Caroline Berube

BCL, LL.B
Admitted in New York and Singapore

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Caroline Berube is the Managing Partner of HJM Asia Law, a boutique law firm with offices in China and Singapore. She is admitted to practice in New York and Singapore, holds a BCL (civil law) and an LL.B. (common law) from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and studied at the National University of Singapore with a focus on Chinese law in 1998/1999. Caroline worked as a lawyer in Singapore, Bangkok, China and South Africa (China Africa desk) for British and Chinese firms and established her own firm in 2007.

Based in Asia since 1998, Caroline represents SMEs, MNCs, foreign banks and private equity firms in the Asia Pacific region dividing her time between HJM offices in China and Singapore.  She focusses on M&A cross-border transactions, commercial law and intellectual property matters (licencing and technology transfers), areas in which she has developed a respected expertise and understanding of the challenges and advantages of most Asian jurisdictions.  Caroline advises clients in various industries, including manufacturing, technology, entertainment, e-commerce, luxury industry, agriculture, trading and services. She is an arbitrator approved by the Chinese European Arbitration Center (CEAC) and a foreign arbitrator appointed by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC).

Caroline has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Bloomberg, the Straits Times, the Business Times, Les Affaires and La Presse and is a regular speaker at international conferences.  She has lectured twice a 45-hour course on Chinese law at Université Laval (Canada), and currently lectures annually at Bocconi University and at the Sorbonne Assas Law School on legal corporate structures, M&A, IP/Technology, employment law in Asia. Caroline was selected in 2015 as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (https://www.weforum.org/communities/young-global-leaders). Caroline also joined YPO in May 2021.

Awards

  • 2015 – Global Inspirational Leadership Award, World Women Leadership Congress and Awards
  • 2008 – Caroline was one of the three finalists of the Leadership award of the Quebec Financial Women Association. This award was for three women who made their mark as leader in the business and financial fields.

Publications

  • November 2018- authored a book entitled “Doing Business in China”, published by LexisNexis
  • January 2015- authored an article in the Canadian International Lawyer Journal, “Pointers and Tips When Negotiating Contracts with Chinese Companies”
  • June 2014-2015- Contributed the China chapter for  “Mergers & Acquisitions” 2014 edition published by Getting The Deal Through;
  • March 2011-2015 – Contributed the China chapters on Fund Formation and Transactions in the 2014 edition of “Private Equity”, published by Getting The Deal Through (annual publication);
  • November 2014- Caroline was profiled and interviewed for the M&A Market Intelligence, published by Getting The Deal Through
  • 2012-2014- Interviewed various judges for the quarterly IPBA journal including Michiyoshi Kiuchi-  Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan, Dieter Brändle- President of the Swiss Federal Paten Court, Honourable Justice Cha-  Supreme Court of South Korea and Minister of National Court Administration, Honorable Chief Justice Thomas Bathurst- Supreme Court of New South Wales, Honorable Justice Susan Glazebrook- Supreme Court of New Zealand and Honourable Chief Justice Michael Hwang – DIFC Courts.
  • November 2013-  co-authored an article in the Canadian International Lawyer Journal, “Are Employees Protected in China? Or, What To Keep in Mind if You Intend To Hire Individuals in China”; 
  • November 2013- Contributed the China chapter to the Tax Litigation book by the European Lawyer Reference Series
  • October 2013- an article in Primerus Paradigm Fall 2013, Development of the Data Protection in China;
  • August 2013- Contributed Singapore and China chapters to Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Asia – 2nd Edition”by Juris Publishing;
  • January 2013 – Co–authored an article in Primerus Paradigm Winter 2013, providing an overview of a foreign employer’s legal responsibilities when deciding to hire local and foreign employees in China;
  • May 2012 – Authored the article: “Le marché chinois des produits pharmaceutiques et chimiques” in The Coopèrative d’Achats Stratègiques (CASI) Journal which looks at the pharmaceutical and chemical products in the Chinese Market;
  • Other publications can be found at our Publications page.

Member

You can contact Caroline at cberube@hjmasialaw.com