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Patricia Woo is co-head of the firm’s Family Office cross-practice team.
She is a fund, trust and tax lawyer noted for her practice in helping global ultra-high-net-worth families set up, restructure and operate investment-centric, service-centric, and comprehensive value-centric family offices.
Her expertise spans structuring of single family offices and multi-family offices, regulatory licensing and exemption, family investment guidelines, internal control and compliance manual, family constitutions, family council, hiring and compensation, internal hedge fund and private equity fund formation and restructuring (including corporate funds, segregated portfolio funds, partnership funds and unit trust funds and bespoke family funds under family trust structures), management and administration, negotiations with private bankers, prime brokers, global custodians, execution brokers and administrators and such charitable and philanthropic ventures as establishing and restructuring of charities.
She also handles matters arising at different stages of a trust’s lifecycle, namely, creation of trusts and private trust companies, their management, restructuring and termination, and loan and acquisition transactions. She drafts complicated wills, enduring powers of attorney and handles other cross-border succession and tax issues and provides advice and various legal and regulatory services to listed and private companies, private banks and/or trust companies with respect to employee incentive plans and trusts and the launch of new products and services that target ultra-high-net-worth families. She has also taken up projects involving family stress and conflicts, has received training in transformative mediation and is combining techniques drawn from family process theories, process-oriented psychology, intuitive inquiry and conflict prevention and resolutions to find fundamental and transformative solutions.
Patricia is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Chartered Tax Advisor, member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Academy Community, Certified Islamic Finance Executive and member of the Centre for Understanding in Conflict. She holds a STEP Certificate and Diploma in International Trust Management, STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes and Advanced Certificate and Diploma in Fund Administration. She also holds a BA in Philosophy and Economics (summa cum laude) from the University of Pittsburgh, MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London, LLB from the University of London, PCLL from the University of Hong Kong and PGCert in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology from Middlesex University. She continues to pursue MSc qualification at Liverpool John Moore University in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology to enhance her offerings for ultra-high-net-worth families.
Patricia publishes widely, and is a frequent speaker and press interviewee on the topic of “family office”. She is recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Private Client (1st Edition) 2020 and is a recipient of the 2021 Global Law Experts Annual Awards (Private Client Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021, Trust Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021 and Tax Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021), the Corporate INTL Magazine 2021 Global Awards (Private Client Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong and Trust Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong) and the High Net Worth Award Winner in Hong Kong of the 2020 International Advisory Experts Award. She is listed in the Euromoney Women in Business Law Expert Guide 2020, CityWealth Leaders List Top 10 China & Hong Kong 2019, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021, Who’s Who Legal: Private Client Global Leader 2020 and CityWealth Leaders List 2020. She is also ranked in Chambers HNW 2021 and recognized in CityWealth 2019 International Powerwomen Top 100 and CityWealth 2017 IFC Powerwomen Top 200.
She was Adjunct Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, and lecturer of a trust training certificate course offered by Hong Kong Trustees’ Association in partnership with Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute. She is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the College of Law of the National Chengchi University of Taiwan. She is also honorary fellow of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law and an attorney-author with LexisNexis (where she is also on the editorial board for private wealth contents).
Education
- Liverpool John Moores University/Alef Trust, M.Sc., Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology
- University of Hong Kong, P.C.L.L.
- University of London, LL.B.
- University of London, M.Sc., Financial Economics
- University of Pittsburgh, B.A., Philosophy and Economics, B.A (summa cum laude)
Admissions
- Hong Kong, 2009
Memberships & Affiliations
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
- Chartered Tax Advisor
- Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Academic Community
- Certified Islamic Finance Executive
Languages
- English
- Chinese (Cantonese)
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Winner of CityWealth Powerwomen Awards (Career Initiative Silver Award)
- Finalist of 2021 “Private Client Lawyer of the Year” at the China Law & Practice Awards
- Winner of 2021 Global Law Experts Annual Awards (Private Client Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021, Trust Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021 and Tax Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021)
- Winner of Corporate INTL Magazine 2021 Global Awards (Private Client Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021 and Trust Lawyer of the Year in Hong Kong 2021)
- High Net Worth Award Winner in Hong Kong of 2020 International Advisory Experts Award
- Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Private Client (1st Edition) 2020
- Recommended in the 2021 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
- Finalist for the Women in Business Law Awards Asia-Pacific 2020
- Listed in Euromoney Women in Business Law Expert Guide 2020
- Listed in Who’s Who Legal: Private Client Global Leader 2020 and CityWealth Leaders List 2020
- Recognized in CityWealth 2019 International Powerwomen Top 100
- Listed in CityWealth Leaders List Top 10 China & Hong Kong 2019
- Finalist for Euromoney Legal Media Group Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2019
- Recognized in 2017 IFC Powerwomen Top 200
Publications
- “The Silent Struggles Behind Mega Rich Families: Intergenerational Conflict and the Emotional Quagmire Amplified by Wealth”, Hubbis.com, August 2023.
