Yuet Ming Tham

YUET MING THAM is the global co-leader of the White Collar: Government Litigation & Investigations practice and leader of the Asia Pacific Compliance and Investigations practice. Yuet is also Asia Pacific Chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay and is admitted in New York, England & Wales, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Yuet focuses on FCPA, compliance, investigations, regulatory counselling such as money-laundering regulations, data-privacy and employment. She has led investigations and compliance projects across Europe, the Middle East and all of Asia Pacific, and has counselled clients on matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. SEC, FINRA, and the HK SFC as well as investigations by enforcement agencies in Asia. Most recently, Yuet led investigations in Israel, South Africa, China, Australia, Japan and Vietnam.

Yuet was most recently awarded “Top 100 Women in Law” in the Asia Pacific region 2020 and “Dispute Resolution Star - White-collar” in 2019 by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific and recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Global Investigations Review 2019-2020 and Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Hong Kong 2020. Yuet has also been awarded the Emerging Markets “Compliance & Investigations Lawyer of the Year” by The American Lawyer, with the team also recognized as the “Compliance/Investigations Firm of the Year.”

She has also been acknowledged as a “Leading Lawyer” by Chambers Asia Pacific across four categories namely “Dispute Resolution: Litigation,” “Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption,” “Life Sciences” and “Financial Services: Contentious Regulatory.” Additionally, Yuet is recognized in the “Financial Services Regulatory” in IFLR1000 as a “Leading Lawyer” and has also been listed by Who’s Who Legal as a “Leading Business Lawyer” in three separate categories namely “Life Sciences,” “Business Crime Defense” and “Investigations.” She is regarded as “one of the best-informed regulatory lawyers in the region and was the only lawyer awarded the Client Choice Award 2016 by the International Law Office in the White Collar Crime practice in Hong Kong.

In the 2018 edition of Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific, under the Corporate Investigations chapter, Yuet is described as “exceptionally bright” and “very responsive and knowledgeable and can immediately dive into the issues.” In the life sciences chapter, clients shared: “We have always been impressed by her leadership, professionalism, tenacity and savvy technical skills, but more so by her demeanor —her warm hospitality and friendly approach. You will love to work with Yuet.”

According to the 2015 edition of Chambers Global, “Ms. Tham is described by clients as “a marvelous and gifted attorney” while peers acknowledge her prowess in working with clients in the life science sector. She is active advising on anti-corruption issues across Asia, with a focus on assisting businesses on FCPA investigations in China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam.” Meanwhile, Chambers Asia Pacific noted that Yuet “is frequently sought after by international corporations, who respect her experience and expertise in risk management.” In addition, she is described as being “highly thought of in the life sciences industry” and that industry players appreciate her “wealth of knowledge of the latest trends across the region” as well as having a “tough, no-nonsense approach in tackling tricky compliance questions.”  

Prior to joining Sidley, Yuet has also held roles as a Deputy Public Prosecutor in Singapore and was the Asia Pacific Regional Compliance Director for Pfizer.

Yuet is frequently invited to speak at major conferences around the world.