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Jane Moir

Hong Kong's controversial companies judge has been promoted to the appeals court, ending more than a century of male domination in the ranks and rendering the key commercial post up for grabs.

Mrs Justice Doreen Le Pichon has become a justice of appeal, effective immediately.

The SAR's first female High Court judge - she was appointed to the Court of First Instance in 1995 - has again become a pioneer in the judiciary as its first female appeals judge.

During her stint as companies judge, she earned a reputation for thoroughness and controversy.

She has been particularly outspoken over the role and remuneration of liquidators in Hong Kong, and has dealt with the bulk of commercial debris resulting from the Asian financial crisis.

Accountants and lawyers, nevertheless, have mixed feelings on the judge's temperament, although she is widely regarded to have subjected the profession to a major shake-up over the past few years.

'She put a time bomb under certain people,' one liquidator remarked.

'A bomb that should have happened a long time ago.'

The judge, for example, took a vocal stance over the fees charged in the Peregrine Group liquidation, refusing to simply rubber-stamp the HK$76 million charged for an initial 63 days' work.

This led to years of sparring with liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers over the sum charged - and further fees incurred - and became a key factor in a decision by the profession to overhaul the system of charging.

'She made some good changes for the profession generally, by forcing them to change,' an insolvency practitioner said.

'She forced the profession to take a good look at itself and change the methodology.'

Mrs Justice Le Pichon has presided over the fate of Hong Kong's corporate casualties of the financial crisis, thrusting insolvency work into the spotlight.

She has dealt with some of the biggest liquidations in the SAR's history and has been forced to handle a surge in insolvency cases over the past few years.

The judge has been outspoken on the role of the Official Receiver's Office in its handling of these cases, urging the government body to take a more proactive approach in scrutinising both liquidators and company directors.

Her approach has been dubbed adversarial, a remnant of her days as a senior counsel for the Securities and Futures Commission.

A successor as companies judge has yet to be announced by the judiciary, although there are a number of contemporaries in the High Court who primarily handle commercial matters - Madam Justice Maria Yuen Ka-ning, for example.

Insolvency practitioners feel, however, that there is a need for more than one full-time companies judge to deal with a large number of commercial cases in the High Court.

Mrs Justice Le Pichon first joined the judiciary as a deputy district judge in 1992. When she was appointed to the High Court, she downplayed the significance, denying there was sexism in the judiciary.

She joins Mr Justice Frank Stock as an appointment to the Court of Appeal, a former chairman of the insider dealing tribunal and a High Court judge for eight years.

Madam Justice Carlye Chu Fun-ling and Mr Justice Louis Tong Po-sun have been appointed as High Court judges.

Ms Chu was formerly registrar of the High Court and Mr Justice Tong was formerly chief magistrate.

Mr Justice Patrick Li Hon-leung has been appointed chief magistrate, formerly serving as a principal magistrate.



Pioneer becomes first woman in appeals ranks