Ronald Sum joins Baker McKenzie along with associates Plato Cheung and Beryl Wu

Ronald Sum joins Baker McKenzie along with associates Plato Cheung and Beryl Wu

The trio was previously working with Addleshaw Goddard

Baker McKenzie has hired arbitration lawyer Ronald Sum as a partner to strengthen its Hong Kong disputes team. Sum has joined along with associates Plato Cheung and Beryl Wu.

Steven Sieker, the managing partner of the firm's Chinese offices, remarked, "Sum is an outstanding practitioner with entrenched relationships with Hong Kong government authorities and Chinese private and state-owned enterprises.

"His joining will not only help deepen and broaden our China client base but also position Baker McKenzie well to seize more disputes work, which is expected to rise as businesses explore the opportunities presented by the Greater Bay Area (GBA)."

Dispute resolution under Hong Kong's 'One Country, Two Systems' is a part of that, despite rising international concerns about the rule of law, particularly China's national security law.

Sieker added, "Hong Kong continues to fulfill its role as an international legal and dispute resolution centre in the GBA development plan as well as China's 14th Five-Year Plan."

He further said, "The new team will bolster our ability to offer GBA-focused clients first-class dispute resolution services. It will also demonstrate our support of national policies in utilizing Hong Kong's strengths as a springboard to the GBA."

Prior to his association with Addleshaw Goddard, Sum headed Locke Lord's Hong Kong ADR practice for a year, having spent five years at US firm Troutman Sanders. He also had a short stint at Blank Rome and spent three years at legacy firm Eversheds.

Having qualified in 1997 from DLA Piper, where he spent 12 years, Sum rose to partnership at the firm. As several Hong Kong-based solicitors, he is qualified in multiple jurisdictions, including England & Wales, New South Wales, and Hong Kong and the GBA.

He was among the few to achieve the latter qualification early this year, as the Hong Kong government pursued closer practitioner and judicial links with mainland China, including supporting cross-border interim measures in arbitration, as it sought greater regional integration.

His practice is firmly rooted in Chinese and Asian-related arbitrations spanning sport, insurance, general commercial disputes, and cross-border matters. An establishment figure in Hong Kong, he has been serving as a council member since 2021 in its Law Society.

Sum has established links to Hong Kong's International Arbitration Centre, as well as China's CIETAC and Shanghai's SHIAC. He also sits on two influential government advisory committees for the promotion of arbitration and mediation, including his practice area, investor-state mediation.