Pinsent Masons pay tribute following death of “outstanding” partner Vincent Connor

Leading Scottish lawyer and respected Hong Kong-based advisor Vincent Connor passed away on October 5 following a period of illness.

A Partner and Head of Pinsent Masons’ Hong Kong office, Vincent was a passionate advocate for Scottish businesses operating in Asia and an industry-recognised specialist in construction and engineering law.

The Glasgow University law graduate was proud of his heritage, never more so than when appointed as a GlobalScot in 2007 and inducted in to the GlobalScot Hall of Fame by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2018.

An exceptional leader, lawyer and advocate, Vincent was well known in Hong Kong’s legal and business circles, and worked on some of Hong Kong’s most prestigious engineering projects over the course of the last 14 years.

Vincent was Chairman of the International Infrastructure Forum of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the Honorary Legal Advisor to the Institution of Civil Engineers in Hong Kong. He sat on the Advisory Board of the Law Faculty at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and was a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

He was also a trustee of the Saltire Foundation, which supports high-flying Scottish graduates in securing international work experience opportunities, and he chaired a council of Scottish business people in Hong Kong which works closely with Entrepreneurial Scotland to help build up a sustainable flow of Saltire Scholars to Asia.

In 2018, the First Minister said: “It was a real honour to induct Vincent Connor into the GlobalScot Hall of Fame in recognition of the great work he has carried out over a number of years to promote Scotland internationally, particularly in Hong Kong. The GlobalScot network is one of Scotland’s greatest assets in promoting trade and investment opportunities and Vincent’s work for the network has been outstanding.”

Richard Foley, Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “We are so deeply saddened by the loss of our friend, partner and colleague. Vincent had a profound impact on those around him. He was of course a talented lawyer and inspiring leader but what we all remember is Vincent the man – a true gentleman who was unfailingly kind, funny and ever thoughtful of others.

“He leaves behind so many friends within the Hong Kong business and legal community all of whom will be thinking of Gillian, Vincent’s wife, at this very sad time.  Vincent enriched our firm and the lives of people around him in so many ways. We were so lucky to have had him as our friend.  He will be sorely missed and all our thoughts are with Gillian and their families at this time.”