5 QUESTIONS WITH LEE WEILIN ON LAWYERING IN THE SUSTAINABILITY SPACE
She heads Rajah & Tann’s sustainability practice.
How did you get into the sustainability practice of Rajah & Tann?
In the years just before COVID, I saw signs of growing interest in green financing in Singapore and in the region. But even then, interest in the wider area of sustainability was still nascent. What really drove the interest in sustainability to new heights was the pandemic, as stakeholders and clients became more concerned about existential issues that may affect the long-term prospects of the community, businesses, lives and livelihood. There was also the importance placed on a green and sustainable recovery post-COVID.
On a personal note, I have always been keenly interested in issues around inequality, climate change, development of economies and governance. So when the firm looked at formalising a Sustainability Practice, it seemed to be a natural calling for me to step forward to further my personal and professional interest in this area and to lead the practice.
What does it mean to be a lawyer in sustainability practice what should practitioners looking to get into the area know?
A lawyer in sustainability practice needs to have a good understanding of the issues and problems in sustainability, which are often non-legal in nature. The issues in sustainability are broad and complex, so understanding the issues may require some knowledge in economic or social principles. Legal practitioners in this area should be able to work together with other sustainability professionals and stakeholders to achieve the sustainability objective of the transaction. This goes beyond the usual role of lawyers which would only have involved protecting and advancing the interest of the clients.
How big is the team and what are the kinds of matters you handle?
The Sustainability Practice in Rajah & Tann is made up of specialist partners from five main areas of practice: Banking, Construction, Dispute, Capital Markets and Mergers and Acquisition, and Trade and Environment. Our work ranges from working on sustainable financing transactions, advising financial institutions and asset managers on regulatory issues relating to environmental risk management, to advising on renewable project transactions, and advising companies on the legal issues relating to the development of sustainability initiatives.
What are some misconceptions others may have about such a practice area?
That the practice area is all about environmental and climate change issues - it is not. The practice goes beyond looking at just these issues.
Tell us about the trends you’re seeing in sustainable financing. How will the push to decarbonise affect these trends?
We continue to see sustainability-linked debt financing forming the bulk of the transactions. These sustainability-linked financing generally have targets linked to interest rate/coupon rate. Such financing is partly brought about by the market's drive to decarbonise to bring down carbon emissions and in some industries, to transit to using cleaner energy or renewable energy. We have also seen a growing interest in social loans or bonds in the market. But more importantly, what we have seen is a growing consciousness of the difficulties of sustainable financing, such as the principles of additionality and this is a good thing because it means that the market looking into the deeper issues of sustainability.
Ms Lee joins a webinar on sustainable financing, along with Ms Kala Anandarajah and Mr Soh Lip San (both of Rajah & Tann). Register here.
