Meiyen Tan ON: Paving the Way for Women in Restructuring & Insolvency

Shulin talks to high-profile R&I lawyer Meiyen, about her journey to becoming the first female to lead a restructuring and insolvency legal practice in Singapore. In this interview, we discuss how she overcomes imposter syndrome, differentiates herself in a male-dominated industry, and how she’s embraced her feminine qualities.Meiyen is the Co-head of R&I with Oon & Bazul. A career that spans across more than 20 years, Meiyen has acted for and advised individuals, multi-national corporations, court-appointed administrators, distressed and special situations funds and banks in Singapore and abroad. Prior to joining Oon & Bazul, Meiyen was a partner at one of the Big Four domestic law practices in Singapore. She is also one of the founding members of the Singapore Network of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC).Mei Yen Tan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mei-yen-tan-629a4a7Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shulinlee/ More on the podcast - https://www.AfterTheBar.com.sgWhat to listen for:2:07  Start of her journey as an R&I lawyer3:44  Transiting from Big 4 to boutique firm5:14  How she decided to make that move7:53  Growing the restructuring practice and team9:25  Differentiating herself in a male-dominated industry10:52  First female lead of a restructuring practice 13:43  Women supporting women?15:33  Men lending a helping hand16:25  IWIRC - Organization providing a platform for women to network20:26  What is R&I? Example of Toys “R” Us restructuring21:38  Covid’s impact on R&I23:41  Different segments of R&I law24:54  Singapore’s  new reforms to R&I law25:47  Winning work from New York, clients using Singapore instead27:20  Role of mediation in R&I28:37  Embracing her feminine qualities31:41  How cyclical is the work in R&I?34:33  Advice to lawyers looking to do R&I37:59  Social media’s impact on business development39:06  Super priority financing - a valuable tool40:19  Rapid fire questions People mentioned on the show:Anantham Kasinather - https://www.sreeharryco.com/partners.phpWong Chee Lin - https://www.skrine.com/people/partners/wong-chee-lin Keith Han - https://oonbazul.com/partners/keithhan Abdul Malik - https://oonbazul.com/partners/abdul-malikIWIRC - https://www.iwirc.com/networks/singapore