Jonathan is a highly experienced dispute resolution lawyer specialising in contentious and non-contentious matrimonial and private client matters. He is also an accredited family mediator.
Jonathan was the principal of Jonathan Mok Legal, an independent boutique firm and before that, was with Johnson Stokes & Master (Mayer Brown) for 22 years, including 16 years as a partner.
Jonathan is one of the small number of civil solicitors to be granted higher rights of audience in Hong Kong. He is also the first and currently only family dispute lawyer who is a Solicitor Advocate, enabling him to represent clients as their advocate, if required all the way up to the Court of Final Appeal.
Key Experience
Family Court
Appointed as a Deputy Judge of the Family Court for one month in October 2010 which involved presiding over various divorce cases involving contested applications on custody and finance.
Acted for a top Hong Kong Tycoon in respect of maintenance claim brought by the mother of their two children and successfully obtained a judgment in the Family Court to require separate representation between the mother and the two children owing to a conflict of financial interest between them.
Acted for a heir of a local prominent wealthy family in divorce litigation including a cross-jurisdiction dispute in Singapore and Hong Kong lasting seven years which involved assets in Hong Kong, Dubai and America.
Represented, by intervening in litigation, a patriarch of a wealthy family who was asserting his beneficial interest in overseas assets transferred to his son, then involved in divorce proceedings.
Acted for a father in resisting financial claims brought by the mother that included accommodation for herself and the daughter which went all the way to the Court of Final Appeal with a favourable outcome that the father was not required to purchase a property despite judicial clarification that the Hong Kong courts have similar jurisdiction as in England for making such order.
Anti Corruption
Appointed as solicitor for the Independent Commission Against Corruption in their application to intervene in a criminal appeal proceedings. This is considered a prestigious appointment given that the Independent Commission Against Corruption has all along been represented by the Department of Justice.
Appointed as solicitor for the Commission Against Corruption of Macau to assist them in recovering the illegal proceeds and assets of their former Secretary for Transport and Public Work in Hong Kong.
Represented employee of an international investment bank concerning FCPA investigation by the SEC and FBI into the “sons and daughters program” which involved hiring children of PRC government officials and executives of State Owned Enterprises in return for securing business deals. The representation included working with US attorney in preparing the employee and jointly representing her at her interview with US regulatory authorities at the office of the New York State Attorney General in America.
Acted for Television Broadcasting Corporation (“TVB”), a prominent local television network as a Solicitor Advocate in successfully resisting the application made by the Department of Justice for an order to surrender raw news footage in relation to an incident during the Occupy Central in Hong Kong, on the principles of press freedom and independence.
Career History
- Partner, Karas So LLP (2022)
- Principal, Jonathan Mok Legal (2017)
- Partner, Mayer Brown (2001)
- Senior Associate, Johnson Stokes & Master (1995)
- Associate, Hampton Winter & Glynn (1992)
- University of West London (formerly Ealing College of Higher Education), Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (1985)
Admissions
- New South Wales, Australia, 1995
- Tasmania, Australia, 1994
- Hong Kong, 1992
- England & Wales, 1992
Articles and Publications
- Co-author (Family Law and Practice in Hong Kong (Third Edition))
- Co-author (Archbold Hong Kong 2022)