Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) has hired Kevin Lee as a consultant and head of private client in Asia, and has also brought in his four-member team, including partner Kang Wei, strengthening this practice area across Asia and internationally.
Lee, formerly head of the private client practice in Greater China at Stephenson Harwood, will be based at the Hong Kong and Singapore offices of Charles Russell Speechly. He spent eight years as a partner at Stephenson Harwood and previously worked as a partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm, both positions at the Hong Kong offices.
He focuses on complex cross-border tax and trust structuring, succession planning, asset preservation, cross-border transactions, family governance and multijurisdictional private client matters.
His practice spans the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, Canada and the UK, with clients including prominent Asian families, institutional trustees, founders of listed companies, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
Lee also advises founders of listed companies on trust structuring in connection with IPOs, ensuring compliance with relevant tax, securities and regulatory requirements.
Kang will join CRS’s Hong Kong office as a partner on 30 May. She previously spent nearly five years as a partner at Stephenson Harwood in Hong Kong. Prior to that, she was of counsel at the Hong Kong office of DLA Piper and was seconded to HSBC for one year as senior legal counsel, overseeing private wealth legal matters across the Asia-Pacific region.
She began her legal career at Borden Ladner Gervais in Canada before joining Hong Kong firm Tiang & Partners (now known as TN Partners).
Her expertise includes private wealth structuring advisory work, multijurisdictional tax advice, the design and implementation of family governance structures, pre-immigration planning and philanthropic foundation planning.
She regularly advises on family trusts, Canadian tax and cross-border succession planning, acting for entrepreneurs and founders of listed companies, among other high-net-worth clients.
Both Lee and Kang are admitted to practise in Hong Kong and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Lee is also qualified in England and Wales.
