David was admitted as a Solicitor in England in 1980. He practised in London before moving to Hong Kong, where he was admitted in 1984.

He was the principal corporate-commercial partner in a major Hong Kong law firm dealing with a wide range of corporate and commercial matters for an international and entrepreneurial client base. As well as transactional advice and contract negotiation in a number of jurisdictions, this included work on structuring the shareholding or investment interests of entrepreneurial clients and the establishment of trusts or other arrangements in respect of these holdings.

David went on to join the European Merchant Bank, MeesPierson N.V. in Hong Kong where he was appointed as Director of Trusts and International Private Banking for North-Asia, and was a director of its British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong trust companies.

In 1997 David returned to private practice to continue his work for institutions, corporations and individuals, both in respect of their commercial activities and at the private client level. He advises banks and trust companies on their operations, service delivery, product development and documentation. In regard to corporate and entrepreneurial clients he advises on their business activities, as well as on the protection and preservation of wealth at shareholder level.

In the course of his diverse practice David has been involved in a number of very substantial transactions ranging from biotechnology to shipping across many jurisdictions both in Asia and the rest of the world, and he has developed extensive overseas professional connections and experience as a result.

David is a member of STEP.

DAVID A. WHITE

MARK LEA

Educated in England at Eton College, where he was President of the Eton Society, Mark went on to qualify as a Solicitor in 1970 in the City of London. He joined the Merchant Bank, N. M. Rothschild & Sons Limited, where he worked closely with the Chairman, Lord Victor Rothschild KCMG GC at a time when he was Head of the UK Government Think Tank. Mark became a Director of Rothschild's Trust Companies and of its Guernsey Bank.

Since 1971, Mark has been concerned with offshore and international work and particularly taxation. He was Chairman of one of the UK's most successful provincial law firms and in developing its international practice became a regular visitor to Asia. He moved permanently to Hong Kong in 1995, when he was admitted as a Solicitor.

Mark has continued to develop his practice in the fields of international and comparative taxation, and estate planning and structuring. The scope of this work includes advising local and international banks and trust companies, as well as a number of individuals and families with global assets and interests - many of which are very substantial. He seeks to continually develop new, safe and innovative methods for meeting the needs of the institutions and families concerned.

In addition to his private client practice, Mark has acted as adviser to government and professional bodies on changes to trust and related laws in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore where he is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore.

Mark travels extensively in the course of his work and in particular developed the firm's practice through Singapore.

He also regularly lectures and provides training workshops on trust and tax issues to professionals and the public regionally. He has served on committees of both the Hong Kong Trustees Association and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and as a member of the international editorial board of STEP.

From 1998 to 2007 Mark was also a member of the Inland Revenue Board of Review of Hong Kong, hearing tax appeals in respect of corporate and personal tax matters.