- “The Continuing Evolution Of The Family Office: 2023/24 Trends & Tips”, IFC Review, July 2023.
- Chapter on Hong Kong in Private Trust Companies (2nd Edition), Globe Law and Business, July 2023.
- “New Hong Kong Fund Structures”, IFC Economic Report, 2022.
- Book on family business and family relationships, co-authored with Mitzi Perdue and Bruce Huang and published in Taiwan in 2021.
- “Family Office – What’s New”, IFC Review, May 2021.
- Chapter on Hong Kong in A bizalmi vagyonkezelés kézikönyve (The Trust Handbook), Wolterskluwer Hungary, January 2021.
- Chapter on Hong Kong in Private Trust Companies, Globe Law and Business Ltd., August 2020.
- “Family Offices Increasingly Turn to Singapore from Hong Kong,” AsianIvestor, August 2020.
- “Current Trends of Family Office,” IFC Review, July 2020.
- “Consulting Spiritual Counsel, WealthManagement.com The Magazine, July 2020.
- “Holistic Approach to the UHNW Family Office of the Future,” Hubbis.com, June 2020.
- “Wealth Management: Universal Benefits”, Euromoney, February 2020.
- “Authentic Love and Family Office,” Horizons, March 2019.
- “An Integral Approach to Family Office,” paper presented at Fintech and Trustee Compliance Conference, December 2018.
- “Germany and China make music together,” CityWealth, January 2018.
- “Forgiveness – Missing Piece of the Family Puzzle,” Offshore Investment Magazine, December 2017.
- “Spiritual Capital and Family Office,” Offshore Investment Magazine, September 2017.
- “Do Chinese UHNWs need Western financial services?” Citywealth, July 2017.
- “The New Rules of Wealth Management”, Portfolio Magazine, May 2017.
- “Archangel Investors,” Offshore Investment Magazine, April 2017.
- “Family offices eye new areas of investment,” Asian Investor, March 2017.
- “The Right Structure: Building Asian Family Offices,” Campden FB, February 2017.
- “Family Office Trio – The Greater China Landscape,” Offshore Investment Magazine, February 2017.
- “Eastern promise: The rise of family offices in the Middle East and Southeast Asia,” Bloomberg Professional, December 2016.
- “New Dimension to Family Office Success,” Squire Patton Boggs Client Alert, September 2016.
- “The Middle East Backdrop,” Banker Middle East Magazine, August 2016.
- “Guide to Emerging Market Fixed Income,” June/July 2016.
- “Private Client Interview,” Citywealth, April 2016.
- “60-second interview with STEP,” STEP, March 2016.
- “Family Office,” Campden Wealth, March 2016
- “Family Office Fortune,” STEP Journal, February 2016.
- “Future Prospects for Family Offices in Asia,” WealthBriefing, December 2015.
- “Fortune Rookie,” Private Client Adviser Journal, December 2015.
- “Private Trust Company and Family Office,” Orangefield Annual Report, 2015.
- “Model is slow to find its feet,” South China Morning Post, September 2015.
- “Family Office,” Capital Entrepreneur Magazine, July 2015.
- “Formulating a Family Philosophy,” Asian Investor, June 2015.
- “Preserving the Wealth of the Rich in SAR,” China Daily, May 2015.
- “The Family Office,” Offshore Investment Magazine, May 2015.
- “Four Trends that Shape the Future of Chinese Wealth Planning Market,” Orangefield Annual Report, 2014.
- “Family Offices, Families and their Relationship with Private Banks,” MetroRadio Hong Kong, November 2014.
- “Family Office from East to West,” STEP Journal, November 2014.
- “Acts on Succession,” Prestige Magazine, October 2014.
- “A Better Family Office,” STEP Journal, October 2014.
- “Russian Capital Heading to Singapore through Hong Kong,” Oriental Daily, June 2014.
- “Regulatory Landscape of Global Family Office,” Offshore Investment Magazine, May 2014.
- “Global Tax Management for Family Offices” (in Chinese), Economic Herald, January 2014.
- “Key Questions to Ask When Setting Up a Family Office,” Family Office Review, January 2014.
- “China’s Ultra-Rich Seeking Family Office,” Straits Times, January 2014.
- “Comparison of Chinese and Western Family Offices” (in Chinese), Economic Herald, December 2013.
- “Chinese Style Family Office,” Offshore Investment Magazine, September 2013.
- “Tax Management for Family Office,” STEP Journal, July 2013.
- “Meeting of Minds,” STEP Journal, April 2013.
- “Family Fortunes,” STEP Journal, February 2013.
