Stephenson Harwood has won a role advising on a multibillion-dollar dispute over the estate of one of Asia's richest women.

Nina Wang, who died in April 2007, made out a will stating that the estate of her property empire, Chinachem Group, worth an estimated $12bn (£8bn), should go to the Wang family-run charity, the Chinachem Foundation.

However, a feng shui master named Tony Chan later claimed to have been her long-term lover and produced a more recent will, dating from 2006, claiming to be the rightful heir.

Stephenson Harwood is acting on behalf of Deloitte, which has been responsible for preserving the assets of the Chinachem Group during the ongoing dispute. The firm is fielding a team led by Hong Kong litigation partner Jason Toms and London trade finance and fraud consultant Stephen Davis.

Chan has instructed local firm Haldanes, with Wilkinson & Grist advising the Wang family.

Chan is expected to appeal a ruling from last month (26 January) which went in favour of the Wang family, claiming Chan's will to be a fraud.

Wang and her husband Teddy together developed the Chinachem Group thought to be Hong Kong's largest privately-held property group.

However, Teddy Wang was kidnapped in 1990 and was never found. He was declared dead in 1999, with Nina Wang awarded full ownership of the estate in 2005.

Stephenson Harwood on the Legal Week Wiki