Meet our lawyers


Ian Teo

Managing Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

One of the founding directors of Helmsman, Ian is an authority on commercial law – with a unique blend of expertise in general commercial matters and specialised shipping and commodities work.

He has been named a Disputes Star by Benchmark Litigation and one of Asia’s 50 Super Disputes Lawyers by Asia Legal Business. He is also recognised in Who’s Who’s Legal for his commercial litigation expertise.

In 2019, he became one of the first senior accredited shipping and maritime law specialists appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law. What’s more, he was recognised by Euromoney Expert Guides as one of the world's 30 Best of the Best Shipping Lawyers. In 2016, Best Lawyers Singapore named Ian as Trade Lawyer of the Year.

Qualified to practise in Singapore, England and Wales, Ian read law at the National University of Singapore (LL.B) and obtained his LL.M at Cambridge University. Awarded the Justice Tan Ah Tah Prize in his PLC class, Ian is a member of the adjunct faculty at the Singapore Management University, School of Law, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration, and an Adjunct Fellow of the NUS Centre for Maritime Law. He contributes to academia regularly, and has published in Lloyd's Maritime & Commercial Quarterly.

"Meticulous in his case preparation, effective and persuasive in his advocacy"
Legal 500

"Keen eye for details and whose advice is always commercially sound"
Chambers Asia-Pacific

"A specialist in shipping and trade disputes... (who) commands respect"
Chambers Global

"Ian Teo is a go-to name in the market when it comes to complex shipping disputes"
Who’s Who Legal: Commercial Litigation

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Tang Chong Jun

Executive Director, Helmsman LLC Singapore Managing Partner, Tang & Co. Hong Kong

A founding director of Helmsman and Tang & Co., Chong Jun specializes in shipping and commodities disputes as well as commercial advisory work.

Recently, Chong Jun successfully represented a Malaysian palm oil producer on two multi-million-dollar GAFTA arbitrations: and, an American trading corporation in its claim against a Chinese company for the latter’s failure and/or refusal to take delivery of corn shipments. He was also involved in “Apellis” [2018] Lloyds Law Reports Plus 11 and “Alas” [2015] 1 Lloyds Law Reports 211. 

Our executive director is regularly invited to speak at shipping and maritime law conferences, including at the recent International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators in Copenhagen, and the 2017 Shipping Law Seminar in Shenzhen on “One Belt One Road – International Shipping Law and Policy”.

Qualified to practise law in both Singapore and Hong Kong, he is a fellow and council member (Hon. Secretary) of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators.

"Very responsive, friendly and helpful"
Legal 500

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Maureen Poh

Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Maureen’s practice spans the range of shipping and commodities trading work, both contentious and advisory. 

She has significant experience with energy-related shipping and commodity-related matters, such as the transportation and off-take contracts for crude oil and LNG. Maureen was involved in drafting and negotiating the charter of the “MOL FSRU Challenger” on behalf of shipowners for the Hong Kong Offshore LNG Terminal Project.  

Qualified to practise law in Singapore, England and Wales, Maureen sits on the advisory board of the NUS Centre for Maritime Law.  She read law at the National University of Singapore, and before becoming a lawyer, worked in the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Maureen was cited in Legal 500 as “a key name for charterparty disputes, carriage of goods by sea and cargo claims”, and complimented for being “proactive, clear and fast in analysing specific points”.

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Lynette Koh

Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Lynette’s expertise is in corporate banking and finance law. Lynette was legal counsel at two large international banks. Just before joining Helmsman, she was Head of Legal and Business Administration at Mizuho Bank, Ltd., in charge of corporate banking business in Singapore and the region. Lynette has deep expertise in the funding needs and structures across a wide spectrum of industries. She has worked on the full range of commodities and trade financing transactions with major trading houses across the world. Lynette is one of few Singapore lawyers who also has expertise in derivatives and structured products, including ISDA documentation. 

Besides her corporate inhouse experience, Lynette also spent a decade as a litigator specialising in banking and financing disputes, corporate insolvencies and debt restructuring at one of the largest law firms in Singapore. 

Lynette’s perspectives and experience as Head of Legal at an international bank and as a dispute lawyer make her a rare commodity amongst transactional corporate banking and finance lawyers.

Lynette was one of the two inaugural recipients of the Singapore Academy of Law Post-Qualification Overseas Attachment Award – set up to expose deserving lawyers to the best practices in litigation or arbitration. She spent time in London working alongside renowned Queen's Counsels with established banking practices.   

In her free time, Lynette runs a free legal clinic at the Singapore Association for the Deaf.

