Patricia Ho

Patricia Ho is a public law practitioner, academic and the founder of Patricia Ho & Associates. Her work concentrates on administrative law, constitutional challenges and matters that cross borders. She addresses international legal bodies, including United Nations committees, the International Bar Association and the Asian Racing Federation, on the implementation of international standards and on institutional exposure to organised crime, cyber-fraud and supply-chain compliance.

As co-drafter of the Hong Kong Crimes (Amendment) (Modern Slavery) Bill 2019, Patricia worked on bringing international human rights standards into local legislation. She now advises institutions, corporations and boards on ESG compliance, supply-chain risk and regulatory alignment, and leads an advisory and litigation team whose work spans risk management, duty of care, non-discrimination and the safeguarding of reputation.

She is committed to trauma-informed client care and to psychosocial support for displaced people and vulnerable families.

Representative experience

• Human trafficking & ESG advisory

  ZN v Secretary for Justice (No 2) [2017] 1 HKLRD 559, [2018] HKCA 473, [2020] HKCFA 53; CB v Commissioner of Police & Another [2021] 5 HKLRD 13, (2025) 28 HKCFAR 306; [2025] HKCFA 10; LN v Commissioner of Police [2025] 5 HKLRD 578; DM v Commissioner of Customs & Excise & Another [2022] HKCFI 3476.

• Administrative & immigration law

  FB & Others v Director of Immigration and Secretary for Security [2009] 2 HKLRD 346 (landmark judicial review establishing the right to publicly funded legal representation and high standards of fairness in torture claim screenings); C & Others v Director of Immigration & Another [2013] 4 HKC 563 (CFA), [2011] HKCA 468 (CA); GA & Others v Director of Immigration [2014] 3 HKC 11 (CFA), [2012] HKCA 515; Lubiano Nancy Almorin v The Director of Immigration [2018] 1 HKLRD 1141.

• Discrimination & equality matters

  Luigi Navarro Recasa v Commissioner of Correctional Services & Anor [2018] HKCFI 1815; SW v The Secretary for Justice, HCAL 191 of 2016.

• Legislative drafting

  Co-drafter of the Hong Kong Crimes (Amendment) (Modern Slavery) Bill 2019, designed to align domestic common law with the UN Palermo Protocol and international human rights standards.

Appointments & professional roles

• Principal Lecturer & Course Convenor for the Public Interest Clinic, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong (November 2019 – Present)
• Founder & Board Chairperson, Hong Kong Dignity Institute (July 2019 – Present)
• Board Member, Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights (2023 – Present)
• Board Director, Hong Kong Hypnotherapy Association (2022 – Present)
• Board Director, Voice for Prisoners (2021 – Present)
• Honorary Legal Advisor, International Chamber of Commerce (2020 – Present)
• Honorary Legal Advisor, Her Fund (2025 – Present)

Awards & media recognition

• Awardee of Front & Female Award (2023) – Tatler Hong Kong
• Honouree of Women of Power (2021) – Prestige Hong Kong
• Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award (2017, 2018, 2020) – The Law Society of Hong Kong
• Trafficking in Persons Hero Award (2020) – U.S. State Department
• CNN: Hong Kong human trafficking case leads to landmark court ruling (February 2017)

Publications

• Review of Lieba Faier, "The Banality of Good: The UN's Global Fight Against Human Trafficking", Journal of Urban Affairs (2026)
• "Patricia Ho on Human Rights in Hong Kong: The Shift to Public Interest Law", Prestige Hong Kong (May 2024)
• "Seeking Protection: The Interplay of Human Trafficking and the Refugee Space in Hong Kong" (2023) 31(3) Michigan State International Law Review 497
• Helen Leung, Crystal Yeung and Patricia Ho, "Traffickers and Victims: Opposite sides of the same coin?" (2022) 18 Anti-Trafficking Review 190–194
• Review of Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, "Transnational Sex-Trafficking" (2022) 52(1) Hong Kong Law Journal 403
• Co-editor, "Discrimination", Halsbury's Laws of Hong Kong, Vol 22, 2nd edn (LexisNexis), with Evelyn Tsao and Crystal Charlie Yeung
• "The Need for the Crimes (Amendment) (Modern Slavery) Bill 2019", Hong Kong Lawyer (June 2019)
• "Human Trafficking and the Legal Profession's Role in Combating the Crime in Hong Kong", Hong Kong Lawyer (December 2017)

Education & admissions

• Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL), City University of Hong Kong
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB), University College London (UCL)
• International Baccalaureate (IB), Li Po Chun United World College
• HKCEE, Ying Wa Girls' School

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