Members

Ryan Chan

Counsel

• LLB (1st Class Hons., Ranked 1st in Year), University of Manchester
• MPhil in Criminology (Distinction), Queens' College, University of Cambridge
• PCLL, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, CIArb

Qualifications & Awards

• Leading Junior (Regulatory, Investigations and Crime) — Legal500 | 2025-2026
• Subject Prize (Company Law) — University of Manchester | 2013
• Hardwicke Scholarship — Lincoln's Inn | 2014
• Dean's Award for best LLB dissertation — University of Manchester | 2014
• R.G. Lawson Prize for Academic Excellence — University of Manchester | 2014
• Best Mooter; Best Oralist — Essex Court National Mooting Competition | 2015
• Subject Prize (LLB Dissertation) — University of Manchester | 2015
• Manuel López-Rey Studentship — University of Cambridge | 2016
• Award of Distinction for MPhil Dissertation — University of Cambridge | 2016
• UGC Funding/Distinguished Scholarship — Chinese University of Hong Kong | 2017

Practice Profile

Ryan is ranked as a "leading junior" for regulatory, investigations, and crime in the Legal500 guide to the Hong Kong Bar for 2025 and 2026. He is a Hardwicke Scholar of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, and a member of the Denning Society for scholars of the Inn. He holds fellowships with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators (FHKIArb). Prior to joining the bar, Ryan obtained his LLB (First Class Honours, ranking first in his year) at the University of Manchester in 2015 and his MPhil in Criminology (First Class average, with Distinction) as a Manuel Lopez-Rey Scholar at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge in 2016. He then obtained his PCLL at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (with UGC Funding/Distinguished Scholarship) in 2017. He was awarded more than 10 academic scholarships and prizes along the way. He then assisted John McDonnell K.C. of Three Stone Chambers in numerous appeals which were heard in the UK Supreme Court, the Privy Council, and the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal before commencing practice in Hong Kong. Ryan is recognized as an expert in regulatory/white-collar crime, company, chancery, professional negligence/misconduct, and arbitration matters. In his regulatory practice, he is regularly instructed as sole counsel or led junior in complex investigations and proceedings involving market misconduct, listed securities, and corruption. He is particularly sought after by foreign banks, investment portfolios, listed companies, financial intermediaries, and their directors/officers for both contentious and advisory work. He is experienced in proceedings brought by regulators, including petitions under sections 213 and 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) and proceedings in the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal. In his chancery practice, he is often instructed in trust disputes, private client work, offshore matters, urgent injunctions, and asset recovery. In the field of arbitration, he has been appointed as counsel, arbitrator, and tribunal secretary in various HKIAC and ICC arbitrations. Outside Hong Kong, Ryan is a Foreign Lawyer (full registration) of the Singapore International Commercial Court. He has been instructed to provide expert evidence on various areas of Hong Kong law in foreign court (including PRC, UK, BVI, Cayman Islands, DIFC, and Timor-Leste) and arbitration proceedings (including CIETAC, ICC, and SIAC).

Professional Appointments & Memberships

• Member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn — 2014
• Member of the Lord Denning Society (for Scholars of the Inn) at Lincoln's Inn — 2014
• Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators (FHKIArb) — 2019 – present
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) — 2019 – present
• Member of the Hong Kong Bar Association's Practice Area Committee on Arbitration — 2019 – 2023
• Member of the Hong Kong Bar Association's Practice Area Committee on Land, Trust and Probate — 2020 – 2023
• Member of the Hong Kong Bar Association's Practice Area Committee on Sports Law — 2025 – present
• Member of the Hong Kong Bar Association's Practice Area Committee on Financial & Securities Law — 2025 – present

Personal

Outside his legal practice, Ryan is a passionate racing driver, having been ranked in the FIA Driver Categorisation list since 2021. He has participated in sprint and endurance races in various GT, one-make, and touring car (TCR) specifications. He recently competed in the Passione Ferrari Club Challenge, the Lotus Cup China where he finished on the podium, as well as the Lynk & Co Cup where he was the overall champion at the Shanghai International Circuit. Ryan is also an avid foodie who documents his gastronomical adventures on his Instagram food blog.

Selected Cases

Publications

• LexisNexis Practical Guidance (Hong Kong, 2021-2024)Guides on Arbitration, Corporate Insolvency, Personal Bankruptcy, Injunctive Relief, and Civil Procedure
• Lexology Panoramic: Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (Hong Kong, 2025-2027)Guide to enforcing foreign and Mainland judgments in Hong Kong