Julia Yeo is a regional hub partner for our Labor & Employment and Immigration teams in Asia Pacific, and has been recognized by the 2020 Client Choice Awards as the exclusive winner in the Employment & Benefits category for Singapore.

Julia has extensive experience advising multinational clients on employee transfers and integration projects arising from mergers, acquisitions and amalgamations. In addition, she regularly advises corporate and senior C-suite level clients on all aspects of the employment cycle, from hiring, internal investigations, disciplinary and grievance issues to termination. Drawing from her litigation background, she has had the added advantage of being able to advise clients on contentious employment issues such as disputes on enforceability of restrictive covenants.

Julia also has significant experience advising clients on employment issues arising from their regional offices in Asia, aligning their internal processes with global strategies and adapting them for compliance with the diverse laws in the region. In addition, Julia has developed a highly successful immigration practice assisting multinational corporates in global mobility issues faced when moving their staff within the region.

Clients have praised Julia as being “very thorough and an expert in the field of employment law” (Chambers Asia Pacific 2020), “excellent, and the fact that she covers all of Asia is of tremendous value; she is always available and provides brilliant advice” (Chambers Asia Pacific 2021).

She is also recognized by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and is described as being “confident in her advice and able to explain it very clearly or ask the right questions in order to get the information she needs in order to provide the advice required. She is collaborative and always seeks to understand the root of the problem.” Julia is passionate about all aspects of employment practice and particularly enjoys delivering training for clients, designing bespoke programs to equip their internal HR teams and raising the level of HR engagement.

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  • Advising various multinational clients expanding in the Southeast Asia region with their corporate set up, initial hiring process and subsequent advice through the entire employment cycle.
  • Advising multinational clients in reviewing employment structures for compliance in the Southeast Asian region, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, creating a template of hire documentation adaptable for the specific requirements for each jurisdiction and providing comparative risk analysis of the possible structure and engagement framework.
  • Advising various multinational clients in risk analysis on changes to employment terms, grandfathering benefit schemes, business restructuring and other business-driven initiatives.
  • Acting as external investigators for high-level sensitive investigations into whistleblower/employee complaints ranging from sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination, toxic culture and fraud across jurisdictions in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India.
  • Advising various clients in pursuing/defending claims with respect of breach of non-competes or confidentiality obligations for C-suite level personnel, devising strategies and approaches in mitigating risks of breach or countersuit.
  • Advising clients in contentious trade union disputes over re-employment and salary increments for union members and disputing the claim for recognition by a trade union seeking entry into the company.
  • Advising and assisting various clients across industries to obtain immigration visas and transfer to work in multiple jurisdictions in the region.

Education

  • National University of Singapore, LL.B.

Admissions

  • England and Wales, 2004
  • Singapore, 1994

Languages

  • English
  • Mandarin
  • “Julia Yeo and (Eu Li Lian) are both knowledgeable and well-connected with partner firms in the region to be able to support in various jurisdictions and provide clear advice on how to deal with employment matters.” The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
  • “Julia Yeo is very experienced and stands out technically from her peers.” The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
  • “Julia is a tremendous pleasure to work with. She gives very solid advice for business purposes.” Chambers Asia Pacific
  • “She (Julia) is a great support in the wider region on the full range of employment-related matters.” Chambers Asia Pacific
  • “Julia brings a level of professionalism yet sensibility not often present in legal advisers. Her knowledge and expertise are unquestionable.” Chambers Asia Pacific
  • “Their approach is usually measured with a strong focus on understanding the problem statement and aligning it with the company and the industry. They ensure the right people weigh in on matters and that’s provided to us with sensible advice.” Chambers Asia Pacific

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