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Una Khng

Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Una heads our Commercial Disputes Practice Group. Her practice covers both domestic and international disputes across a broad spectrum - including complex financial structured products, cryptocurrencies, joint venture and shareholder disputes, breaches of trusts, contract, fraud, misrepresentation, white-collar crime and judicial review, amongst others. Una is experienced in litigation and arbitration – having appeared in the Singapore courts and international arbitrations (including SIAC, ICC, LCIA). She also advises clients on contentious and non-contentious matters.

She is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. She is also a member of the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee.

Una began her career as a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of Singapore. After completing her clerkship, she went on to establish a disputes resolution practice at one of the largest law firms in Singapore.

Una has held appointments as District Judge and Assistant Registrar at the Supreme Court of Singapore – where she presided over civil hearings, and managed cases in the Companies, Insolvency, Trusts and Arbitration cluster. In April 2019, Una was appointed Deputy Divisional Registrar of the SICC.

Una was an integral member of the team behind the establishment of the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”). She was also involved in the Court of Appeal Registry and the Secretariat of the Rules of Court Working Party.

Una read law at the University of Cambridge, graduating with First-Class Honours, and later obtained her MA from the university. She was named valedictorian of her Graduate Diploma of Singapore Law class at the National University of Singapore. She also won the prize for Commercial Practice in the Singapore Bar examinations.

Una has taught at the law schools of the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University.

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Matthew Teo

Associate Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Matthew began his career in the largest legal practice in Singapore dedicated to banking and financing disputes, corporate insolvencies, business advisory, workouts and debt restructuring. He has advised and acted in practically all major shipping and oil-related restructurings and insolvencies in the past 10 years resulting from the downturn in the shipping and oil industry. 

Besides restructuring and insolvency, Matthew also specialises in shareholders’ disputes, directors’ duties and employment law - both contentious disputes, as well as advisory work on strategic and commercial issues. Matthew also routinely advises on security arrangements as well as insolvency risks on transactional matters.

Employment law is another area of Matthew’s specialisation. He often advises on restrictive covenants, contentious terminations of employment and non-contentious aspects such as drafting employment contracts and disciplinary policies.  Matthew acts regularly in employment disputes, and has been involved in high profile employment disputes in Singapore.

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Singapore appointed Matthew as amicus curiae under the prestigious Young Amicus Curiae Scheme. He assisted the Supreme Court as amicus curiae in a landmark decision on the registrability of contractual liens in charterparty contracts in the Diablo Fortune case. 

Matthew graduated summa cum laude amongst the pioneer batch of law students from the Singapore Management University, and was awarded a number of academic prizes during his time there. Unlike many lawyers, Matthew reads (and understands) financial statements as he also has a Bachelor of Business Management (Finance Major), from the Singapore Management University.

Matthew was cited in Legal 500 as a "highly rated lawyer". 

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Chen Zhida

Associate Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Zhida’s main focus lies in international commodity trade, trade finance, and “dry” shipping work (including charterparty and bill of lading disputes). He not only regularly appears in the Singapore courts, but also acted as counsel in international arbitrations, both ad hoc and institutional (including LCIA, ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, AIAC). Zhida is qualified to practise law in Singapore and England and Wales.

He also regularly advises clients on non-contentious matters, ranging from commodity sale contracts and charterparties to UN sanctions.

Proficient in Mandarin, his expertise is much appreciated by Chinese traders, including state-owned enterprises and listed companies.

In 2019, Zhida was appointed amicus curiae under the prestigious Young Amicus Curiae Scheme, which provides young practitioners with the opportunity to assist the Singapore Courts on novel points of law.

A former Justices’ Law Clerk within the Supreme Court of Singapore, Zhida came to us from the shipping and international trade practice of a Singapore “Big Four” law firm.

Zhida was awarded a number of academic prizes from the National University of Singapore. He also has a Masters of Law in International Legal Studies from New York University. He has been teaching as an adjunct at the Faculty of Law of National University of Singapore since 2014, and has recently been appointed as an adjunct assistant professor, one of the youngest at the Faculty of Law of NUS.

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Jonathan Tan

Associate Director,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

An up-and-coming shipping and commodities lawyer, Jonathan has been involved in several landmark cases arising from insolvency of shipping and trading companies. Pragmatic and commercially minded, he is focused on finding efficient and effective solutions to address clients’ concerns.

Jonathan’s practice is focused on shipping and international trade – both disputes and advisory – ranging from commodities trading, trade finance, documentary credits, cargo claims, charter parties, ship sale and purchase to mortgage enforcement.

Equally adept at Chinese, Jonathan has represented and advised Chinese clients in court proceedings, arbitrations and non-contentious matters.

He completed his undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore, and began his career in a leading shipping and commodity law practice.

