Leon Yee

Leon Yee is the Chairman and the Managing Director of Duane Morris & Selvam. He serves as the Global Head of Corporate for Duane Morris & Selvam and leads the Banking & Finance and Energy Practice Groups. He is also Head of the Firm's China Practice Group. Mr. Yee has extensive corporate law expertise and regularly advises ultra-high net worth individuals, private equity funds, investment banks, listed and private companies on corporate finance, venture capital, capital markets, takeovers, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, corporate restructurings and joint ventures. He has also advised banks and project companies on complex financing transactions and has a particular focus on Korea, Indonesia and PRC related deals. He takes a keen personal interest in advising, coaching and mentoring the boards of start-up companies.

Mr. Yee is consistently recognized as a highly regarded lawyer by the IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Banking & Finance, Corporate and M&A and Projects & Energy. He was included in AsiaLaw in various categories such as Banking & Finance, Corporate and M&A and Corporate Governance. He was included in Asia's Brightest Young Legal Minds - Top 40 Under 40 - Asia Legal Business 2015.

He is an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a Solicitor of England and Wales.

Mr. Yee serves as an Independent Director of both SGX-listed Federal International (2000) Ltd and FJ Benjamin Holdings Ltd. He was the former Chairman of a SGX-listed real estate developer and also a former Independent Director of a LSE-listed fashion company.

He has deep industry knowledge in global fashion businesses, real estate development and the oil & gas sectors and also has extensive experience in corporate governance. He also works closely with venture firms and private equity firms on advising technology, life sciences and other growth enterprises worldwide.

Mr. Yee was appointed by the Singapore Minister for Home Affairs as the Legal Advisor to the Board of Inquiry that was convened under the Civil Defence Act to inquire into the circumstances leading to the drowning incident of a serviceman, to identify contributing factors and systemic gaps, and to recommend improvements to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. He is also on the panel of Singapore Advocates & Solicitors from which appointments to the Disciplinary Tribunal are made.

Mr. Yee is a member of the Tan Kah Kee International Society and a Visiting Professor of Law at Jimei University, China, where he runs a series of Chinese seminars on the corporate law developments in Asia at the Jimei School of Business Administration. The School was jointly set up by the Xiamen People’s Government, Tan Kah Kee International Society and Jimei University in 1995.

He is also the Honorary Legal Adviser to the Char Yong (Dabu) Hakka Clan Association, which was founded in 1858.

Mr. Yee sits on the Board of Governors, St. Joseph's Institution (SJI), Singapore, which was founded in 1852 and is the oldest catholic school in Singapore. He is the President of the St. Joseph's Institution Foundation (Singapore), a registered charity in Singapore, which carries out, facilitates and supports programmes and activities in support of the Lasallian mission of enabling youth in a Lasallian community to learn how to learn and to learn how to live.

Mr. Yee read Law at Christ's College, Cambridge University, which was founded in 1505 on a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust scholarship where he graduated with Honours. Mr. Yee also founded and chaired the Cambridge University Asian Lawyers Association. He established the Christ’s College Cambridge-SJI Foundation Scholarship, a scholarship fund for SJI students admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge University. He is also the Chair of the Scholarship Selection Committee.

Resume

Civic and Charitable Activities

•Instrumental in the establishment of a new scholarship under the auspices of SJI Foundation to fund SJI and SJI International students admitted to Christ's College at Cambridge University Honors and Awards

Experience

•Duane Morris & Selvam LLP/ Selvam LLC
•Herbert Smith

Honors and Awards

•Listed by IFLR1000 as 2020 Highly Regarded Lawyer for Banking

•Listed by IFLR 1000 as 2019 Highly Regarded Lawyer for Banking

•Listed as a Recommended Lawyer in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018 in Singapore for Banking & Finance (Local Firms) Corporate and M&A (Local Firms) and Projects & Energy (Local Firms)

•Listed by IFLR1000 as 2018 Highly Regarded Lawyer for Banking

• ...Leon Yee has strong corporate experience. The Legal 500, 2013

• ...Leon Yee demonstrates 'tireless effort'. The Legal 500, 2013

• ...Banking & Finance Practice Head Leon Yee is recommended. The Legal 500, 2012

• ...Leon Yee handles complex capital markets transactions. The Legal 500, 2012

• ...Leon Yee's 'sharp business acumen and collaborative approach'... The Legal 500, 2010/2011

Board Memberships

•Singapore-listed Federal International (2000) Limited - Non-Executive Director

•Singapore-listed FJ Benjamin Holdings Limited - Non-Executive Director

•London-listed Laura Ashley Holdings PLC - Non-Executive Director (2019-March 2020)

•Singapore-listed Pacific Star Development Limited - Chairman (2017-2019)

Selected Publications

•Co-author, COVID-19 in Singapore: What Can Commercial Tenants Do ? Duane Morris Alert, April 3, 2020

•Quoted in 'No Win, No Fee' Set-ups Could Change Law Practice, The Straits Times, September 4, 2019

•Co-author, The Singapore Convention on Mediation: Charting a New Path for Dispute Resolution, Duane Morris Alert, August 16, 2019

•Quoted in SJI Partners Cambridge to Offer New Scholarship, The Straits Times, October 30, 2017
•Quoted in, 29 Companies Added to SGK Watch-list, The Straits Times, June 5, 2017
•Quoted in, Bankruptcy Filing Will Give Ezra Room to Restructure, The Straits Times, March 20, 2017
•Featured in, PACIFIC STAR DEVELOPMENT: Targeting ASEAN Real Estate Markets, Next Insight, February 19, 2017
•Featured in HKEX mulls over plan for dual-class shares again, The Straits Times, January 20, 2017
•Featured in Shanghai boosts IP efforts, China Daily, April 22, 2015
•Co-author of The Code of Corporate Governance chapter in Woon's Corporations Law
•Singapore contributor for Getting the Deal Through - Corporate Governance

Selected Speaking Engagements

•Speaker, “Opportunities for Collaboration between Singapore and China Lawyers”, Chongqing Professional Services Forum, Chongqing, China, 5 December 2019

•Speaker, “Latest Singapore Developments and Trends in ICOs”, Peking University Law School, Beijing, China, 2 November 2018

Fellowships & Academic Appointments

•fellow, Cambridge Commonwealth Trust
•Visiting Professor of Law, Jimei University, China
•President of the St. Joseph's Institution Foundation (Singapore)
•Chairman of the SJI Foundation-Christ's College Cambridge Scholarship Selection Committee
•Member of the Board of Governors, St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore

Government Appointments

Appointed by the Singapore Minister for Home Affairs as the Legal Advisor to the Board of Inquiry that was convened under the Civil Defence Act to inquire into the circumstances leading to the drowning incident of a serviceman (May 2018)