The KWM senior associate calls for greater support and reminders for lawyers to focus on wellbeing
For King & Wood Mallesons senior associate Ha Dinh, the law draws type A personalities and perfectionists who want to show their quality through the quality of their work. Thus, she calls on the legal support to remind these types that wellbeing need not be sacrificed on the altar of achievement.
In the second part of this interview, Dinh discusses why technology may limit junior lawyers and shares what she considers to be the most urgent problem in the profession.
What should the profession focus more on?
Lawyers’ general wellbeing remains an area I think deserves continued attention. The legal profession tends to attract type-A personalities and perfectionists who typically strive to produce high-quality work that reflects their calibre. These individuals generally don’t need additional pressure to do their job but instead support, and possibly a reminder every now and then, to not do so at the expense of their general wellbeing.
What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
Talent retention.
What are your thoughts on new technology and its impact on the legal profession?
I do believe technology brings exciting and valuable opportunities for lawyers to boost efficiency and product quality, and to reduce costs. However, it does present some challenges, including limiting more junior lawyers' opportunities to learn and gain fundamental skillsets.
For example, in the earlier years of my career, I received handwritten comments from senior associates and partners on my initial drafts. Incorporating these comments into the master version helped me register the issues I had overlooked and learn more effective drafting techniques. With the development of technology, these days, more experienced lawyers (myself included) usually review electronic versions of drafts, directly input comments, and send them to clients. This definitely shortens the overall delivery timeframe and boosts efficiency, but it also seems to limit the learning benefits the other method offers.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
Me being a bit greedy here to have more than one: an upward trajectory in M&A markets and the release of the sustainability reports we are assisting entities in putting together.
