Thomas Kho is a consultant at CFN Lawyers LLP. He brings over 20 years of experience in both law and finance. Having served for a total of 10 years as a derivatives and structured finance lawyer with a Magic Circle law firm and the legal teams of bulge-bracket investment banks, Thomas leveraged his legal expertise and transitioned into senior front-office roles in investment banking and asset management, culminating in his role as a managing director of a pan-Asia private credit fund.

This unique career trajectory, from legal counsel to investment principal, provides him with commercial acumen and a pragmatic approach to resolving complex challenges. In his front-office roles, Thomas applied his legal expertise to structure, execute and exit complex cross-border financing transactions. He has also expanded his legal repertoire to include debt restructuring, insolvency, dispute resolution, listing and other corporate and commercial matters. His unique combination of knowledge in finance and law has proved invaluable in many unique contexts, e.g., in assessing litigation financing strategies where both expertise in law and finance are required.

Throughout his career, Thomas’s experience spans across the Asia-Pacific region and numerous sectors and asset classes, including financial services (particularly in relation to Hong Kong and China cross-border matters), mining, energy, industrial and cryptocurrency mining.

Further distinguishing his practice, Thomas holds a Master of Applied Data Science from the University of Michigan and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Asia (CIPP/A) accredited by International Association of Privacy Professionals – IAPP. These qualifications position him at the forefront of emerging legal challenges, enabling him to provide sophisticated advice on data privacy, AI and other technology-related legal issues. 

• 2025-Certified Information Privacy Professional/Asia (CIPP/A) - IAPP 

• 2008-Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) - Global Association of Risk Professionals 

• Licensed for HK SFC Types 1, 4, 9 Regulated  Activities

• 2023-University of Michigan, Master of Applied Data Science 

• 2001-University of Hong Kong, Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) 

• 2000-University of Hong Kong, Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

• 2025–present-Consultant, CFN Lawyers LLP 

• 2020–2025-Managing Director, TransAsia Private Capital 

• 2014–2020-Director, Haitong International Securities Co., Ltd. 

• 2008–2014-Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Bank of America Merrill Lynch 

• 2007–2008-Associate, Linklaters 

• 2004–2007-Assistant Vice President, Senior Counsel, JPMorgan 

• 2003–2004-Associate, Robertsons 

• 2001–2003-Trainee Solicitor, Simmons & Simmons

· Acted as deal principal for a private credit fund in the restructuring of portfolio assets through court-driven processes, including mining, energy and industrial assets in Indonesia, India, Australia and Malaysia in the total value of c.USD 400 million;

· Led in the strategic assessment for a private credit fund’s multi-jurisdictional litigations and arbitrations financing for a portfolio of claims valued in excess of USD 100 million;

· Acted as deal principal in the cross-border structured financing for an acquisition of a significant equity interest in a PRC-listed automotive services company in the total value of USD 800 million.

· Acted as deal principal for a private equity client in a USD 1.1 billion “hold-co” acquisition financing under an accelerated 10-day timeline from engagement to drawdown;

· Managed the exit of a HKD 100 million pre-IPO financing for a leading producer of crypto-currency mining hardware;  

· Advised as in-house counsel of Bank of America Merrill Lynch on numerous PRC cross-border financing transactions involving bespoke structured products and total return swaps.