This issue features an interview with Lawyer Oreo Tan from Chongqing Kunyuan Hengtai Law Firm. He shared his educational experiences, career path, and work content, and provided his insights on the career planning of young legal professionals.
Lexloong: Please give a brief introduction of yourself
Oreo: I studied at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2019. After graduation, I returned to Chongqing to practice at a law firm. After the internship, I came to Kunyuan Hengtai Law Firm. I work mainly in administrative litigation, but also in construction projects and intellectual property.
Lexloong: People are more familiar with civil and commercial lawyers, but they may not know much about administrative litigation. Could you provide a more detailed introduction to the field of administrative litigation?
Oreo: Administrative litigation cover a wide range of areas. For example, government departments will receive letters and complaints, and our job is to respond to these letters and complaints. If citizens want to request a review or file a lawsuit against this response, we would also be involved. This is very different from civil and commercial litigation. In administrative litigation, the government mainly participates as the defendant in the court proceedings, in order to prove the legality of its actions.
The Study Part
Lexloong: What universities did you apply to？Why did you choose Vanderbilt？
Oreo: I applied to Boston University , Emory , UCLA , Georgetown , and Penn , and UCLA was still on the waitlist , so I chose Vanderbilt .
First of all, I love Nashville, a country city, and second, I'm a big fan of Taylor Swift, and Vanderbilt is a "music city," and the cities around Vanderbilt (like Memphis) have a strong music scene.
Lexloong: Do you think Vanderbilt University provides enough legal resources？
Oreo: I think there is a lot. At Vanderbilt Law School, the LLM and JD students take classes together, and their grades are ranked together as well. The school also offers a dedicated career center, where we can send our resumes for review and get guidance based on our individual career goals. Vanderbilt also organizes many coffee chat-style lectures, where a few students share their academic challenges and future plans with professors. Additionally, Vanderbilt offers many internship opportunities. Some students leave class in suits and ties to go for internship interviews, and the professors are aware of this—they are very supportive of students seeking job opportunities.
Lexloong: What was the composition of your classmates during your LLM studies, and what is their situation regarding staying in the U.S.?
Oreo: Most of the students are fresh graduates. Only a few stay in the U.S., around 3-4 people.
Lexloong: What do you think is the most important thing to do during your LLM？
Oreo: Friends, roommates, and other people who can help you are important. Studying for an LLM at Vanderbilt can be very stressful, as well as having difficulties with the language and culture. After classes, my friends and I would study together to help each other. After 1L, 2L was much easier.Sometimes it is very difficult for a person to struggle in a foreign country, so it is very important to have friends.
Lexloong: If you were planning to practice litigation before you started your LLM, what courses would you recommend studying during your LLM？
Oreo: Property, torts, and contracts are important if you're going to study in the U.S. Secondly, if you want to do intellectual property business in China, the U.S. intellectual property law is worth learning.
The Work Part
Lexloong: I have the impression that there are more people who do non-litigation business after staying in the United States. Why did you choose litigation business？
Oreo: Because you can learn different expertise in litigation cases. In each case, each party and case is different, especially in the field of administrative litigation, different government departments are responsible for different business. If you want to serve them, you need to understand the laws and regulations in different fields.
Lexloong: What’s your opinuin about how can undergraduates find their preferred direction within limited opportunities?
Oreo: Undergraduate and graduate students can do more internships to find areas of interest. Secondly, you can also dig into your own personality. I don't like the restrained work. I have an extroverted personality, so I decided to be a lawyer.
Lexloong: What do you think how law students socialize effectively？
Oreo: I think there's a saying that’s quite true: 'Different circles, don't try to blend in blindly.' For undergraduates, their career plans might not be very clear, so they won’t be very proactive in socializing. But if you do meet friends you can connect with, you should cherish those relationships.
During my LLM studies, Vanderbilt Law School had a weekly cocktail gathering on Thursdays, which both LLM and JD students attended. We would share the events and pressures we encountered during the week. American students are quite open, and they tend to feel that Chinese students are more reserved. I think it’s important to take the initiative to greet them and start a conversation, as they are usually very enthusiastic and willing to engage. At other times, you can invite them to join in some traditional Chinese activities, like making dumplings during the Spring Festival. Although it may be time-consuming, it’s very important.
Lexloong: What is your current daily work content and status？
Oreo: First, it's about revising contracts. Then, participating in important meetings, where we might provide legal opinions on government proposals in real time. After that, there's court hearings and handling petition complaints and response documents.
The work can be said to be very exhausting because the requirements for government departments are extremely strict, and mistakes cannot be tolerated. Moreover, we don’t serve just one government department, and the work schedule is very full.
My hobbies are quite diverse. After work, I go to the gym, walk my dog, or take a stroll. I usually go to bed around 11 PM and generally don’t work during my rest time. I wake up around 7 AM and then head to the law firm. I really strive for a good Work-Life Balance (WLB), where life and work have their own rhythm.
Lexloong: Is administrative litigation a business that is highly region-specific?
Oreo: Yes. The government may have more faith in local lawyers.But sometimes we have to go to other places to work, like when we sue local governments as plaintiffs.
Lexloong: What do you think is the most important thing during your school time ？
Oreo: Travel. Many professors don't understand the behavior of Chinese students doing reading during the vacation, and they think the vacation should be used to relax.Personally, I think the sense of relaxation is very important, and I have traveled to many cities during my LLM.
Lexloong: Besides the area you practice in, which area do you think is the most promising？
Oreo: Personally, I think commercial arbitration has a good future. In recent years, the country has been actively recruiting talents with knowledge of arbitration, and the value of arbitration cases is also quite high. If you are involved in commercial arbitration, it’s important to focus on company law and its judicial interpretations. Additionally, one should have a commercial mindset and think about how to operate a company well from the perspective of corporate governance. It’s also necessary to understand arbitration law and the arbitration rules of each arbitration institution."
Lexloong: "What aspects of your current job do you find most attractive?"
Oreo: "I think work itself is just a profession, and it doesn’t have much inherent attraction. However, the opportunity to meet different people, handle different situations, and learn new knowledge is quite interesting."
Suggestions for Young Lawyers
Lexloong: Do you have any advice for fresh graduates ？
Oreo: follow your heart , know what kind of life you want to live in the future, and have a plan.
Lexloong: Finally, what message do you want to send to everyone？
Oreo: The demand for administrative litigation is bound to increase. Local development at all levels should also be led by the government, so administration in accordance with laws and regulations is the support of local investment attraction and continuous development.
Comments