Andrew J. Raffell, LLM

Andrew has practised as a barrister for over thirty years. After leaving school early and working in industry in the English Midlands Andrew qualified to study law at LSE. After that he worked in a law centre and as a teacher. He then studied at the council of legal education to qualify as a barrister. His barrister’s pupillage was in the areas of employment law and personal injury, including medical negligence. In his early years of practice (1983 to 1986) he practised in those areas. But, soon developed an interest in criminal law. Since then he has mainly practiced in criminal law. But, has also appeared in professional disciplinary tribunals and other civil matters.

Andrew came to Hong Kong as a founder member of staff in the Law Faculty at the City University of Hong Kong. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1987 and has practiced here since then. He no longer teaches but has also taught law at the University of Hong Kong (SPACE) and, most recently, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. His teaching responsibilities were rooted in his practical experience and have enhanced his knowledge within that practice. He was responsible for courses on the Law of Evidence, Criminal Law and Procedure and Advocacy.

BRIEF OUTLINE AREAS OF PRACTICE

Arguably Andrew is one of the most experienced criminal barristers in Hong Kong. He was for some years a contributor to the Hong Kong Archbold, responsible for the sections on Disclosure, Legal Professional Privilege and Public Interest Immunity. Over twenty eight years he has appeared in hundreds of Magistrate and District Court cases involving a wide variety of offences and legal and factual issues, including many commercial fraud, money laundering and corruption cases. Also, cases involving perjury and conspiracy/attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Andrew has also appeared in many murder/manslaughter cases in the Court of First Instance. He has also appeared in many cases involving complex and serious offences in that court. Both when defending and prosecuting he has had a great deal of success in his cases. Among the more notable cases he has appeared in are the following:

• He successfully defended two men accused as part of a conspiracy to enable the corrupt government lawyer, Warwick Reid, to escape from Hong Kong.
• He also successfully defended Aaron Nattrass, who was charged with twenty seven offences, including counts of conspiracy to defraud the Hong Kong, PRC and New Zealand governments.
• He defended one of the men, Leung Wai Lun, accused of murder in the infamous “Hello Kitty” murder case. His client was acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter. He was trial counsel and appeal counsel in both the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal.
• He was the prosecutor in the case of the badmington coach, Tam Chi Shing, who was convicted of several counts of raping and/or indecently assaulting young girls who were members of his club. The case involved the first instance of the admissibility of similar fact evidence in Hong Kong under the new rules set down on R. v P.
• He represented the defendant, Cheung Kang Chau, at trial and appeal. His client had caused the death of two people by setting fire to the flat they were in.
• He successfully appealed the conviction of Ling Kam Wah, who had been acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
• Amongst the many serious fraud and conspiracy cases he has successfully defended are two in the CFI involving money laundering over US$150,000,0000 and a conspiracy to manufacture hundreds of thousands of pirated DVDs and CDs.