
BIO
Anna K. C. Koo is a barrister, mediator and arbitrator based in Hong Kong. She has a broad civil practice since 2005. She has mediated a wide range of domestic and cross-border disputes, covering building management, commercial, contractual, corporate, financial, information system, intellectual property and negligence issues. She sits as arbitrator in international commercial cases under major arbitration rules. Aspired to uphold professional standards, Koo has served as an examiner of solicitor advocates at the Higher Rights Assessment Board, and acts as a mediator assessor of the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited. Her recent public appointments include: chairmanship of the Buildings Appeal Tribunal, chairmanship of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Disciplinary Committee, and membership of the Department of Justice's Special Committee on Evaluative Mediation.
Koo's primary research interest is civil justice, focusing on civil justice, alternative dispute resolution, and legal technology. With over 40 peer-reviewed and highly cited publications, she regularly speaks at international conferences across the US, the UK, Europe and the Asia Pacific. Known for her concise, personable and outcome-based approach to learning, Koo is a much sought-after trainer of continuing professional development courses for lawyers, dispute specialists, and the government. As an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law, she teaches mediation and arbitration at the University of Hong Kong, where she has lectured core common law subjects, managed the evidence course and pioneered the mediation option. As an Academic Advisory Board Member of the Hong Kong Shue Yan University, she steers corporate and competitive strategies for the Department of Law and Business. Koo's legal acumen, cross-industry experience, and holistic outlook enables her to manage judicial education programmes.
Koo holds an LLB from King's College London, a PCLL from the University of Hong Kong, and an LLM in information technology and telecommunications law from the University of Strathclyde. She received mediation and advanced negotiation training from Harvard Law School. She earned accreditation as a general and family mediator at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited. Koo is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is currently reading for a doctorate degree in law at the University of Oxford.