Robin Darton

Biography

Having practised in Hong Kong for over 30 years, Robin is recognised as one of the region’s foremost practitioners in the insolvency field, specialising in special situation strategies. He appears in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific’s Hall of Fame for Restructuring and Insolvency in Hong Kong and is acknowledged by Chambers Asia Pacific as ‘most prominent’ with ‘great all-round experience.’

Robin has advised on most of Asia’s highest-profile insolvencies and restructurings since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, including notable cases such as China Evergrande, Guy Lam, Lehman Brothers, MF Global, GITIC, OW Bunker, Kaisa, HIH, Moulin Eyewear, Akai and many others. Various industry publications consistently acknowledge him as a leading lawyer and thought leader for restructuring and insolvency, and fraud and asset tracing litigation.

On a number of occasions, he has been appointed as expert witness on Hong Kong law to support proceedings in Mainland China, the BVI and Cayman Islands.

Robin’s multifaceted skillset allows him to provide strategic solutions to insolvency practitioners, private equity, distressed funds, asset managers, banks and other creditors, also for debtors, across various sectors. These sectors include retail, natural resources, construction, real estate, and financial services. His knowledge spans domestic and cross-border winding-up proceedings, bond restructurings, schemes of arrangement, bankruptcy matters, and claims against directors and auditors.

In the banking and finance field, Robin has many years of experience dealing with contentious issues related to financial transactions, the recovery of debts, the enforcement of securities, and contentious aspects of trade finance.

Robin’s practice also extends to general commercial litigation, including in particular shareholders’ disputes, and disputes relating to international sales of goods and commodities. With a keen emphasis on offshore considerations, Robin leverages strong relationships with a robust international network of offshore qualified lawyers, particularly from Cayman, BVI, Channel Islands, and Bermuda, with whom he has worked for many years.

Much of Robin’s work is cross-border and he appeared on a number of cases that helped develop cross-border recognition of insolvencies in Hong Kong. This cross-border experience has involved work in many jurisdictions around the world, including Mainland China, where he collaborates closely with Mandarin-speaking team members.

Robin frequently writes articles relating to Hong Kong insolvency law and is the author of the Hong Kong module for INSOL’s Foundation Certificate course. He has also spoken at many conference all over the world on insolvency and fraud-related litigation topics.

Robin, an alumnus of The University of Southampton, holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) degree.

Biography

• Acting for the liquidators of China Evergrande Group, the collapsed PRC real estate developer, Hong Kong’s largest ever liquidation
• Acting for the liquidators of China City Construction (International) Co., Limited, a company which collapsed following default on RMB 2.5 billion bonds issued by it, including complex fraud litigation regarding the misappropriation of US real estate assets valued at over US$100 million and the subsequent dissipation of sales proceeds across a network of recipients
• Long-running roles in respect of the Lehman Brothers collapse, advising the UK-based administrators of Lehman Brothers International Europe in respect of multiple issues arising in Hong Kong; then subsequently acting for the liquidators (from KPMG) of the 9 Hong Kong Lehman entities
• Acted for the trustees in bankruptcy of Guy Lam, whose bankruptcy led, through decisions of the Court of Final Appeal, to the development of Hong Kong law relating to the interplay between insolvency proceedings and arbitration. The team also successfully represented at the Court of Appeal the petitioner in But Ka Chon, a decision which also contributed to this development
• Advised liquidators of derivatives brokerage MF Global, which included representation at hearings on novel, reported legal issues such as the ad valorem duty payable by provisional liquidators and the treatment of costs incurred by liquidators
• Acting for a South African-based specialist lender in connection with enforcement of security, through receivers, in respect of a broad group of businesses (ranging from pizza restaurants to fintech) in which a UK-based serial entrepreneur (now a bankrupt) had invested monies borrowed
• Acting for the Provisional Liquidators appointed in the Cayman Islands over (then) Hong Kong-listed Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Ltd, in litigation against former officers, the company being the victim of a large-scale fraud in relation to a transaction to purchase a number of dairy farms in New Zealand valued in the hundreds of millions of USD
• Acting for the Singapore-based liquidators of Star Cruises Singapore entities, being part of the difficulties faced by Genting, the Malaysia-based gaming and resorts group
• Acting for the liquidators of BVI-based Bank of Asia, a digital bank facing difficulties resulting from shareholder disputes and concerns about ongoing viability
• Led the firm’s team acting for a major PRC-headquartered and State-backed asset manager in connection with the financial restructuring of a substantial real estate project concerning a hotel property in the heart of Hong Kong (IFLR Innovative Law Firm of the year 2020)
• Led Kaisa Group’s debt 2016 restructuring offshore debt amounting to over US$2.5bn (Asian-mena Counsel Deal of the Year 2016)
• Acting for China Singyes Solar on contentious elements arising in the restructuring of its debt in excess of US$500 million, including opposing a winding up petition and obtaining a validation order to pay operational and restructuring costs
• Advising the Bermuda-based provisional liquidators of Vesttoo, a fintech reinsurance business which collapsed in 2023 on the revelation that letters of credit (with a face value of over US$4 billion) supposedly backing the business were fraudulent
• Acting for the BVI-based liquidators of Green Elite Limited, a company incorporated to hold pre-IPO shares in a metals trading business, and which was subsequently wound-up after substantial sums were syphoned off by a director, leading to judgment in the BVI (upheld by the Privy Council) and disclosure and enforcement actions in Hong Kong
• Acted for a distressed debt trading firm in its dispute with a purchaser of debt resulting in successful enforcement proceedings via arbitral proceedings and subsequent contempt proceedings against a receiver who had dissipated assets in breach of undertakings given to the court
• Advised provisional liquidators of then-listed Burwill Holdings in promulgating a scheme to restructure its indebtedness
• Handled insolvency related aspects of a high-value, cross-border dispute relating China Shanshui Cement Group stemming from a fiercely contested takeover involving three groups all listed on various stock exchanges in the region
• Acted for liquidators of the Hong Kong arm of OW Bunker Group, then Denmark’s second largest company, advising on numerous issues associated with its insolvency proceedings which spanned multiple jurisdictions
• Advised on the Hong Kong law aspects arising from the collapse of Brooks Brothers
• Assisting a well-known US-based international firm with Hong Kong law aspects arising from debt issued by Lycra
• Acting for a well-known bank in respect of the cross border winding up of Trinity Limited and its key subsidiaries, which held the intellectual property rights to a number of household-name luxury product brands
• Acting for the liquidators of Hong Kong entities in a group headed by DMX Technologies, then listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, which failed as a result of fraudulent accounting practices
• Acted for the Hong Kong liquidators following the collapse of HIH Insurance
• Successfully represented a renowned bank in a case involving a large scale trade finance fraud
• Acted in relation to many insolvency situations that arose after the Asian Financial Crisis, regularly acting to appoint (and then advise) provisional liquidators to pursue rescues via schemes of arrangement or to then act for liquidators winding up such companies and pursuing litigation claims 