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Eleanor Wong

Counsel (Special Projects),
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Eleanor works on special projects involving highly complex, multi-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional disputes and transactions. She started her career with the Commercial Affairs Department in Singapore, prosecuting complex commercial and securities frauds, a role that gained her national prominence. After her stint with the Commercial Affairs Department, she  joined international law firms Coudert Brothers and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, where she  built a successful practice in international financial transactions. There, she helmed ground-breaking projects, such as challenging regional financial sector restructuring in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.  In 2002, she returned to her alma mater, the National University of Singapore, to launch the Law Faculty’s Legal Skills Programme as its Director. She is also Co-ordinator of the Faculty’s International Moots Programme, and currently serves as Vice Dean, Student Life & Global Relations and Director of the Centre for Pro Bono and Clinical Legal Education.

Eleanor is a recognised thought-leader in pedagogy and the mentor of a generation of young lawyers. She also happens to be an accomplished playwright.

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Djakhongir Saidov

Consultant,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Professor Saidov specialises in international commercial law, having joined The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London in August 2015 as Professor of Commercial Law. His expertise lies in the law of the international sale of goods, international commercial law instruments, remedies for breach of contract and law governing international oil and gas operations.

A consultant to Helmsman, he is the Editor of the English Sale of Goods Law section in the LMCLQ Yearbook of International Maritime and Commercial Law, and, an Academic Fellow at the Centre for Maritime Law in the National University of Singapore.

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Cristina Bernasconi

Consultant,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Cristina has practised law in the energy and commodity sector since 2004 – at a major Swiss utility company, a European investment bank and an oil and gas conglomerate. She established her own legal consultancy firm in London in 2015.

Fluent in Italian, English, German, French and Spanish, Cristina has considerable experience in cross-border transactions.

Admitted to the New York and Zurich bars, Cristina holds a degree from Zurich University law school and an LLM in international law from George Washington University.

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Peter Huang

Senior Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Peter is one of the leading shipping juniors in his batch, with a stellar track record both academically and professionally. Specialising in shipping and trade related dispute resolution, he has extensive experience acting in arbitrations under the rules of SIAC, SCMA, LMAA, LCIA, ICC, CIETAC, AIAC. He also advises on disputes in other jurisdictions, including Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.

At the National University of Singapore, Peter was awarded the M. Karthigesu Memorial Gold Medal for top shipping student, as well as the Maritime Law Association of Singapore Prize in Carriage of Goods by Sea. Peter represented NUS in the 2015 Jean Pictet Mooting Competition and the 2016 International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot, emerging as the champion in the former, and the sixth overall speaker in the latter. Peter continues to coach mooting at NUS Law.

Peter is native Chinese and effectively bilingual, and deeply understands the Chinese culture and legal landscape. Before joining Helmsman, Peter worked as a solicitor in a leading international shipping firm, where he obtained qualification to practise English law, on top of his Singapore qualification. 

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Kim Shi Yin

Senior Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Kim is a commercial litigator. Besides shipping and commodity disputes, she routinely acts for clients in a broad spectrum of commercial disputes, including shareholders and company-related disputes, insolvency and employment law. Kim has represented clients in all levels of the Singapore courts as well as in arbitrations under the SIAC, UNCITRAL and SCMA Rules. 
 
Kim read law at Singapore Management University on an ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship awarded by the Singapore Government. She also obtained a second major in International and Asian Studies. Kim graduated Cum Laude (With Distinction). Her academic awards include, Dean List for Meritorious Performance and the Bird & Bird Prize for her research paper on international sales. Kim is also an accomplished mooter. She represented SMU at the 13th Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Hong Kong, where they emerged First Runners-Up. 
 
Kim is fluent in English, Mandarin and Malay. She is an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

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Vinca Yau

Senior Associate,
Tang & Co. Hong Kong

Vinca is a former Judicial Assistant at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. She completed her training contract with a leading English law firm in Hong Kong, which included secondments to a foreign office and an international client. 
 
Vinca read law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she obtained First Class Honours. She also spent a year on exchange at Peking University during this period. During her undergraduate studies, she took part in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and was named the Best Oralist at the Hong Kong regional rounds in 2012 and together with the team, was awarded the Hardy C. Dillard Best Combined Memorials at the Washington D.C. international rounds in 2010. Subsequently, Vinca attended the University of Cambridge where she earned a Master of Laws in Public International Law.  

Vinca is qualified to practise as a solicitor of The High Court of Hong Kong.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Singapore, Vinca is proficient in English, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.

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Constance Leong

Senior Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Constance is a corporate, banking and finance lawyer.

She acts for large multi-national corporations, finance banks, ship owners, lessors and operators in a wide range of financing, and sale and leaseback transactions. Constance also regularly advises clients in banking and financial transactions involving loan and security documentation, and in corporate transactions, in relation to mergers and acquisitions, shareholder matters, service level agreements and commercial contracts.

