Lynette Koh

Lynette heads our Banking & Finance Practice Group and co-heads our Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group. Prior to joining Helmsman, she was Head of Legal and Business Administration at Mizuho Bank, Ltd., in charge of its corporate banking business in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. Lynette has deep expertise in the funding needs and structures across a wide spectrum of industries. She has worked on the full range of commodities and trade financing transactions with banks and financial institutions, and major trading houses across the world. Lynette is one of few Singapore lawyers who also has expertise in derivatives and structured products, including ISDA documentation. Besides her inhouse experience at two large international banks, Lynette also spent more than a decade as a litigator specialising in banking and financing disputes, corporate insolvencies and debt restructuring at one of the largest law firms in Singapore. 

Lynette’s unique perspectives and experience as Head of Legal at an international bank, and as a dispute lawyer, make her a rare commodity amongst transactional corporate, banking and finance lawyers.  Her inhouse background has honed her ability to understand the needs of the business of a client, and to offer legal advice blended with practical solutions to any problem, which is often valued by clients.

Lynette’s practice also spans across fintech regulatory advice, and in the ESG space, where she often works with a variety of entities ranging from startups, to multi-national corporates. 

She has been recognised as a Highly Regarded Lawyer for several years by IFLR 1000, and also by Legal 500 for her expertise advising on complex cross-border financing matters, leveraging her extensive understanding of the energy, trade, ship, and commodities sectors across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region.

Lynette was one of the two inaugural recipients of the Singapore Academy of Law Post-Qualification Overseas Attachment Award – set up to expose deserving lawyers to the best practices in litigation or arbitration. She spent time in London working alongside renowned Queen's Counsels with established banking practices.

In her free time, Lynette runs a free legal clinic at the Singapore Association for the Deaf.