Speaking Engagements
- 2023 Family Office Summit, October 2023
- Hubbis Wealth Management Forum, October 2023
- Taiwan Formosa Transnational Seminar, August 2023
- Every Day is a New Day Podcast Interview with Kim O'Neill, May 2023
- Seminar for DL Holdings Co. Limited, March 2023
- STEP Mauritius Conference, November 2022
- Chinese University of Hong Kong MBA Programme Family Office Class, June 2022
- HKU SPACE College of Business and Finance Executive Certificate in Family Office Management and Wealth Inheritance, October 2021.
- 6th Asia Offshore Virtual Forum, July 2021.
- STEP Guernsey, June 2021.
- World Family Office Forum, March 2021.
- HKU SPACE College of Business and Finance Executive Certificate in Family Office Management and Wealth Inheritance, March 2021.
- “How spirituality in a family business can affect wealth and business,” interview podcast by African Family Governance Expert Tsitsi Mutendi, January 2021.
- Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, The Future of Finance in Hong Kong: Family Office Series, November 2020.
- Hubbis Thought Leadership Discussion, July 2020.
- Asian Family Offices Conference, Singapore, November 2019.
- Trust conference, Taiwan, October 2019.
- Transcontinental Trusts, Bermuda, June 2019.
- National Chengchi University Trust Conference, Taiwan, May 2019.
- International Association of Young Lawyers 2019 Half-Year May Conference, May 2019.
- Asia Offshore Association Forum, Hanoi, May 2019.
- Altinvestor APAC, Hong Kong, April 2019.
- Transnational Tax Network Conference, Hong Kong, March 2019.
- Fintech and Trustee Compliance Conference, Taiwan, December 2018.
- Cross-border Planning for the Private Client, Hong Kong, October 2018.
- STEP Global Congress, Vancouver, September 2018.
- International Association of Young Lawyers Family Office Seminar, Jersey, July 2018.
- Asian Private Banking and Family Office Summit, Shanghai, May 2018.
- Hubbis Asian Wealth Management Forum 2018, Hong Kong, February 2018.
- The 8th Asia Private Banking and Family Office Summit, Singapore, December 2017.
- STEP Asia, Singapore, November 2017.
- Asian Family Wealth Forum 2017, Singapore, November 2017.
- Private Wealth Management APAC Summit, Macau, November 2017.
- Certificate in Compliance & Risk Management for Private Wealth Management Professionals, September 2017.
- UBS Great Wealth Academy APAC − Intergenerational Wealth Transfer, September 2017.
- Cross-Border Planning for the Private Client Asia, Singapore, August 2017.
- STEP Israel, June 2017.
- Private Client Planning for the Global Citizen, Dubai, May 2017.
- Transcontinental Trusts Bermuda, May 2017.
- China Entrepreneurs Family Succession Convention, Jiangyin, April 2017.
- UBS Great Wealth Academy APAC − Intergenerational Wealth Transfer, February 2017.
- Offshore Investment Conference, Singapore, January 2017.
- 2017 Zhisland New Year Forum, Xishuangbana, December 2016.
- Certificate in Compliance & Risk Management for Private Wealth Management Professionals, December 2016.
- CreditEase Family Office Seminar, December 2016.
- Investec London Family Office Seminar, November 2016.
- STEP Asia Conference, November 2016.
- Taiwan Offshore Trust Conference, October 2016.
- BNY Mellon Family Wealth Symposium, September 2016.
- Senior Family Legacy Planner Programme, August 2016.
- Planning for the Super-Rich Conference, London, July 2016.
- STEP Global Congress, Amsterdam, June 2016.
- Offshore Investment Conference, June 2016.
- LawInContext Programme on Cross-Border Private Banking, May 2016.
- Victory Financial Group Seminar, March 2016.
- Legacy Academy Seminar, March 2016.
- Tax Planning & Risk Management for Chinese HNWIs & HNW Entrepreneurs organised by Shine Media, Shanghai, January 2016.
- Morgan Stanley Global Alternative Investment Conference, January 2016.
- Asian Private Banking and Family Office Summit, November 2015.
- Orangefield Group Talks on “Offshore Trusts and US Immigration,” October 2015.
- AXA Summit Clients Feature Talk Series, August and October 2015.
- Hong Kong Chapter of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Client Seminar, July 2015.
- Private Banking & Family Office Summit Asia, June 2015.
- Offshore Investment Conference, June 2015.
- China Private Client and Family Office Summit, June 2015.
- Transnational Tax Network Conference, February 2015.
- Credit Suisse Family Office Forum, July 2014.
- Taxation Institute of Hong Kong Family Office Seminar, July 2014.
- Offshore Investment Conference, June 2014.
- China Resources Trust Company Client Forum, June 2014.
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association – A Peek Inside the Asian Family Office, April 2014.
- Offshore Investment Conference, June 2013.