24 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – OCTOBER 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM COVER STORY Somritutai “consistently provides clear explanations for his opinions, offers alternative options to his clients, and recommends the most effective approaches for managing various situations,” said Kudun Sukhumananda, managing partner of Kudun and Partners. “It is evident that his clients deeply value his expertise and place their trust in him. I am confident his lawyering career will only grow and gets brighter and the sky is the limit for him.” Somritutai’s future plans and career ambitions revolve around elevating the firm’s real estate practice to new heights. While aiming to strengthen the firm’s expertise and legal service in the field, he is driven by a desire to go beyond conventional boundaries and create a real estate practice that truly stands out and is widely recognised as one of the top tier and go-to law firms amongst the world’s leading legal directories. Melissa Thng, 39, partner, Dentons Rodyk and Davidson Melissa is a skilled and experienced advocate who specializes in handling complex commercial disputes both in arbitration as well as in court. She has been described by her clients as being “easy to work with, highly reliable, experienced, diligent and practical” and having a “very special ability to find creative solutions to the issues at hand”. Some of her notable cases include acting for one of the alleged key accomplices in the Keppel Club fraud, wherein which the Club claimed losses exceeding S$37 million against a former employee for allegedly creating and issuing fictitious memberships for over a decade, and Group Lease Holdings, in which Melissa defended a Thai-based financing company against serious allegations of accounting fraud made by its former strategic business partner from Japan. This year, Melissa successfully resisted proceedings to set aside an international arbitral award in a long-standing dispute between a Chinese state-owned entity and several companies that used to be part of a global renewable energy group based in the USA. Melissa also represents Terraform Labs, Do Kwon and Luna Foundation Guard in a representative claim commenced by 377 holders of UST cryptocurrency tokens in the Singapore High Court, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy in relation to the sudden crash of the UST in May 2022. Melissa is also an active member of the international arbitration fraternity. She regularly conducts seminars and workshops for the SIAC, and was a founding member of the YSIAC Committee in 2014. Satomi Umezu 38, partner, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune Satomi Umezu, partner at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, is a finance lawyer with expertise in real estate finance and other capital market transactions that use security tokens. In the past 12 months, she has been involved in 10 public real estate security token offerings projects with the total value of 35 billion yen ($238 million). One of her notable cases is advising on Japan’s first public real estate security token offering (STO) in July 2021 with Kenedix as the sponsor and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking as the trustee as the trustee’s legal counsel. Her clients include Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, SBI Shinsei Bank, a major utility and an infrastructure company. The digital asset transactions market in Japan is rapidly expanding and Umezu is committed to helping to develop this area and plans to further expand her experience and continue to find new areas where she can make use of her expertise such as the fast-growing fintech sector. “Not only does she have extensive knowledge and experience in law and the business practices of the real estate finance sector, she also understands the unique preferences and policies of her clients and offers sound advice with a balanced business perspective,” Souya Satou, joint general manager, real estate finance division of SBI Shinsei Bank, says. “[Umezu] has been advising major Japanese financial institutions, including trust banks, on STOs since the early days when the STO market was still developing in Japan, and is recognised as one of the most experienced lawyers in the STO market,” Ken Kawai, partner of Anderson Mori Tomotsune, comments. Helen Wang 39, partner, Carey Olsen Helen Wang is a partner at offshore firm Carey Olsen and a specialist of commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, estate and private clients-related disputes, and insolvency and restructuring matters. She is also a full TEP member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). As a native speaker of Cantonese and Mandarin and fluent in English, she can support both Chinese- and English-speaking clients. She has worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. Some of Wang’s notable cases are acting for a Cayman Islands listing vehicle in a long-drawn shareholder dispute and acting for shareholders of the Cayman holding company of a multimillion-dollar renewable energy business in just and equitable winding up proceedings. Wang aspires to establish herself as the leading figure and role model in the offshore dispute space. To achieve this goal, she actively engages in various thought leadership and speaking opportunities. “These platforms allow me to share the valuable experiences and knowledge I have gained from practising law in multiple jurisdictions. My objective is to inform legal practitioners about how proceedings in offshore jurisdictions can influence the overall litigation strategy and contribute to the jurisprudence in common law jurisdictions,” she said. Wang is also committed to empowering other female lawyers in the profession. In commending Wang, Anthony McKenzie, Managing Partner of Carey Olsen Singapore, noted “Helen has brought on several premium clients and work following her move to Carey Olsen – a testament of her exceptional reputation among clients and peers.”
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