To me, what makes this firm stand out is the type of work that we do and the people that we get to do the work with.

Ever since I started studying law, I have been captivated by the challenge of finding practical and creative solutions to complex legal issues, particularly those arising from the interface between law and technology. This passion of mine naturally led me to Bird & Bird – a technology-focused international firm renowned for being at the forefront of emerging areas of law.

With great joy and excitement, I joined Bird & Bird as a summer clerk in 2022 and have since then become a paralegal, graduate and now lawyer at the firm.

To me, what makes this firm stand out is the type of work that we do and the people that we get to do the work with. The work almost always has an international dimension and often involves cutting-edge legal issues that traverses different areas of law. As a result, we regularly engage in stimulating discussions about the various strategies and innovative solutions that we should adopt as well as collaborations with colleagues across different teams and offices. 

As for the people, everyone that I’ve worked with at the firm has been incredibly intelligent, openminded, hardworking, friendly and supportive. I’ve always felt comfortable asking a senior member of the team questions about a task I’ve been assigned to do or letting them know that I don’t capacity to take on a new task. I am particularly grateful to the senior associates, special counsels and partners that I’ve worked with for all the detailed feedback and training they have provided me and their patience in explaining certain legal concepts that I’ve not previously dealt with before. 

So far, I’ve rotated in the Dispute Resolution, Commercial – Tech Transactions and Intellectual Property teams and have been involved in numerous interesting matters. Some of my highlights include:

• Going to court every day for a week as a summer clerk to assist the Dispute Resolution team and take detailed notes of a defamation trial at the Federal Court;
• Advising a global IT service company on various contract law and commercial law issues arising from a major Australian transport infrastructure project that they are involved;
• Advising a global automotive manufacturer on various regulatory issues arising from an electric vehicle charging service they plan to launch in Australia;
• Advising a global electronics manufacturer on various AI and data privacy issues arising from a new electronic device they plan to launch in Australia,
• Preparing and producing documents in response to a statutory Notice to Produce issued by a Commonwealth regulator in relation to a major cybersecurity incident in Australia;
• Preparing discovery documents and evidence for one of the world’s first AI copyright infringement lawsuits;
• Preparing submissions and evidence on behalf of a major Australian telecommunications company for a domain name dispute;
• Preparing court documents and evidence on behalf of a major Australian animal health company for an urgent interlocutory application hearing at the Federal Court, which arose from an ongoing patent dispute.

On reflection, Bird & Bird has exceedingly met my ever-growing curiosity and passion for law. Now, as I complete my graduate rotations and settle into a team, I look forward to a promising and rewarding future at Bird & Bird in 2025 and beyond.