Stefano Mariani, MA (Oxon), MSc (LSE), is a solicitor-advocate with higher rights of audience before the higher courts of Hong Kong, and a partner of Deacons, where he heads the tax and trusts practice. Prior to coming to Hong Kong, he qualified as a barrister in London. He has argued tax cases in Hong Kong before the Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance), District Court, Court of First Instance, and Court of Appeal. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, and a co-author of the textbook on Hong Kong tax law, the seminal Encyclopaedia of Hong Kong Taxation.