Lee May Ling
Partner
May Ling is the Deputy Head of the Firm’s White Collar & Investigations Practice. She has an established background and diverse practice in dispute resolution. She frequently acts for financial institutions, listed and multinational corporations and high profile individuals, in litigation and cross-border arbitration proceedings concerning employment disputes, contractual disputes, company and shareholder disputes, family and estate disputes, civil fraud claims and corporate-governance related matters.
May Ling also has specific expertise in matters involving white collar crime and investigations. She regularly assists her clients with navigating anti-fraud, sanctions, corruption and money-laundering laws, conducting internal investigations into employee misconduct, fraud and harassment and providing dawn raid training. She has also represented corporate and individual clients in criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions in a range of areas including bribery and corruption, securities fraud and disclosure regulations, anti-money laundering controls and financial sanctions.
May Ling is presently Chairman on the Board of the SAS-SBF (Security Association Singapore - Singapore Business Federation) Foundation of Compassion Fund. She is also an Accredited Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre. She was part of the inaugural batch of fellows under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, where she was seconded to the Law Society Pro Bono Services office in 2015, and practiced criminal law full-time whilst developing contacts with the criminal law bench and bar.
May Ling frequently writes on white collar crime and investigation related topics. Her recent publications include The Asset Tracing and Recovery Review, The International Comparative Legal Guides to Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Regulations, The International Comparative Legal Guides to Sanctions, Practical Law Global (Thomson Reuters) Anti-Corruption and Global Legal Insights to: Bribery & Corruption. In addition to client-dedicated training sessions, she has recently been invited to speak at the IBA Singapore Anti-corruption Conference, Global Disputes Summit and STEP Asia Conference.
May Ling is recognised in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption in Singapore, Lexology Index: Investigations (Global Investigations Review) and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for White-Collar Crime in Singapore where she is described as "hardworking, accessible and capable”, “really sensible and pragmatic”, an “outstanding lawyer” and “consistently knowledgeable and responsive … able to advise on a wide range of issues dealing with criminal investigations, regulatory reporting obligations, and trainings on dealing with unannounced government visits”.
May Ling graduated with First Class Honours from King’s College London and also has an LL.M. in Commercial Law. She joined the Firm in 2011 and has been with the Firm since.
Work Highlights
- Acted for financial institutions in relation to money-laundering investigations concerning Singapore’s biggest S$3 billion money laundering investigations involving the “Fujian Gang”.
- Acted for financial institutions in relation to the financial fraud investigations concerning (1) 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB); and (2) the Bernie Madoff investment scandal.
- Acted for clients in relation to corruption investigations concerning (1) the 2025 Pertamina corruption case; and (2) the landmark anti-corruption investigation in Brazil known as Operation Car Wash.
- Acted for a listed cross-border multi-business conglomerate in one of the longest running civil proceedings in the Supreme Court involving claims of breach of statutory and directors’ duties, conspiracy and fraud.
- Acted in landmark lease dispute cases before the High Court and Court of Appeal which established key principles of contractual interpretation in Singapore.
- Acted as defence counsel in the high-profile prosecution against several members of City Harvest Church.