Mark Yeadon

Partner, Hong Kong Head of Disputes and Restructuring

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Mark Yeadon is Partner and Head of the Hong Kong Disputes and Restructuring practice.

Mark has practised in Hong Kong and London for 40 years prior to joining Conyers in 2021. He spent over 10 years as a partner at Eversheds Sutherland, where he was the Head of the Asia Litigation and Dispute Management Practice. Before that, he was a partner at Slaughter and May where he headed the Hong Kong Litigation Practice for 18 years.

Mark advises clients throughout Asia and specializes in the resolution of commercial disputes by arbitration, court proceedings and mediation. He has a wealth of experience in a wide range of commercial and financial disputes and, in particular, matters arising out of complex financial transactions including derivatives, breaches of commercial contract, breaches of directors’ and employees’ duties, fraud, negligence, and shareholder disputes.

Mark has acted for various major international banks and financial institutions, as well as both domestic and multinational corporates across many different industries. He is highly regarded as an advisor to both regulated entities and regulators in relation to regulatory inquiries, investigations and disputes.

Mark has been consistently recognised as a leading practitioner in dispute resolution by independent legal directories.

Jurisdictions

Experience

Prior to joining Conyers, Mark has acted on a broad range of matters including:

Winding Up and Shareholder Dispute Proceedings

Advising respectively the majority and minority shareholders in a number of substantial disputes where the minority has sought either a winding up order on the just and equitable ground or relief for unfair prejudice; advising a Norwegian minority shareholder in a dispute with a Hong Kong listed company and its majority shareholders involving contested winding up and unfair prejudice proceedings in Bermuda.

Insolvency Winding Up Proceedings

Advising respectively the companies and creditors in relation to aspects of restructurings; advising counterparties of the Peregrine Group on the effect of the insolvency of group companies on transactions with those companies.

Investment and Advisory Disputes

Advising:

a private equity investor in relation to a dispute over its investment in a joint venture in India.
JPMorgan in relation to its defence of a multimillion dollar claim brought by Malaysian Newsprint Industries concerning its role in the financing of a project in Malaysia which involved parallel proceedings in London and Malaysia and jurisdictional challenges in both courts.
a minority shareholder in a dispute with a private equity house over the disposal of his interest and its valuation.
a UK listed vendor over the effect of negligent statements made by the investment bank advisers of the purchaser of its money broking subsidiaries as to the purchaser’s financial ability to complete the purchase – settled after 5 years litigation by a nine figure sterling payment to the vendor.

Derivatives

Advising:

an Indonesian listed company in relation to claims against a US investment bank for substantial losses incurred on missold currency and interest rate swaps.
several international financial institutions on their interest rate and swap exposure to the collapsed Peregrine Group.
Robinson Department Store of Thailand in a test case before the English High Court brought by the liquidators of Peregrine Fixed Income Limited concerning the proper interpretation of the Market Quotation and Loss formulae in the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement; the key issue was the relevance of the credit standing of a non-defaulting counterparty in assessing the settlement amount payable under the ISDA terms.
a Malaysian bank in proceedings and a mediation concerning the effect of currency controls introduced by the Malaysian Central Bank on a series of swaps with a Japanese Bank.
the Hong Kong Health Authority Pension Fund in relation to its claim against its US financial adviser for failure to disclose the use of leverage as an element of investments in securitised US sub-prime mortgage loans-resolved with a multimillion US dollar injection into the Fund.

Fraud

Advising:

JP Morgan in relation to the recovery of US$85 million fraudulently transferred from its Sydney Australia branch to HSBC in Hong Kong which involved obtaining mareva injunctions and responding to competing claims for fund transferred under a mistake of fact. Ultimately 98% of the funds were recovered.
a fund manager in proceedings against its staff for accepting incentives to invest in certain companies.

Relationships between Financial Institutions and their Service Providers

Advising a major international commercial bank in relation to:

the termination of its insurance arrangements with its domestic mortgage lending insurer, ultimately settled after two mediations in parallel with arbitration proceedings initiated by the insurer.
claims brought against it by its joint venture credit card issuer following the collapse of an airline.
advising two leading banks on their response to investigations by the HKMA into complaints of mis-selling financial products.

Relevant Experience of advising on regulatory matters

In relation to regulatory matters in Hong Kong has involved advising:

Corporates which are conducting internal investigations into irregularities.
Corporates and individual directors involved in regulatory investigations (typically those initiated by the SFC, HKSE and HKMA).
Regulators conducting investigations and industry consultations.
Acting in numerous high profile judicial review proceedings in the broadcasting and telecoms industry.

Expertise

Qualifications

Professional Background

Partner, Eversheds Sutherland, Hong Kong
Partner, Slaughter and May, Hong Kong
Assistant Solicitor, Slaughter and May, Hong Kong
Assistant Solicitor, Slaughter and May, London
Assistant Solicitor, Johnson Stokes & Master, Hong Kong
Assistant Solicitor, Freshfields, London

Education

King Edward VII School, Lytham, Lancashire UK
Avon Old Farms School, Connecticut USA (ESU Scholarship)
Pembroke College, University of Oxford (MA (Jurisprudence) 1978)

Bar Admissions

British Virgin Islands, Solicitor, 2021
Bermuda, Registered Associate, 2021
Hong Kong, Solicitor, 1985
England and Wales, Solicitor, 1981

Awards & Accolades

Recognised in the 2023 edition of Offshore Client Choice List by Asian Legal Business
Mark has been consistently listed in legal directories as a Leading Individual for Dispute Resolution. He has been described by Chambers Asia as “excellent and practical” and “thorough and diligent”. He has been praised for his “thorough, realistic strategies and ability to get right to the point.”
“Department head Mark Yeadon is deemed by sources to be ‘very diligent’ and ‘very hands on.” Clients also appreciate that he is “easy to work with” and note that he provides “measured advice.” He advises clients on disputes in the financial services, broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. – Chambers Asia Pacific 2018
“Mark Yeadon is noted for his involvement in contentious regulatory work. He advises clients across a wide range of sectors, including the financial services, broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.” – Chambers Asia Pacific 2019
“Mark Yeadon leads the firm’s dispute resolution practice group in Asia and offers notable experience in handling disputes arising in the financial services and TMT sectors. He is well placed to represent clients in judicial review proceedings and acts on behalf of both regulators and regulated entities.” – Chambers Asia Pacific 2020
“Mark Yeadon has an exceptionally calm and measured approach to clients’ legal matters, providing sharp insights drawn from a wealth of experience in the commercial litigation field. He also has particular expertise in the immensely important and often contentious field of telecommunications regulation.” – Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2020)
“Mark Yeadon leads a team with great expertise in telecoms matters, including competition issues.” – Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2020)
“Mark Yeadon has huge experience of the sector and excellent judgment of litigation issues.” – Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2020)