HKSTP Startup Ecosystem

Providing science and technology start-ups with strategy and guidance on Intellectual Property and other legal matters.

Mentor

Re-think Legal

A Boutique IP, IT & General Commercial, Legal Consultancy

Founder & CEO

BitMEX

Senior Legal Counsel

Peerpoint

Independent Consultant working on interim assignments through Peerpoint (Allen & Overy). Current assignment is with a French international banking group, heading-up the legal support on a contract remediation project spanning across APAC and involving 200+ suppliers and providing support on IT and general services agreements.

Foreign Legal Consultant

HSBC

Supporting and advising on the contractual implications for both local and global framework agreements following the ring-fencing of certain entities and changes to the HK entity's corporate structure.

KorumLegal

Advising Hong Kong based companies on intellectual property and general commercial legal issues including: a worldwide trade mark strategy; a trade mark infringement claim; and image rights arrangements.

Senior Consultant

nbn™ Australia

Joined a select team established to manage the implementation of a high profile agreement for the design and construction of the nbn network.  Solely responsible for the management of the construction phase of the project and tasked with leading several critical sub—projects designed to: resolve unforeseen contractual and operational issues; potential disputes; and reduce escalating costs.  

Emphasis was placed on business process excellence to ensure: efficiency; accuracy; personal responsibility; and collaboration. In such a fast-paced environment, knowledge sharing, stakeholder management and flexibility were key in achieving Executive and Government driven targets.

Commercial and Contracts Manager 

Supported the Deputy Chief Legal Counsel and the Chief Legal Counsel in the management of the IT Legal Team and on matters of legal and commercial strategy including setting and management of legal budgets, work allocation, business/legal alignment and operating plans and recruitment. 
Assisted the Chief Financial Officer on financial reporting (quarterly, half yearly and annual reports) and other financial matters that required legal/strategic input such as corporate fraud investigations and corporate/employee policies. 

Responsible for the negotiation and implementation of the intellectual property aspects of two major infrastructure deals with Australia's largest telecommunications and media company worth AUD$18billion and critical to the achievement of nbn targets. Received an “outstanding contribution” award from the CEO for my contribution to the first of these two deals. 

Continued to be responsible for numerous supplier relationships in the IT space, including those supporting the operation, maintenance and scale of nbn's operations and business support. These relationships required a range of agreements, including: master systems supply agreements (with a focus on systems integration); master goods and services agreements; business process outsourcing agreements; software licensing; and data agreements (such as cloud agreements). The role also required the management of several complex disputes.

Responsible for numerous supplier relationships in the IT space, including those supporting the opreration, maintenence and scale of nbn's operations and business support systems.  Such relationships required a range of agreements, including: master systems supply agreements (with a focus on systems integration); master goods and services agreements; business process outsourcing agreements; software licensing; and data agreements (such as cloud agreements).

Legal Counsel

Harvey Norman

Assisted the general Counsel at Harvey Norman to manage a team of three lawyers.  
Responsible for an extensive trade mark portfolio, requiring a close working relationship with Intellectual Property Offices across Australasia and the negotiation of several key contacts such as the State of Origin series agreements and accompanying image rights agreements with various NRL players. 

Worked closely with the marketing team on all brand related ventures and with the franchise management team, helping to manage, support and educate franchisees on brand and consumer policies.

Joules

Sole lawyer responsible for managing and leading the negotiation and documentation of all legal agreements and overseeing all legal and regulatory affairs.  

Responsible for managing an extensive and fast growing trade mark and design portfolio which involved: filing applications globally; working with Intellectual Property Offices and trade mark attorneys to ensure the success of trade mark applications; rolling out a brand protection plan which involved market monitoring for infringing products; taking steps to protect the brand such as letters before action re: trade mark and design right infringement; and drafting co-existence and other settlement agreements. Also assisted in litigious matters involving copyright and design right disputes and helped to roll out brand related training to manufacturers and distributors.  

Reported directly to the CFO and worked closely with all areas of the business, leading them through the various legal and regulatory minefields to achieve goals in a way that complied with our legal and corporate responsibilities. Also advised on corporate strategy in terms of brand growth, brand protection and brand vision and assisted with company audits and other due diligence activities required for corporate reports.   

Established the company's first legal panel and a company-wide legal engagement framework to ensure Legal was fully informed and given sufficient time to "add value" on key projects. 

Working for such a young but fast growing business was both challenging and rewarding.  The high pace of the company and the consumer goods market demanded speed and agility. On leaving the company, I was praised as being key to the company's success: in less than 18 months, as a team, we had managed to double the customer base thanks to: a new warehouse system; a new website; twenty-five additional high street stores; and three additional concession arrangements.

General Counsel

Shakespeare Martineau

IT/IP solicitor specialising in: general commercial contracts (i.e. supply and distribution agreements); licensing arrangements; trade mark applications; image right and sponsorship agreements and IP (including patent and copyright) disputes.

At this firm I also gained experience in Employment Law (doing a 12 month seat and undertaking both contentious and non-contentious matters) and Dispute Resolution (6 month seat).

Solicitor

I founded Re-think Legal (www.rethinklegal.com.hk), a boutique legal consultancy, in January 2023 after working in and heading-up in-house legal teams across the UK and APAC.  My mission is to help start-ups and small-medium sized companies identify, protect and grow their brands and commercialise their intellectual property.  As part of this mission, I create and implement trade mark strategies and put in place those B2B and customer agreements required for operation, growth and collaboration.

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