Cleo Chau

Cleo Chau is a Senior Associate at Karas So LLP.  She specialises in complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and regulatory matters, with extensive experience advising high net-worth individuals, listed companies, financial institutions, and multinational corporations.

Cleo’s practice spans commercial disputes, shareholder and investment disputes, contentious tax and trust matters, and regulatory investigations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Cleo has a strong track record in high-stakes cases at the Hong Kong High Court and HKIAC arbitrations, leveraging her fluency in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese to navigate cross-border issues.

Cleo is a dual-qualified solicitor in both Hong Kong and England & Wales.

Key Experience

• Advising a leading asset management firm in a Cayman segregated portfolio company dispute, handling redemption rights and enforcement actions in Hong Kong
• Representing a Chinese financial service holding company in disputes over defaulting bonds worth over US$50 million at the Hong Kong High Court
• Acting for a PRC-based commercial bank on loan facilities with ship mortgages, advising on enforcement option
• Representing a shareholder in a Hong Kong company’s capital reduction scheme dispute at the High Court and Court of Appeal
• Advising a BVI company in an HKIAC arbitration involving HK$200 million in disputed offshore fund investments
• Acting for a high net-worth individual in settlement arrangements for a significant estate of a prominent Hong Kong tycoon
• Advising a multinational corporation on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act breaches, conducting investigations into employee misconduct in China
• Representing a retail group in Hong Kong in a dispute with the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department in relation to source of profits and deductibility of expenditures

 Career History

• Senior Associate, Karas So LLP, 2025
• Senior Associate, DLA Piper Hong Kong, 2024
• Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 2020
• Associate, Clifford Chance, 2018
• Trainee Solicitor, Clifford Chance, 2016
• City University of Hong Kong, Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, 2016
• City University of Hong Kong, Bachelor of Laws, 2015

Admissions

• England & Wales, 2022
• Hong Kong, 2018