Deacons is an international

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

with over 300 attorneys and 700 employees worldwide. Founded in 1851, it provides full service for all major practice areas such as corporate mergers & acquisitions, regulatory compliance, intellectual properties, insurance, international arbitration and litigation. It serves a long list of private clients and high-profile conglomerates, including

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, McDonald’s Corp,

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Yahoo Inc!, and the HKSAR Government. The law firm is currently based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, with additional offices in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. It is the oldest and largest law firm in Hong Kong, and has experienced practitioners for every level of the court system. It also maintains connections with other large, independent law firms around the world to deal with multijurisdictional disputes. Deacons' Elevators

History

The firm is named for the English

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Victor Deacon, who in 1880 joined the legal practice established by William Thomas Bridges in 1851 in Hong Kong. Bridges was the second barrister to commence practice in Hong Kong. Within two years, Victor Deacon was made a partner and within 20 years, under his own name, he had firmly established Deacons as one of the colony's leading law firms, a position it has retained to this day. In 1860, with offices on Queen's Road, the firm was based close to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Deacons grew steadily throughout the 20th century, flourishing during Hong Kong's post-war boom. By the mid-1970s, Deacons was a busy, full-service business law firm and a highly respected name in commercial circles throughout Asia. In 1910, the larger firm required bigger office space and Deacons moved to

Ice House Street Ice House Street () is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Named after the structure previously located on it that housed the city's only source of ice, it stretches from Lower Albert Road to Connaught Road. The street ...

. Since 1985, it has resided in

Alexandra House Alexandra House () is an office building in Central, Hong Kong near Central station. The building has 37 levels. It hosts a shopping arcade, Landmark Alexandra, and it is connected to the Central Elevated Walkway. The block formed by Alexand ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, progressively taking more floor space to accommodate the expanding team of lawyers. Its headquarters is equipped with internal staircases alongside two private elevators, spanning 6 individual floors. It also operates an office location in Sheung Wan. In 1986, Deacons opened an initial presence in the People's Republic of China in Beijing. In 2002, Deacons established a representative office in Beijing and was one of the first Hong Kong law firms to be granted a licence to open a second office in the PRC. Deacons became the first firm to be awarded a third foreign law firm license in mainland China. Deacons celebrated 165 years in Hong Kong in 2016.

Practice Areas

Deacons is listed in ''The Legal 500'' and ''Chambers and Partners''. It is a globally ranked, first-tier law firm offering legal services for 15 key service areas, as well as additional specializations within each: * Banking & Finance *

Capital Markets A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers to ...

* China Trade & Investment *

Construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

* Corporate and M&A * Employment & Pensions * Insolvency & Restructuring *

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

Investment Funds An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages inc ...

* Litigation & Dispute Resolution * Private Clients *

Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

Regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

Tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

Recognition

Deacons has been awarded for its service, corporate social responsibility (CSR), employee benefits, working environment and graduate recruitment over decades. A selection of the recent three years' awards includes:-

2017

* IFLR "Private Equity Deal of the Year 2017" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * Managing IP "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * Chinese Business Law Awards "Construction & Infrastructure Firm of the Year 2017" * Chinese Business Law Awards "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2017" * The Asia Legal Award "M&A Deal of the Year: Private Equity & Venture Capital 2017" * Human Resources Asia "Best Graduate Recruitment Programme 2017"

2016

* Chambers Asia-Pacific “Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year 2016” * ASIAN MENA "Firm of the Year 2016" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2016" * Euromoney Asia "Best National Firm for Talent Management 2016" * Asian Legal Business “Employer of Choice 2016” * Asian Legal Business "Annual CSR List Awardee 2016" * HFM Asia Hedge Fund Services Award "Best Onshore Law Firm 2016"

2015

* Chambers Asia-Pacific “Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year 2015” * China Law & Practice’s “Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2015” * ASIAN MENA Counsel "Most Responsive Domestic Law Firm of the Year 2015" * IFLR "Hong Kong Firm of the Year 2015" * Asian Legal Business “Employer of Choice 2015” * Asian Legal Business "Citizenship Law Firm of the Year 2015" * The Asian Lawyer

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.deacons.com.hk
PLC 'Which Lawyer?' web site

Findlaw.com website

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100305143902/http://www.deacons.com.hk/eng/index.htm
CRPS Lawyers
Law firms of Hong Kong Law firms established in 1851 1851 establishments in Hong Kong