Tanja joined Cleveland & Co in November 2022 as our Managing Director APAC. Tanja has over 20+ years post qualification experience as a trusted adviser in the investment management, banking and finance industry in APAC and EMEA. Tanja is responsible for overseeing business development, client relationships, and all staff needs as well as supporting the CEO on the day to day working of the business in the region.
Tanja is an Australian qualified lawyer and has worked for Herbert Smith Freehills (formerly Freehills) based in Sydney, a top-tier law firm, in the Funds Management, and Banking and Finance practice groups including various secondments to leading financial institutions in Australia. Tanja also previously held the role of Head of Legal APAC (ex Japan) at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (based in Hong Kong and Australia) and more recently as APAC Counsel at Maven Securities Australia. Tanja has experience in investment management covering traditional asset management, private equity, corporate governance and regulatory advisory.
In practice, Tanja employs a solutions-oriented and commercial approach to addressing complex legal matters whilst managing client legal and regulatory risks. When not advising clients on all things investment management-related, Tanja enjoys spending time with her family and friends, travelling and long road trips.
Tanja has gained experience at the following institutions:
- Morgan Stanley Investment Management
- Maven Securities Australia
- Herbert Smith Freehills (formerly Freehills)
- Bankers Trust Australia
- Law Society of New South Wales, Australia
- Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia
- Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), University of Technology Sydney
- Bachelor of Economics (Economics & Business Law), Macquarie University
- English

Leela Fair has grown with Cleveland & Co and quickly proven her capabilities becoming the Acting Managing Director of our UK office in early 2021. She oversees business development, client relationships, and all staff needs as well as supports the CEO on the day to day working of the business.
Leela has risen to senior management very quickly through her drive and invaluable experience in financial service. Leela’s experience covers private equity, traditional fund, and hedge fund sectors and includes advising and assisting a range of services providers within the asset management industry including investment managers, investment advisors, administrators, brokers, custodians, introducers, regulatory platforms, pension funds and placement agents.
Leela is a determined and ambitious professional who is adept at working in varied and fast paced environments. Leela’s motivation, versatility and unflappable attitude, make her a highly valued member of the Cleveland & Co team. When she’s not inspiring us running the day to day at Cleveland & Co, you can find Leela reading through a cookbook and planning the weekend menu!
- Leela has developed a variety of skills namely in relation to:
- ACD Arrangements
- Administration
- AIFs
- Appointed Representative Arrangements
- Authorised funds (ACS, AUT, ICVC, UCITS and NURS)
- Broker Agreements
- CISs
- Commercial Contracts
- Custody
- Distribution
- EIS/SEIS
- Hedge Funds
- HR & Employment
- Institutional
- Intra-group Agreements
- Introducer Arrangements
- Listed Investment Companies
- Pooled Pension Funds
- Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Regulation, including: Capital Adequacy, Competition Law, FCA Rules & Guidance, GDPR, MiFID II, Prudential Requirements, SM&CR.
- Research Payments
- Service Agreements
- Sponsorship Arrangements
Qualified in England & Wales
- Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Limited: reviewing all documentation related to prospective investments (private equity, infrastructure, private debt, alternatives), managing side letter and MFN processes.
- Capital Group: carrying out an impact assessment, advising and updating legal documentation for MiFID II.
- Commodities World Capital: preparation of marketing documents, negotiation of all legal documents entered into between service providers and the AIFM, and liaising with Cayman and US counsel in relation to the launch of their Cayman fund.
- Fullerton –creating a global travelling portfolio policy and an assessment report advising on the impact of Capital Adequacy Requirements.
- Hambro Perks: reviewing investment documents for EIS/SEIS investments.
- Investment Association – reviewing member guidance, advising on regulatory issues such as MiFID II, Benchmark Regulations and the Market Abuse Regulations, and assisting with the launch of the IA’s Velocity FinTech Accelerator.
- J Stern: carrying out an impact assessment on research arrangements, advising and updating legal documentation for MiFID II and GDPR.
- Kin Capital: assisting with reviewing and updating appointed representative agreements, custodian terms of business and subscription and shareholder’s agreements.
- Mainspring: managing all custody agreement negotiations with their EIS/SEIS and private equity clients.
- Association of Women Solicitors
- Mentor, Amos Bursary Programme
- The Professional Skills Courses (Kaplan Altior, London)
- Litigation Programme (Kaplan Altior, London)
- Legal Practice Course (BPP Law School, London)
- Bachelor’s degree in Law (King’s College University, London)
- English
- French
- Conversational Italian