Partner, Intellectual Property, Hong Kong & International Trade Marks
Education
Juris Doctorate, University of San Francisco
Bachelor of Arts, University of San Francisco
My first Deacons Encounter
Joining the firm as a Paralegal
I have always appreciated the challenges and the fast pace presented by intellectual property law. When I graduated from law school in California, I wanted to gain work experience practicing IP in Asia and Deacons had a well-established practice, so it was a natural choice for me to join the team.
Over the years, it has been a privilege to work with many talented and passionate IP lawyers at Deacons. Here I can fully appreciate the culture of striving for excellence.
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I advise clients ranging from start-ups to multinational conglomerates on brand protection and commercialisation. I work with lawyers and paralegals in my team, and we also often work cross-functionally with Deacons’ colleagues in other practice groups as well as overseas IP professionals. This is because many of our clients’ businesses are multi-jurisdictional and multifaceted, involving issues of branding, e-commerce, advertising, licensing, regulatory, etc. I also keep myself appraised of the latest developments and trends of our clients’ industries which include pharmaceutical, entertainment, hospitality, consumer goods, luxury goods, and financial.
I trained in the United States, and requalified in Hong Kong. While the pass rate of the re-qualification exam was in the single digits, it was a necessary step for me to establish myself as a full-fledged IP lawyer in Hong Kong. With perseverance and the support from my supervising partner at the time, I successfully re-qualified locally. I also enjoy teaching. I had the opportunity to teach IP law at HKU SPACE. This was an enriching experience for me as I often found that no matter how knowledgeable I was on any particular topic, almost inevitably there was something new for me to learn.
While working full-time, I wanted to learn more about the practicality of litigations under the Commonwealth system. So I studied IP litigation at Nottingham Law School. I would travel to Nottingham every quarter for an intensive week of lectures and practicals. The programme lasted for two years. It was extremely valuable in broadening my legal skills, allowing me to advise on IP issues holistically and not to artificially compartmentalise legal problems into different disciplines of IP law.
I speak on trade mark law and related subjects at international IP conferences. Learning is still fun after working in IP for many years.
I have a grade schooler at home, and in my eyes he is the most demanding client! Being a working parent can be both very rewarding and challenging at the same time. Now that my child is more independent, I am gradually resuming my arts and crafts hobbies. My passion for crafting is put to good use when I help out with Sunday school classes.
I believe two key ingredients to a fulfilling career in law are: being passionate about what you do and having a love for learning. I chose law as a career because I enjoy problem solving, whether it is a game of Sudoku, a jigsaw puzzle or helping a client to find legal solutions as a part of my daily work. I relish the process of dissecting a problem and objectively examining my basic assumptions and sometimes having to debunk them. It is very satisfying to be able to provide commercially sound solutions to our clients’ problems.
