Ian De Witt

Biography

Ian, recognised as a seasoned litigator and global thought leader, has an impressive track record that has earned him recognition as a leading legal authority, consistently ranked in the top tier in publications such as Chambers Asia Pacific/Greater China Region, Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Benchmark Litigation, IFLR, and Who’s Who Legal. He was selected as one of the Top 50 Disputes Lawyers in the Asia-Pacific region by Asian Business Legal.

Over the past few decades Ian has been involved in nearly every major restructuring and insolvency case in the region. He serves as a trusted advisor to a diverse clientele, including officeholders, shareholders, multinational corporations, high-net-worth individuals, and listed companies. Known for his pragmatic approach, Ian is a trusted advisor in litigation, insolvency, and asset recovery cases.

In addition to his role in restructuring and insolvency, Ian provides strategic counsel on commercial and contractual disputes, partnership and shareholder conflicts, and high-value fraud cases, with extensive experience in asset tracing, judgment enforcement, injunctions, court-appointed receiverships, and the appointment of provisional liquidators. He has also acted as an expert witness on Hong Kong law in several foreign jurisdictions.

His professional background includes involvement in investigations, regulatory affairs, and prosecutions led by authoritative bodies such as the Police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and various disciplinary committees. This extensive array of skills situates him prominently within Hong Kong’s dispute resolution and insolvency legal landscape. 

Ian has written many articles covering aspects of insolvency and commercial litigation and was a contributing editor for Sweet and Maxwell’s Company Law in Hong Kong: Insolvency and more recently the first ever edition of the Commercial Litigation and Cross Border Enforcement Comparative Law Book (Hong Kong). He has also spoken at several international conferences, on matters of Hong Kong law, insolvency and asset recovery.

Ian is a board member of the International Insolvency Institute, sits on the Insolvency Committee for the Law Society, the Technical and Editorial Committee of the Restructuring and Insolvency Faculty of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and on the Official Receiver’s Office Services Advisory Committee, and is also a director of the Company and Insolvency Law Society. Ian is also an accredited mediator of HKMAAL and Vice Chair, Restructuring and Workouts Subcommittee of the IBA.

Ian De Witt was born in Wales and obtained an honours degree in law in London. After qualifying as a solicitor in England & Wales, he joined and became a partner in a prominent London law firm where he worked for many years before coming to Hong Kong in 1996. Ian co-founded Tanner De Witt in 1999 with just one member of staff.

Chambers and Partners 2025 quotes clients of Ian as saying, ‘Ian De Witt is the very best lawyer. He knows insolvency law and is extremely nice and easy to get on with, and popular with clients as a result’ and earlier noted that ‘He is commercial, approachable and a fountain of knowledge in Hong Kong law and procedure’ and ‘an excellent problem solver.’ Who’s Who Legal recognises Ian as a Global Elite Thought Leader and remarks: ‘Ian De Witt is a star of the Hong Kong market’ and ‘earns recognition from market commentators as a deeply experienced practitioner who regularly acts for liquidators, receivers, creditors and financial institutions.’ The Asia Pacific Legal 500 ranks Ian in the Hall of Fame and says ‘Ian De Witt – top insolvency lawyer: clever, innovative, great appreciation of tactics and strategy, very hard working in clients’ interests and very approachable.’

Biography

• Party City – resolved disputes with its insolvent UK joint venture partner Wonder Group, restructuring their Hong Kong-based JV and its global subsidiaries, and assisted in liquidating operations including the sale of a Madagascar factory employing over 1,000 staff
• Acting for Chapter 11 trustee for China Fishery Group, one of the world’s largest seafood conglomerates, in general and in Hong Kong proceedings, dealing with highly publicized and fiercely contested allegations of fraud amounting to USD 5.5 billion
• Oasis Airlines – The complex administration of the Hong Kong airline including the leading case on aircraft liens
• Field V. Barber – Successfully acting for the Plaintiff in the leading case on financial advisory negligence in Hong Kong
• SES Germany GmbH and New Skies Satellites B.V. – Successfully opposed a scheme of arrangement for one of the world’s largest satellite operators
• Moke – Advising in shareholder actions and the sale of trademarks from the British Motor Corporation classic Mini
• Nirav Modi – Dealing with the winding down of operations in Asia following this high profile alleged $2 billion fraud
• Other well-known cases include Gibson guitar brand collapse, the Krispy Kreme franchise, and STX Pan Ocean (Hong Kong) Co. (owned by Korea’s largest dry-bulk carrier, Pan Ocean Korea)
• Sweetmart – Successfully bringing a claim for unfair preference in what is now the benchmark case in Hong Kong
• Acting in a variety of regulatory and professional disciplinary matters, including criminal SFC, and CIB matters

