I want to become a partner: insights on how to get there

Caroline Berube is the Managing Partner of HJM Asia Law (with offices in China and Singapore). She is admitted to the New York Bar, the Singapore Bar, holds a BCL (civil law) and an LL.B. (common law) from McGill University in Montreal and studied Chinese law at the National University of Singapore. Caroline has been working in Asia for more than 22 years with SMEs, MNCs and foreign banks, advising them in the field of commercial law, intellectual property, human resources and M&A in the Asia Pacific region. With an extensive presence on the ground in Asia, Caroline is well versed in the opportunities and risks associated with most Asian jurisdictions.

Ulrike Naumann is a finance lawyer and heads up Bowmans South African Finance Practice. She specialises in secured and syndicated lending, structured finance, preference share funding transactions and mezzanine finance, as well as acquisition, property and leveraged finance. Ulrike advises on various complicated debt restructuring transactions and on private equity related work. She also advises arrangers and issuers on high yield bonds and second bond transactions in the South African and off-shore markets. Ulrike was named as one of IFLR1000’s Women Leaders in 2020, which accolade also recognises her as an IFLR1000 Leading Lawyer and places her among the best transactional specialists within the Banking sector in South Africa. Ulrike’s expertise has also been recognised by Chambers Global for her work in Banking & Finance. She is a committee member of the International Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee. She has B.Com and LLB degrees (both awarded cum laude) from the University of Stellenbosch and a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, UK. She has worked in South Africa, England and Germany and is fluent in English, Afrikaans and German.

CHAN Sing Yee is Co-Head of WongPartnership’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. She is also a Partner in the firm’s Private Equity Practice. Her expertise spans mergers and acquisitions (including the sale and purchase of businesses), joint ventures, venture capital, corporate finance related transactions, and general corporate and advisory work. With over 20 years of legal experience under her belt, Sing Yee has a track record in managing complex, high-value and landmark corporate transactions. She is frequently featured and recognised as a leading corporate lawyer in various legal journals to include Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500: Asia Pacific, asialaw Profiles, IFLR1000 and is also ranked in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers for her expertise in the area of Private Equity Law. She also sits on the Programme & Services Committee of the Shared Services for Charities Limited (“SSC”), a registered charity and a full member of the National Council of Social Service in Singapore where she contributes her views on the various programmes and services rolled out by the SSC to charities in Singapore to enhance governance standards of charities in achieving organisational excellence.

Wissam Mghazli is a member of the Paris Bar and Managing Partner of the business law firm Komon Avocats. Educated as a litigator in several French and international leading law firms, Wissam has acquired over the years a genuine legal expertise in international arbitration and complex high-stakes business litigations. He mainly represents clients in commercial, institutional and ad hoc arbitration, as well as in international litigation. Wissam particularly handles peripheral arbitration disputes before state courts, notably related to conservatory measures litigations as well as the recognition and enforcement in France of domestic or international arbitral awards. Wissam holds a professional Master of Laws in Business Law and is an Alumni of a French Grande Ecole de Commerce. He also teaches civil law and arbitration law in several Universities and higher education schools both in France and in Cambodia, which allows him to have a cutting-edge expertise and to be particularly up to date with the latest legislative and case-law developments. Having always been in a multicultural environment, Wissam is co-founder and president of the Association Franco-Marocaine des Avocats d'Affaires (AFMAA). Wissam has practiced piano and karate since he was a child and joined the JKA (Japan Karate Association) in 2012. He also has a particular interest in Japanese language and cuisine as well as in American cinema of the second half of the 20th century.