☰

Prof. Rebecca Lee 李穎芝教授

Associate Professor

Deputy Director, Centre for Private Law
Director, HKU-UCL Dual Degree Programme in Law

LLB (HKU), BCL (Oxon), PCLL (HKU)

Biography

Rebecca Lee is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. Her scholarly work spans Trusts and Fiduciary Law, Wealth Management and Estate Planning, and Non-Profit Law. Her publications include leading articles in international, Australian, and American law journals, as well as contributions to edited volumes published by top academic publishers.

Recently, Rebecca has also been involved in research and knowledge exchange projects on Disability Planning, specifically focusing on special needs trusts and advance medical directives. She was awarded the University and Faculty KE Awards in 2018 and 2024 for her joint research efforts on these topics. Her work continues to influence legal scholarship and policy development in these interconnected fields.

Research Area

  • Equity & Trusts & Non-profit Law


SSRN
ORCID
HKU Scholars Hub


SSRN
ORCID
HKU Scholars Hub

Research Area

  • Equity & Trusts & Non-profit Law

Selected publications

Trusts and Fiduciary Law (including comparative trusts)

Rebecca’s scholarship covers core principles of trust and fiduciary law and comparative trusts such as the following:

  • ‘Remedies for Mistaken Trustee Decisions’ in Adam Hofri-Winogradow et al (eds), Oxford Handbook of Comparative Trust Laws (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
  • ‘Transnational Legal Ordering of Modern Trust Law’, in Seth Davis, Thilo Kuntz & Gregory Shaffer, Transnational Fiduciary Law (Cambridge University Press, 2023), Ch 7.
  • ‘Exclusion of Duty and the Irreducible Core Content of Trusteeship’ (2020) 14 Journal of Equity 131-150 (with M. Yip).  
  • ‘Relief for Bribes in Equity’ (2019) 13 Journal of Equity 122-143.
  • ‘Disgorgement of unauthorised fiduciary gains: An exercise in causation?’ (2017) 11 Journal of Equity 29-47.
  • (ed), Trust Law in Asian Civil Law Jurisdictions: A Comparative Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Ch. 6 (with L. Ho) (查松 譯《亞洲大陸法系國家和地區中的信託法》（法律出版社，2020）).
  • ‘Convergence and Divergence in the Worlds of the Trust: Duties and Liabilities of Trustees under the Chinese Trust’ in Lionel Smith (ed), The Worlds of the Trusts (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
  • ‘Conceptualizing the Chinese Trust’ (2009) 58 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 655-669. 
  • ‘Rethinking the Content of the Fiduciary Obligation’ (2009) 73 The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 236-253. 
  • ‘In Search of the Nature and Function of Fiduciary Loyalty: Some Observations on Conaglen’s Analysis’ [2007] Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 327-338.
  • ‘Fiduciary Duty without Equity: ‘Fiduciary Duties’ of Directors under the Revised Company Law of the PRC’ (2006-2007) 47 Virginia Journal of International Law 897-926.   

 

Wealth Management and Succession Planning

Rebecca’s work focuses on inheritance, testamentary freedom, trust vulnerabilities, and the practical aspects of managing private wealth and estate succession, especially within Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific context:

  • ‘Liberalisation of trust laws in Hong Kong: continued growth or concealed wealth?’ in Y Liew & M Tamaruya (eds), Asia-Pacific Trusts Law Vol 3: Boundaries in Context (Hart Publishing, 2025), Ch 17.
  • ‘Testamentary Freedom and Inheritance Disputes in Hong Kong’, in R Nolan et al (eds), Trusts and Private Wealth Management: Developments and Directions (Cambridge University Press, 2022), Ch 6.  
  • ‘Marrying English Trusts Law with Chinese Customary Law? Historical Evolution and Modern Anomalies of the Tso/Tong in Hong Kong’, in Y Liew & YC Wu (eds), Asia-Pacific Trusts Law Vol 2: Adaptation in Context (Hart Publishing, 2022), Ch 3.
  • ‘Trusts in Hong Kong: Historical Application and Current Practice, in M Harding and Y Liew (eds), Asia-Pacific Trusts Law Vol 1: Theory and Practice in Context (Hart Publishing, 2021) (with L. Ho).
  • ‘The Evolution of the Modern International Trust: Developments and Challenges’ (2018) 103 Iowa Law Review 2069-2095.
  • ‘The Vulnerability of Trusts in Divorce’, in Richard Nolan, HW Tang & Kelvin Low (eds), Trusts and Modern Wealth Management (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Ch. 12.   

 

Disability Planning 

Rebecca advocates for the use of trusts in special needs financial planning and examines related legal planning tools such as adult guardianship and advance directives in Hong Kong, Chinese, and international contexts: 

  • ‘The Proposed New Law on Advance Directives in Hong Kong: A Piecemeal Attempt at Codification?’, in Daisy Cheung & Michael Dunn (eds), Advance Directives Across Asia: A Comparative Socio-legal Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2023) (with D Cheung), Ch 7. 
  • (eds), Special Needs Financial Planning: A Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (with L Ho) (姚江濤、袁田 譯《特殊需要信託——財務規劃比較研究》（中航信託及法律出版社，2021）).
  • ‘Introducing the Special Needs Trust to Hong Kong’ (2017) 23 Trusts & Trustees 1111-1121 (with L. Ho).
  • ‘The Use of the Trust in Adult Guardianship in China: Prospects and Challenges’ (2015) 8 Journal of International Aging, Law & Policy 69-87.
  • ‘Guardianship of Elderly with Diminished Capacity: The Chinese Challenge’ (2015) 29(1) International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 1-14. 

 

Non-Profit Law 

Rebecca critically examines the governance and regulation of charities, the limits of political influence in charity law, and the legal environment shaping the development of third sector in Hong Kong and China.

  • ‘Rethinking the state regulation of charities: A Hong Kong Perspective’, in Rosemary Teele Langford (ed) Governance and Regulation of Charities: International and Comparative Perspectives (Edward Elgar, 2023), Ch 6.
  • ‘Charity without Politics?  Exploring the Limits of ‘Politics’ in Charity Law’ (2015) Journal of Civil Society 271-282.
  • ‘Modernizing Charity Law in China’ (2009) 18(2) Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal 347-372.