May is Asia Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills. She specialises in cross-border disputes and contentious regulatory matters. She regularly advises governments, government-owned entities and commercial clients (including financial institutions and energy companies) in Asia, Europe and the United States, including acting as counsel and advocate in arbitrations under various rules and court proceedings. She has acted as arbitrator in SIAC and HKIAC proceedings, and has also sat as an Emergency Arbitrator under the ICC Rules.

May is based in Hong Kong but also spends time in Herbert Smith Freehills’ Shanghai and Beijing offices, and has also practised in London, Singapore and Tokyo. She has published several articles on arbitration and dispute resolution, and speaks Bahasa (Malaysian and Indonesian), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and English, and is qualified as a solicitor of England and Wales and Hong Kong. May is a CEDR accredited mediator and an arbitrator in the HKIAC List of Arbitrators.

Accolades

• Leading individual – China/Hong Kong Dispute Resolution: Arbitration
  Chambers Asia-Pacific 2011-2021
• Leading individual – China/Hong Kong Dispute Resolution: Arbitration
  Asia Pacific Legal 500 2013-2021
• Dispute Resolution Star – International Arbitration
  Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific – 2019-2021
• International Law Firm Leader of the Year
  Asia Legal Awards 2021
• One of the 100 Role Model Female Executives
  HERoes Women Role Model Executives 2019 & 2020
• Female Lawyer of the Year
  Benchmark Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2019
• A Top 100 A List Lawyer in China
  China Business Law Journal 2019
• Best in Dispute Resolution
  Euromoney Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2018

Kwun-Yee is a partner in the dispute resolution practice at Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong, focusing on company insolvency and commercial litigation.

Kwun-Yee’s practice includes litigation and advisory work representing insolvency practitioners, corporate clients and banks on a wide range of complex disputes and insolvency and restructuring matters, including compulsory and voluntary liquidations, receiverships, corporate restructuring and schemes of arrangement. She also focuses on company law and commercial disputes, regularly advising corporate clients, shareholders and directors in relation to matters including shareholders’ rights and remedies, directors’ duties, joint venture disputes and unfair prejudice petitions.

Professional Honours

• Leading Lawyer (Restructuring/Insolvency – International Firms, China/Hong Kong) – Chambers Greater China Region (2022)
• Highly Regarded (Restructuring and Insolvency, Hong Kong) – IFLR 1000 (2021 – 2022)
• Leading Lawyer (Restructuring and Insolvency, Hong Kong) – IFLR 1000 (2014 – 2020)
• Leading Lawyer (Restructuring/Insolvency – International Firms, China/Hong Kong) – Chambers Asia Pacific (2014 – 2021)
• Leading Lawyer (Banking & Finance: Restructuring/Insolvency: China/Hong Kong) – Chambers Global (2019)

Julianne is President of Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers and Senior Consultant of Dentons.

Julianne joined Dentons Hong Kong on its establishment in Hong Kong in 2011. She is a seasoned corporate lawyer with more than 25 years of experience on M&A, capital markets and corporate finance. Her work has included structuring strategic acquisition and investment transactions, including cross-border M&A and private equity, as well as bringing companies to initial public offerings and other forms of capital raising. She is admitted to practise in Hong Kong, England and Wales and Australia.

Julianne has extensive experience with domestic and cross-border transactions, and represents a diverse client base which covers industries such as telecommunications, health care and assisted living projects, retail, luxury brands, insurance, mining and commodities trading, entertainment and gaming, aircraft acquisition and financing, and real estate. She has advised on transactions which have been nominated for M&A Deal of the Year awards in Hong Kong.
Julianne has acted for financial advisers and companies on a wide variety of public company- and securities-related matters, including IPOs, secondary fundraising, private placements, corporate rescues/restructurings, privatizations, company and securities compliance and corporate governance, establishment of financial services and securities business, as well as the operation of various types of investment vehicles.

Activities and Affiliations

Julianne is President of the Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers. She is also a fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, a task force member of the Hong Kong Women Professionals and Executives Association, a panel examiner for the Overseas Lawyers Qualification Examination in Hong Kong and an external examiner for the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws course at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was a member of one of the advisory groups to the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong government on company law reform, and she holds various community leadership roles both with nongovernmental organizations and under the auspices of the Hong Kong government.