For the first Supper Club of 2023, HK45 is delighted to host Matthew Gearing KC on Tuesday, 28 March 2023 in Hong Kong. This event will be sponsored by Allen & Overy, where Matthew practiced for 24 years before being called to the Bar.

We welcome all junior law professionals, or those otherwise interested in arbitration, to apply. Law firm employees must be non-partners with less than 10 PQE. We expect the dinner to be an exclusive and informal opportunity to gather with peers, including lawyers and other arbitration specialists. Chatham House rules apply. Previous guests have included the Honourable Madam Justice Mimmie Chan, the Honourable Mr Justice Coleman, the Honourable Geoffrey Ma Tao-Li GBM KC SC, the Right Honourable Madam Justice Beverley McLachlin, Judith Gill, Lord Hoffmann, Doug Jones, Neil Kaplan, Karyl Nairn and Lord Neuberger, amongst many others.

If you are interested and available to attend, please register your interest by 17 March 2023.

Please note, spaces are not offered on a first-come-first-served basis. We will select the participants based on factors including diversity, seniority, and past attendance or cancellation. Successful RSVPs will be notified on 22 March 2023.

The cost of the dinner is HKD 250, generously subsidised by Allen & Overy. We will request payment and confirm the venue when we confirm your participation.

Matthew Gearing KC

Matthew Gearing KC studied law at Oxford University, qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in 1997 and then in Hong Kong in 2001. He moved to Hong Kong in 2008 with Allen & Overy where he was co-head of their Global Arbitration Group, and quickly became a key figure in the arbitration community here. Matthew took Silk in 2014 and assumed the role of Chairperson of the HKIAC from 2017 to 2020. In 2021, he relocated to the UK where he joined Fountain Court Chambers and, most recently, Quayside Chambers in Western Australia. Matthew is currently Vice President of the LCIA Court and an editor of Russell on Arbitration, which is now in its 25th edition.

Matthew is recognised internationally for his outstanding global investment treaty and commercial arbitration practice — having represented major corporate clients and sovereign states, including in arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, HKIAC, KLRCA, SCC, LCIA and ICSID rules.

HK45 is a group for young arbitration practitioners in Hong Kong and beyond formed under the auspices of the HKIAC. Our aims are to promote interest in and knowledge of issues relating to arbitration, and to provide opportunities for both professional development and social interaction.  

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