The Bar: 1985–2001

Cheung was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985 as a pupil of Audrey Eu and began private practice the following year in the chambers of Henry Litton. His practice mainly involved civil and commercial cases.^[3][4][5] In 1995, he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.^[1]

The bench: 2001–

Cheung was appointed to the bench in 2001 as a judge of the District Court of Hong Kong. Sitting first as a Deputy High Court Judge in December 2001, he was soon elevated to the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003. He was then appointed as the Probate Judge in 2004, before becoming the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List of the High Court in 2008.^[1] His tenure was marked by a number of high-profile rulings relating to constitutional and human rights matters.^[6][7]

In June 2011, Cheung succeeded Geoffrey Ma as the Chief Judge of the High Court and President of the Court of Appeal,^[8][9] making him the fourth local judge to hold this position. In his speech to the Legislative Council moving the resolution to endorse Cheung's appointment, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. Henry Tang, described Cheung as an outstanding lawyer with the ability to handle difficult and complex cases and the potential of being a good administrator of the High Court.^[10]

He was elected an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 2017.^[11]

On 21 March 2018, the Judiciary announced his appointment as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from 25 October 2018, succeeding Robert Tang. Cheung's appointment was accompanied by the appointments of Baroness Hale and Beverley McLachlin as Non-Permanent Judges of the city's top court.^[12] He held the office of Chief Judge of the High Court for 7 years, 127 days – the longest serving of the four judges who had served in the role.

Cheung is a member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, which makes recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments. He is a member of the Law Reform Commission and also chairs or is a member of various committees and working parties within the Judiciary.^[13][14][15]

Cheung was announced as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal on 24 March 2020, succeeding Geoffrey Ma. His appointment took effect on 11 January 2021. He is the first local law graduate to be appointed Hong Kong's Chief Justice.^[4]

In May 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the United States Congress suggested the United States government imposing sanctions on Cheung to counter the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong over his handling of Jimmy Lai's national security law case.^[16][17]