Professor Ying Khai Liew

Overview

Professor Ying Khai Liew teaches and researches in private law, specialising in the law of equity and trusts, the law of assignment, contracts, and remedies. His research has been published in leading international journals, including the Cambridge Law Journal, Law Quarterly Review, Modern Law Review, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Sydney Law Review, UNSW Law Journal, and Melbourne University Law Review, and in several major edited collections. His work has been cited in the UK Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Australia, the Supreme Courts of India and Sri Lanka, and by various courts in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands.

Ying is the author of the monograph Rationalising Constructive Trusts (Hart Publishing 2017), and the treatise Guest and Liew on the Law of Assignment (currently in its fifth edition, Sweet & Maxwell 2024). Ying is the founder and General Editor of the Asia-Pacific Trusts Law, Asia-Pacific Contracts Law, and Asia-Pacific Property Law book series (Hart Publishing). Three volumes in the Trusts series have been published (Theory and Practice in Context (2021, with Matthew Harding); Adaptation in Context (2022, with Ying-Chieh Wu); Boundaries in Context (2024, with Masayuki Tamaruya)). The first volumes of the Contracts series (The Digital World in Context (2026, with Lusina Ho) and the Property series (Intangibles in Context (2026, with Kelvin Low) are forthcoming.

At Melbourne Law School, Ying is Co-Director of the Obligations Group and Associate Director (Private Law) of the Asian Law Centre. He is also a faculty advisor of the Melbourne University Law Review, Chair of the Student Academic Misconduct Committee, and Advisor for incoming exchange students. From 2026, Ying will be Associate Dean (International) of MLS.

Outside the Law School, Ying is a General Editor of the Journal of Equity. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law (FAAL), an Academic Member of the Chancery Bar Association (UK), and a full member (TEP) of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Ying has acted as an expert witness in the New Zealand courts and in an ICSID arbitration. He has provided independent consultation to the Securities Commission of Malaysia and other law firms on various aspects of private law. He regularly delivers seminars for legal practitioners in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Ying previously held lectureships at King's College London and University College London, and was an examiner for the University of London International Programmes. He has also held visiting appointments at the National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, City University of Hong Kong, the National Taiwan University, Seoul National University, the University of Hong Kong, BPP University, the University of London, and the University of Nottingham. In 2026, Ying will be the Kwa Geok Choo Distinguished Visitor at the National University of Singapore.

Memberships and Affiliations

• Fellow, Australian Academy of Law
• Academic Member, Chancery Bar Association (UK)
• General Editor, Journal of Equity
• External Editor, Journal of Korean Law
• Editorial Advisory Board Member, Newcastle Law Review
• Advisory Board Member, LUMS Law Journal
• Associate of King’s College (AKC)