When Matrimonial and Criminal Law Meet – Unravelling The Legal Complexities

Elaine Sum has over 18 years’ experience dealing with a full spectrum of contentious/ non-contentious matrimonial matters including financial issues involving complex asset composition and issues relating to children born within or out of wedlock. She also advises on pre-/ post-nuptial agreements.

Elaine will moderate this session.

Andrew Powner has been practising as a criminal defence lawyer in Hong Kong with Haldanes for over 25 years and has defended many large-scale white-collar commercial crime cases, as well as representing clients involved in a wide range of cases brought by the police or other statutory bodies in Hong Kong. Andrew has also assisted in the prosecution and detection of crime and advised companies on possible criminal conduct by directors or employees. Over the years he has developed strong international ties and represented clients from many countries, as well as working with senior counsel from a number of jurisdictions. Andrew is a member of the International Bar Association commercial crime group and the HK Law Reform Commission, and is a regular speaker at criminal law conferences.

Elsie Liu heads the Family Law Group at Haldanes. Her expertise as a family lawyer and family mediator is well recognised within the legal industry. Elsie has rich experience in handling both complex children disputes and big money cases.

Alia Eyres is the Chief Executive Officer of Mother’s Choice, and communicates the vision, sets the strategy, and leads a team of 150+ staff and 800+ volunteers to work towards every child in a loving family. Alia was a corporate lawyer in Hong Kong for Hogan Lovells and in New York for Skadden, Arps before she joined Mother’s Choice as CEO in 2012. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Centre and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University.

Karen Woodall is the lead therapist at the Family Separation Clinic and is a specialist in working with high conflict divorce and separation and its impact on children. She is a psychotherapist with over twenty years experience in working with parents and children affected by family separation. Karen is an internationally recognised expert on children’s post separation rejecting behaviours and the phenomenon of the alienated child. Karen was previously the Director at the Centre for Separated Families, a national charity that works with the whole family in order to bring about better outcomes for children.