Prior to joining Helmsman LLC, Constance was a legal counsel at Mizuho Bank, Ltd., where she worked on banking and finance matters, such as bilateral and syndicated financing agreements, trade finance agreements, documentary credits, participation agreements and bank-to-bank financing agreements, amongst others.

She is an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Constance read law at the Singapore Management University.

Constance is fluent in English and Mandarin.

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Geoffroy Ygouf

Senior Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Geoffroy specialises in shipping litigation and dispute resolution, with a particular focus on carriage of goods by sea and international trade.

He began his career in the marine industry in London, where he joined a renowned maritime law firm acting for insurers/reinsurers, brokers and high-profile clients in soft commodities. While there he worked on a variety of matters including subrogated cargo recovery actions, bills of lading and charterparty disputes.

A qualified solicitor in England and Wales, Geoffroy is fluent in both English and French. 

He has a bachelor’s degree in French law, a graduate diploma in English law, a Master’s degree in Law and Political Sciences (exchange program) from Thammasat University, as well as a LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Southampton.

 

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Xu Jingchen

Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Jingchen specialises in shipping, international trade and insolvency related dispute resolution.

She obtained her PhD and LLM in Admiralty (with distinction) from Tulane University Law School in the United States. She obtained her LLB in Maritime Law from Dalian Maritime University. At Tulane, Jingchen was a Senior Editor for Volumes 40-41 of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, and a research assistant to Professor Robert Force.

Jingchen is an accomplished scholar, whose work is frequently published. Before joining Helmsman, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Centre for Maritime Law, National University of Singapore.

She recently contributes a book chapter titled “Ship Arrest and the Hanjin Bankruptcy: Lessons for Ship Management” in the newly published book, Stephen Girvin and Vibe Ulfbeck (eds), Maritime Organisation, Management and Liability: A Legal Analysis of New Challenges in the Maritime Industry (Hart Publishing 2021).

Her another publication is a monograph, Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency under the UNCITRAL Model Law Regime: Commonwealth and US Perspectives (Hart Publishing 2020), which discusses the pressing issues of cross-border cases involving admiralty and bankruptcy law. In addition, her papers analysing issues arising from the bankruptcy of OW Bunkers have been published in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce.

She has also worked with the American P & I Club and several US maritime law firms.

Jingchen is qualified to practice law in China, and is admitted to the New York Bar.  She is native Chinese and fluent in English

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Kenneth Lim

Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Kenneth read law at the National University of Singapore, where he was Assistant Editor for the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies. He was also Assistant to A/P Dr Sandra Booysen for her thesis on the mis-selling of bank retail products. Kenneth is an avid mooter. He represented NUS at the 16th Willem C. Vis East Commercial Arbitration Moot, where he was awarded an Honourable Mention for the Best Oral Advocate. Kenneth obtained a Distinction in Civil Procedure in Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations.

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Ahmad Noorfahmy

Associate,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Fahmy graduated from Singapore Management University with a Bachelor of Laws - Magna Cum Laude (with great distinction).  Fahmy is experienced in a wide-spectrum of shipping and commodity trading matters, both contentious and transactional. He was also awarded a Distinction for Advanced Corporate Practice in his Singapore Bar exams. Fahmy is effectively bilingual, fluent in Malay and English.

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Jeremiah Lau

Associate,
Tang & Co. Hong Kong

Jeremiah is a versatile lawyer – handling both contentious and non-contentious matters. He is experienced in commercial litigation and international arbitration (including arbitrations conducted under HKIAC, ICC and LMAA Rules), as well as winding-up proceedings, regulatory investigations, and obtainment of interlocutory relief. Jeremiah is also competent in non-contentious corporate and shipping transactional matters.

After completing his training in the Hong Kong office of a US law firm, Jeremiah served as a Judicial Assistant at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, in which he assisted the Registrar, Judges, and the Chief Justice in leave applications, substantive appeals, legal research and other tasks.

Jeremiah read business and law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He represented CUHK in mooting competitions involving international commercial arbitration, human rights law and competition laws - where he achieved multiple awards.  Jeremiah was also appointed as a Coach for the university mooting team in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot between 2018 to 2019.

Jeremiah is a Solicitor of The High Court of Hong Kong. He is proficient in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

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Marisa Tse

Head of Corporate Communications,
Helmsman LLC Singapore

Marisa looks after our business development. She was previously employed by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore as a programme executive and a leading shipping law practice where she was a senior legal executive in ship finance.

Marisa was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland as a lawyer, and holds a dual Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) degree from Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Marisa is proficient in Cantonese and English. 

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