This special “women only” event brings together distinguished female professionals from the fields of law and finance. The evening will feature a panel discussion in which the speakers share insights into their careers and reflect on gender-specific challenges and opportunities in the workplace.

Moderator:

• Maria-Therese Bless

  Maria-Therese Bless is a lawyer at A&O Shearman, specializing in German and EU financial regulation, with a particular focus on the digital transformation of financial markets and crypto-assets regulation. She advises leading financial institutions and FinTechs on authorization, conduct, and compliance mattersand brings significant experience in complex cross-border regulatory and digital assets-relatedmatters.

Panelists:

• Andrea van Almsick

  Andrea van Almsick is the General Cousel of tradias GmbH, a leading company in digital asset and crypto trading. An accomplished professional in the financial sector, Andrea van Almsick has built a strong international career in asset management, serving as Head of Legal at Fidelity International and AXA Investment Managers. She is a former Board of Donors member of the ILF.

• Miao Lin

  Miao Lin is the managing director of ACT Applied Carbon Technology GmbH, a company active in the wind energy sector. Alongside her executive role, she oversees the company’s legal and compliance functions. Prior to joining ACT, Miao Lin gained extensive experience in capital markets and M&A. She advised companies and investment banks on IPOs, capital increases and bond offerings in Germany and Hong Kong. As M&A counsel, she focused on cross-border transactions involving Chinese investors. In addition, Miao Lin has a strong interest in international arbitration and served as a member of the China Committee of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS). To promote cooperation and dialogue between the German and Chinese arbitration communities, she has helped organize and acted as a moderator at several high-profile joint arbitration events in Beijing, Frankfurt, and Berlin. She is an alumna of the ILF.

• Dr. Ulrike Binder

  Dr. Ulrike Binder is a Partner at Mayer Brown and heads Mayer Brown’s German Corporate Group. She is a transactional lawyer advising German and international clients on complex transactions with a special focus on the financial industry. She has extensive international experience working on cross-border transactions in international teams. She is a lecturer at the ILF.

• Dr. Hildegard Bison

  Dr. Hildegard Bison serves as Assistant General Counsel, Customer & Products ESA and MOW Refining, and is a Member of the Management Board at BP Europa SE. She brings extensive in-house legal and leadership experience within the energy sector, advising on complex regulatory, commercial, and strategic matters across European and international markets. Before joining BP she has been an equity partner at Freshfields for more than a decade.

• Dr. Gökçe Uzar Schüller

  Dr. Gökçe Uzar Schüller is an Associated Partner and lawyer at GvW Graf von Westphalen. She advises companies on market entry and business operations in Turkey and heads the firm’s Turkey Desk. Dr. Uzar Schüller has extensive experience, particularly in M&A transactions, German-Turkish legal matters, and cross-border transactions. Additionally, she has a background as an arbitrator and serves as both an arbitrator and counsel in numerous international arbitration cases under the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) and DIS (German Arbitration Institute). She was a Lecturer at the LMU (Ludwig Maximilian University) and also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The event is designed as an interactive forum, encouraging open discussion and exchange. It aims to inspire participants, provide guidance on career development, and foster a strong professional network among female students and alumnae of the ILF.

We look forward to welcoming you to an inspiring and empowering event.