Isabel Tam and Ted Chan delivered a CPD session titled Co-Parenting Reimagined: A Cross-Disciplinary Exploration of Best Practices
On 22 September 2025, Isabel Tam, Ted Chan and guest speakers Mr. Tang Chung Wah and Mr. Cheung Seut Fung, social workers from Circles of Love (聖雅各福群會童心圓共享親職支援中心) delivered a CPD session titled Co-Parenting Reimagined: A Cross-Disciplinary Exploration of Best Practices.
Isabel and Ted began by highlighting key developments of co-parenting in family law. Notably, there has been an increased emphasis on parental coordination apart from mediation. Mr. Tang and Mr. Cheung then introduced Circles of Love, one of the five Specialised Co-parenting Support Centres in Hong Kong. Drawing on real-life examples, they discussed the practical challenges they face in enforcing certain terms of court orders and shared insights on parallel co-parenting, contrasting it with the traditional model that requires constant communication and consensus between co-parents.
The guest speakers emphasised that parallel co-parenting can be especially beneficial in high-conflict situations, allowing parents to maintain clear boundaries and avoid interfering in each other’s decisions. Isabel and Ted further explored how various care arrangements, such as those involving extended families and new partners, can align with the parallel co-parenting model. For example, the concept of “shared care” has been recognised in case law to reflect these dynamics.
Infusing the parallel co-parenting model into their work as parental coordinators, Mr. Tang and Mr. Cheung illustrated how different strategies can be tailored to the nature of the issues to be resolved and the parents’ personality types. These strategies are equally useful for family lawyers and mediators alike. Isabel and Ted added that the Courts are increasingly promoting parental coordination, which should not be confined to instances where final court orders exist. Essentially an ongoing dialogue between divorced parents, parental coordination additionally enhances the potential for future settlement and, in light of its continuity and proactive engagement with the parents, distinguishes itself from mediation.
For more information about Isabel’s practice, please visit: https://dcc.law/barrister/isabel-tam/
For more information about Ted’s practice, please visit: https://dcc.law/barrister/Ted-Chan/
For more information about St. James’ Settlement’s Co-parenting Support Centre:
https://www.circleoflove.sjs.org.hk/
Isabel Tam
Recognised as Leading Junior in Legal 500 (2025, Administrative and Public Law), 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.
Ted Chan
Ted has a broad civil and criminal practice. He has been regularly instructed to advise and/or handle probate, family and mental health cases. His experiences in handling cases with children and mental health dimensions also extend across different areas of law. Meanwhile, Ted continues to develop a wide range of practice areas including civil and commercial disputes.
Outside the Courtroom, Ted regularly mediates civil and matrimonial cases as a CEDR accredited mediator. He also frequently collaborates with family therapy and social work professionals in giving seminars on working with divorced families.
Ted is also a contributor to Atkins’ Court Forms and the Hong Kong Encyclopaedia of Forms & Precedents in Family Law.
More details can be found in Ted’s profile.
This article was first published on 30 September 2025.
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.