Biography

• International Insolvency Institute’s 25th Annual Conference in São Paulo (2025)
• International Bar Association Global Insolvency and Restructuring Conference in Florence (2025)
• ICC Fraudnet Shanghai Conference (2025)
• ThoughtLeaders4’s 4th Annual FIRE Starters Global Summit in Dublin (2025)
• Taylor David Lawyers Restructuring Conference (2025)
• Offshore Alert Bangkok Conference (2025）
• Host and Chair of the International Insolvency Institute Regional Conference (2024)
• International Bar Association webinar on “Insolvency in the Real Estate Industry in Asia” (2024)
• Offshore Alert Bangkok Conference (2024)
• Are you winding me up? Developments in Liquidations
• Hong Kong’s future as an International Business Centre
• AIJA talk on the Asia Legal Perspective
• Business Development in the Asset Recovery World
• Enforcement and recognition – Asian perspectives
• Cross-border insolvencies involving Asia, the US and relevant offshore jurisdictions: A practical look at EMAS and China Fishery
• Offshore restructuring – what’s happening and what’s interesting
• The latest developments and updates in Hong Kong insolvency law
• Corporate Rescue
• Litigation Funding – a history
• ABI talk on Hong Kong legal developments 
• Bankruptcy & Individual Voluntary Arrangements
• IVA Practical Application in Hong Kong
• Provisional Liquidation: The Procedure, The Practice, And Its Link With Corporate Rescue In Hong Kong Winding Up Procedures
• Debt Recovery: How To Do It And Make It Pay
• Current Insolvency Issues in Hong Kong
• The Strategic Use of Litigation Procedures
• Dispute Resolution in China: to litigate or arbitrate?

Biography

• Litigation Star (Insolvency) of Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific 2025
• Lexology Index Investigation 2025 (Who’s Who Legal)
• ALB Top 50 Disputes Lawyer 2021, 2024
• China Business Law Journal A-List the Visionaries 2023
• Who’s Who Legal Global elite Thought Leader in Asset Recovery (GIR) 2022, Litigation 2020 & Restructuring & Insolvency 2020 and as a Global Leader in its Asset Recovery, Litigation 2019 & Restructuring & Insolvency 2020 & 2022
•  Legal 500, Asia Pacific Hall of Fame since 2020
• IFLR Client Choice Award 2020
• AsiaLaw Elite practitioner in Restructuring and Insolvency since 2020
• GIR Thought Leader 2019
• International Advisory Expert Award 2018
• Asialaw Leading Lawyers Market-leading Lawyer for Dispute Resolution & Litigation and Restructuring & Insolvency 2018
•  Legal 500, Asia Pacific Leading Individual since 2013
• Chambers and Partners, Greater China Region band 1 since 2013
• Asian Legal Business Top 50 Disputes lawyers of the Asia-Pacific region
• IFLR1000 Highly regarded lawyer
• Legal Media Group World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers

Biography

• The Law Society of Hong Kong
• Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore (IPAS)
• International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL International)
• International Bar Association (IBA)
• Board member of International Insolvency Institute (III)
• International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
• British Chamber of Commerce
• Fellow of the Hong Kong Credit and Collection Management Association (HKCCMA)
• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA)
• Restructuring and Insolvency Faculty Technical Sub-Committee
• Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA)
• Insolvency Law Committee of The Law Society of Hong Kong
• Mediator accredited by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
• Turnaround Management Association (TMA)
• Company and Insolvency Law Society (COINS)
• Working Party on Taxation in Civil Proceedings of The Law Society of Hong Kong
• Official Receiver’s Office Services Advisory Committee

Biography