Biography

• III (2024), chaired panel “The Hong Kong Picture: It takes two to tango – unless you are insolvent?” at the One-Day Regional Restructuring and Insolvency Conference in Hong Kong
• Offshore Alert Bangkok (2024), speaking on panel “High-Value International Recovery: Ask Me Anything”
• C5 Geneva (2024), speaking on the panel “Contentious Cross Border Insolvency & Restructuring: Acknowledgement and Enforcement of Insolvency in Foreign Jurisdictions” at the Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery Geneva Conference
• Offshore Alert (2020), speaking on the panel offshore/onshore case study on insolvency and global asset recovery (vGlobal 2020 conference)
• INSOL New York (2018), speaking on the panel Offshore restructuring — what’s happening and what’s interesting
• Organising and chairing the TMA (Turnaround Management Association)’s 2017 Asia Pacific Conference held in Hong Kong
• Speaking on Cross-border insolvency in practice at the Debtwire Forum in Hong Kong (June 2017)
• Recording a Debtwire Podcast on Hong Kong’s insolvency regime

Biography

• Litigation Star (Insolvency) of Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific 2025
• Awarded China Business Law Journal A-List the Visionaries 2023
• Client Choice Award winner 2022
• Legal 500, Asia Pacific Hall of Fame since 2020
• AsiaLaw, Elite practitioner in Restructuring and Insolvency since 2020
• Legal 500, Asia Pacific Leading Individual since 2013
• Chambers and Partners, Greater China Region band 1 since 2013
• Who’s Who (now Lexology) Legal Thought leader Restructuring & Insolvency and Asset Recovery
• IFLR1000 Rating: Highly regarded lawyer
• The Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers 2020.
• [RD1] Legal Media Group World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers

Biography

• INSOL Foundation Certificate, Hong Kong module (2019 to present)
• “Must a foreign judgment be registered before being relied on as a petitioning debt?”
• “Anti-suit injunction restraining a Defendant in a Hong Kong action from continuing proceedings it commenced in the People’s Court of Beijing”
• “5 Impactful R&I Cases from 2024”
• “Rights v Interests – English decisions not followed in Re Aoyuan Group Limited”
• “Privy Council’s decision in Sian Participation Corp – are we back to square one?”
• “The Legacy of Guy Lam lives on”
• “Bankruptcy overturned – can I have my money back please?”
• “ChatGPT for lawyers – are we out of a job?”
• “Stay of Play: Winding-Up v Arbitration (again)”
• “Liquidators do not require Court Approval for Litigation Funding Agreements.”
• “Another obiter judgment, what is the status of the “Lasmos” approach now?”
• “Abolition of fraud exception to summary judgments in Hong Kong”
• “Obtaining Validation Orders to pay restructuring costs”
• “Arbitration clauses and insolvency proceedings revisited”
• “Liquidators in the Labour Tribunal”
• “The Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Ordinance”
• “Hong Kong Insolvency Law – in need of its own restructuring?”
• “Litigation funding for foreign insolvency practitioners — an update”
• INSOL’s collection of essays on the implications of Brexit on restructuring regimes

Biography

• International Insolvency Institute
• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants Restructuring and Insolvency Faculty (RIF)
• International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL International)
• Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore (IPAS)
• International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
• Turnaround Management Association (TMA) of Hong Kong (past President 2016 and 2017)
• The Company and Insolvency Law Society (COINS)
• Cross Border Legal Network
• Law Society of Hong Kong
• The Law Society of England and Wales

Biography