Episode 185 – Becoming a T shaped lawyer with Wenee Yap
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In this week’s episode of the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast’ I had the pleasure of interviewing lawyer/ entrepreneur/ academic/ all round intelligent and funny woman Wenee Yap! I fell upon Wenee a few years ago now thanks to a Facebook Page I now know she and some friends established when she was at University called Survive Law. This page kept me well entertained with great insights and humour about all things law school and having learned a little more about Wenee this past year or so, I now know exactly where that perfect mix of intelligence and fun comes from!
Wenee is another great example of a lawyer following what we might call an unconventional path! I say that having interviewed about 185 lawyers now that all seem to have followed some sort of ‘unconventional path’ so I am starting to wonder what a conventional path in law in 2020 might look like! None the less, Wenee has managed to build a career in the law that plays to her strengths- firstly in Academia where she has had the chance to study and later teach ethics. And alongside her Academic roles Wenee has had roles in marketing and technology in a variety of legal orgnanisations.
In this chat I also learned about a great ‘COVID-19 Collaboration’ that has resulted in Wenee and a group of colleagues establishing a new business- Bottled Law– a place where lawyers and lawyers to be can access webinars, courses and other great resources to upskill us all in the technology and business skills needed to excel in a modern law firm. I love this collaboration and the products is it producing. Bottled Law is a great example of what is possible when some savy colleagues pull together their skills and knowledge.
And my favourite piece…. well that is hard in this one but I think Wenee’s way of describing the skill set of a 2020 great lawyer- a T shape- deep knowledge in a legal niche and wide knowledge in the business and tech skills our clients need.
Wenee and I also chatted about-
- If Wenee was not a lawyer she would have been a screenwriter for Hollywood.
- Wenee’s experience growing up in Australia across two cultures and how that has shaped her experience in life and in the law.
- The term ‘Vulcan’ explained thanks to Wenee!
- Wenee was born in Malaysia and shares some of her early experience between Malaysia and Sydney during high school and University.
- Performing arts in Wenee’s life (and how she has kept that passion alive in her career)
- Racism in Australia and the changes Wenee has seen in her lifetime.
- Wenee’s experience as a Lecturer at UTS in Legal Eithics.
- How Wenee ended up a marketing manager!
- Wenee’s experience at Law School and what drove her to start ‘Survive Law’.
- Job security and students graduating the law- the skills we need today.
- Wenee’s experience of lock-down and the space it gave her to re-focus.
- Never build something unless it fills a need, which Bottled Law did!
- Becoming a T shaped lawyer.
- The balancing act between the client experience and being lawyer centric.
- Finding purpose both in and outside of the law.
- Success and Happiness are both verbs in Wenee’s world.
- Wenee’s thoughts on wellness and mental health in our industry.
- Wenee’s Happiness Tip.
Sit back and enjoy this interview with Wenee Yap
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Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre- A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.
Listen to last week’s episode here
