an Examiner of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists for over 20 years. He is on the List of Approved Doctors for the purposes of Section 2 of the Mental Health Ordinance, Cap. 136 and List of Experts of the Legal Aid Department. Dr. Kwok also serves many Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), special school, patient support groups and parent associations in Hong Kong. |
Disclaimer: Seminars, webinars, training presentations or workshops (“Events”) and related materials produced by Members of Denis Chang’s Chambers (“DCC“) provide general information regarding particular subjects and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Registering for an event only constitutes an agreement to attend it, not instructions to Counsel. Except as otherwise noted, the views expressed at Events are the views of the speakers only and do not represent the opinions of all other Members of DCC.