Jimmy Choo chooses Sarawak-born lawyer for legal advice

LONDON: World-renowned shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo has picked Sarawak-born lawyer Lucy Chuo to help him in his business and personal work.

Choo, who has been in the couture business for 21 years, said it was the first time he had engaged a fellow Malaysian to advise him on all legal matters.

“Whenever we want Lucy, she is here for us. She is working together with me as my in-house solicitor since she makes me feel confident and comfortable.


Legal advice: Choo discussing some legal matters with Chuo at his store in Connaught Street in London recently.
“It’s important to have her protecting my interests at all times,” he told The Star in an interview here.

The Miri-born Chuo, who graduated from the College of Law in London, is now a partner of a London-based law firm, Stella Maris Solicitors.

Said Chuo: “It is a privilege to be associated with Jimmy. He has many international engagements and business interests and receives all kinds of business proposals, so it is essential that he gets good legal advice.”

The iconic shoe-maker is known for his celebrity clientele which includes singer Madonna and the late Princess Diana.

Choo appears regularly at various international functions and enjoys celebrity status in Europe and the United States.

Chuo has described Choo, Malaysia’s Tourism Ambassador, as “a humble gentleman with a tremendous caring heart, giving hope and aspiration to students who have a lot of ambition but have received little encouragement in achieving their goals.”

Chuo, who comes from a family of strong women, is the youngest of five siblings.

Her eldest sister Annie Newman is a celebrity artist in London, while the others, Olivia, Susan and Jon are in Australia.

Chuo, who arrived in Britain when she was seven, studied at the Stella Maris Convent. She later lived in Australia before returning to London.

She said her greatest influence was her late mother, Magdalen Souk Ting Wong, who started the first pharmacy in Miri.

“My mother was an amazing woman. She used to work from dawn to dusk, six and half days a week and single-handedly raised the five of us.

“She gave me the best start by instilling her values in me; a strong work ethic coupled with ambition, a sense of self-worth and female empowerment, and integrity.”

Chuo named her firm, Stella Maris Solicitors LLP (www.stellamarissolicitors.co.uk), after the convent school where she studied.

Her law firm partner, Harry Brar, another Asian, is a legal consultant to the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010, which will be held in Delhi in October 2010.

On her work, Chuo said: “Today, more of my clients are Malaysian parents buying investment properties in London to provide accommodation and income towards their children’s tuition fees.

“Many of these children are studying for high-level professional qualifications, like law, economics, and medicine.”