Aoife Griffin
Partner
aoife.griffin@dc-lo.com
+852 9689 4880
Aoife is a dual qualified lawyer in Hong Kong and New Zealand with over 15 years’ experience specialising in litigation and dispute resolution.
Aoife has a varied practice which includes family and immigration law, as well as employment and civil litigation. Aoife’s clients include husbands, wives, unmarried partners, ultra-high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and small to large businesses, as well as clients in the financial services, technology, travel, publishing, entertainment, fashion and education sectors.
Ranked as one of Hong Kong’s Rising Stars in Family Law by Doyle’s Guide 2023 and 2024, Aoife advises on all aspects of family law including pre and post nuptial agreements, separation and divorce, forum disputes, adoption, parentage issues, including human reproductive technology / surrogacy, abduction and wardship, children and financial matters, injunctions and interim relief, domestic violence and trials. She has particular expertise in same-sex matters, including family-related and discriminatory claims. Aoife’s family clients have described her as having “the rare ability to fuse empathy for extremely challenging circumstances with the resolve and commitment to get things done”.
Aoife has extensive expertise in immigration law, having previously headed the Immigration Department for a leading independent law firm. She regularly handles complex immigration matters with the aim of achieving clients’ individual, business and global mobility goals. This includes visa applications, such as employment, Capital Investment, Talent Admission, foreign domestic helpers, study, training and residency, in addition to immigration interviews / investigations, criminal prosecutions, detentions and challenges of immigration decisions. Aoife has worked on a number of landmark and high-profile immigration matters, including landmark case QT v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCFA 28 which challenged the Director of Immigration’s decision regarding the dependency visa policy, found (by Hong Kong’s highest court) to be unlawfully discriminatory by not allowing dependency visas to same-sex spouses of employment visa holders. The dependency visa policy changed as a result.
Aoife also has significant experience in employment and civil litigation matters and regularly advises on complex multi-jurisdictional issues, including forum disputes, asset tracing, debt recovery, injunction proceedings, shareholder and commercial disputes, liquidation, public inquiries and judicial reviews.
Aoife prides herself on being pragmatic and solutions-focused. Aoife thrives in tailoring resolution processes to clients’ unique needs and assisting clients resolve matters as amicably and efficiently as possible.