Mayer Brown - 孖士打 - hosted a cocktail reception on 19th October to celebrate its 160th anniversary in Hong Kong. More than 400 clients and guests attended, including the Secretary for Justice, Mr. Paul Lam Ting-kwok, SBS, SC, JP, and the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR, Ms. Yumei Zhang.
In his welcome speech, Global Chair, Jon Van Gorp, announced a donation of HK$500,000 to the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council, which supports rehabilitation programs for elderly and disabled people in residential care recovering from COVID-19 in Hong Kong. “This contribution reflects our profound gratitude to all the institutions in Hong Kong that have cared for our people and helped our firm succeed in good times and bad. It also reflects our unwavering commitment to Hong Kong, its people and its future,” said Mr. Van Gorp.
This was followed by an opening speech from Senior Partner for Asia, Terence Tung, who thanked clients and guests for their long-standing support and reflected upon the firm’s Hong Kong story, the theme for the evening. “As our city grew from a small port in Southern China to become the leading global financial and legal center that it is today, so too did our Firm," said Mr. Tung.
“In our early years, Mayer Brown supported the development of many iconic commercial, financial and philanthropic institutions in Hong Kong. We are proud to say these relationships remain strong to this day. Thank you to our distinguished guests and clients for being an integral part of our Hong Kong story as I hope we have been to your Hong Kong story."
The firm was honoured to have the Secretary for Justice provide a keynote speech, acknowledging Mayer Brown’s commitment to Hong Kong and its support for the city as a leading international legal services center, and as the gateway for both inbound and outbound investments for China.
Throughout the reception, the lives and work of the generations of people who built Mayer Brown over the past 160 years were highlighted as part of the firm’s on going 160th anniversary campaign. A commemorative video, Our Hong Kong Story, can be viewed here.
