Mei Gong was impressive before being named NSW Young Lawyer of the Year 2023. As a competition and consumer lawyer, she has helped clients get ACCC merger clearance on $100M+ deals, represented immunity applicants in criminal and civil cartel proceedings and helped another client get the first ever resale price maintenance authorisation in New Zealand. A 30 Under 30 winner, she regularly shares her reflections and tips on providing value as a young lawyer on LinkedIn. She also started the first Foreign Qualified Lawyer interview publication in Australia. All of this while training - and running - a half-marathon, no mean feat for someone who “didn’t enjoy fitness” before she started.
Unsurprisingly, Mei Gong is often asked for her career advice by young lawyers, below we share Mei’s top career tips for getting ahead in the competitive legal industry.
Sharing support in a competitive profession and not giving up
“In an often-competitive profession, I hope I can encourage others to consider sharing (or if they are already doing so, sharing more) of their learnings with others along the way,” Mei says. “This can allow us to do as much as we can to ensure junior lawyers have a smooth transition into the profession.”
Mei’s desire to collaborate and support fellow lawyers, as well as learn from more experienced lawyers, might have been unheard of a generation ago. This approach signals a cultural shift from the intensely competitive zero-sum game of getting ahead that often characterised the corporate law experience.
“I won the award in December 2023, so it has only been a couple of months since then and it’s all still sinking in! It is also probably a testament to the importance of not giving up. I applied for the same award the year before and did not make the cut to be a finalist that year. If you don’t keep trying, you might never know where your next try might take you,” Mei reflects. “I feel very grateful for the recognition and for the ongoing support that the Law Society of NSW has provided to my career.”
Stay humble, deliver good work, and enjoy the journey
“The best insights will always be those that junior lawyers distil for themselves through their unique journeys,” Mei Gong says. However, Mei has highlighted her own three key points that she found helpful early in her career:
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Keep it simple and do the simple things well.
“Have a good attitude, pay attention to the details and consistently aim to produce high-quality work. Do your best and take stock of every opportunity that comes your way, big or small, intellectually stimulating or not. You never know where an opportunity may lead you in the long term.”
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Be confident and humble.
“Be confident about what you do know and be humble about what you don’t know. Know where and when you need to seek out the missing information that will help you become a better lawyer, a more effective colleague and an all-round more awesome human being!”
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You will have a chance to do everything you want, but you may not be able to do it all at once.
“Don’t be too laser-focused on getting to the next ‘rung’ of your career ladder or the next milestone or you will completely miss the joy of the journey itself. Having a fulfilling life or career at the end of the day is all about doing more of what gives you (and possibly others) joy. Figuring out your purpose or source of fulfilment will give you more lasting joy than seeking to live up to the expectations of others.”
To stay relevant, seek help from your team, mentors and draft legal updates
The law, as they say, is a moveable feast. Not only do lawyers need to keep pace with legal updates, but improved technology and new business models, this mean they risk getting left behind if they don’t also understand how to succeed in the business of law.
Staying up to date with the law can be difficult. “It can often seem impossible,” Mei Admits. As such, she tries to do a few simple things:
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Leverage the benefits of being part of a team.
“Chances are different members of your team will have different interest areas. It is often useful for team members to come together and share the latest updates on their areas of interest. Team meetings can be a treasure trove of knowledge.”
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Drafting articles, client updates and presentations and attending CLE seminars are great ways to update your knowledge.
“It provides an opportunity for you to take a deeper dive (often in an area of interest) and step into the client’s shoes and think about how a legal development or update may affect their business. Likewise, attending internal or external presentations or conferences on legal updates can help you to network with peers and stay up to date with the latest trends.”
- Give yourself grace that you may not be able to (and most likely don’t have to) stay up to date with every legal development relevant to your role, but you should become familiar with where you can find out what you don’t know if you ever need it.
“Whether by reading articles, researching or locating international regulator press releases, or reviewing cases, being aware of what you don’t know and where you can find the answers to what you don’t know will help you fill gaps in your knowledge even if you are time-poor.”
Finding good mentors can help you progress your career, and better understand the business of law.
“Mentorship has been invaluable in my career,” Mei says. “I have learnt a lot from different mentors over my career so far. Some mentors worked in the same firm and were a few years ahead of me in terms of legal experience. They have given me immediate and practical advice for some of the challenges I have faced.”
“I have also had mentors who are much more experienced in the legal profession, or even outside of the profession, who have given me new perspectives and invaluable advice on opportunities and career dilemmas,” Mei says.
“Some of the best career advice I have ever received, and the most invaluable career support, have come from my mentors. I have sought to pay forward that invaluable guidance by being a mentor to other junior lawyers in the profession.”
To find work-life balance, make time for what you enjoy
Beginning a career amidst a global pandemic is an experience that has shaped this emerging generation of high achievers. Lawyers like Mei, who desire balance and good support.
“Truth be told, I am not sure whether any lawyer has a perfect ‘work-life’ balance, myself included,” Mei says. “I am constantly figuring out what the right ‘balance’ is for me at any one time. I try to set clear professional and life goals and ensure I am pursuing both – and not neglecting one completely at the expense of the other!”
“As lawyers, we almost never have enough time and there is always something else we can do in our never ending ‘to do list’,” Mei shares. “It is important we ‘carve out’ time to pursue other interests and spend time doing whatever it is that gives us joy, whether that’s spending time with loved ones or pursuing a hobby or doing something else entirely.”
“You will have a very long career path ahead of you, regardless of whether you end up staying in the law or not, so don’t burn out in your endeavour to burn bright and take care of yourself first, always.”
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