Vivien Chung
Of Counsel
Vivien is a litigation lawyer specialising in audit negligence claims and complex insolvency and commercial disputes.
Biography
Languages - Cantonese, English, Mandarin
Jurisdictions - Hong Kong, Australia
Vivien acts on professional negligence claims, restructuring and insolvency disputes, shareholder disputes, fraud and asset recovery proceedings, and commercial litigation. She has particular experience advising on matters arising from corporate collapses, including fraud investigations and audit negligence claims. Drawing on her accounting background, she is adept at addressing complex issues involving fraud, financial misstatements, and audit negligence.
Prior to joining Stephenson Harwood, Vivien worked at the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, where she was involved in enforcement actions against auditors and accountants, including matters relating to audit quality and breaches of professional standards.
Complementing her regulatory experience, Vivien has substantial contentious experience. She has represented liquidators and provisional liquidators in a broad range of disputes arising from insolvent estates and financial misstatements, including claims against auditors and former management. Her broader commercial litigation practice encompasses shareholder, contractual, and fiduciary disputes, injunction applications, defamation proceedings, and cross-border litigation. She has also advised multinational corporations on intellectual property matters and represented major Australian banks in contentious proceedings. Her combination of regulatory and litigation experience enables her to advise clients on disputes from multiple perspectives.
Experience
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Finance – restructuring and insolvency
Acted for the provisional liquidators of a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company to investigate and pursue a professional audit negligence claim against a Big Four accounting firm, for losses exceeding RMB 3.8 billion in the High Court of Hong Kong. The proceedings arose from a complex fraud perpetrated by management.
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Finance – restructuring and insolvency
Acted for the liquidators of a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company in High Court proceedings against a former chief executive officer concerning breaches of fiduciary duties owed to the company.
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Commercial litigation
Acted for a major PRC private equity fund in Hong Kong High Court proceedings against a former partner for breach of fiduciary duties and misappropriation of business.
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Commercial litigation (defamation)
Acted for a Hong Kong-listed company in a high-profile defamation action against a magazine publisher, involving claims in libel and malicious falsehood.
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Commercial litigation
Acted for the minority shareholder of a major television broadcast company in a high-profile derivative action involving claims for breaches of fiduciary duties and shareholder agreement.
