04 October 2007
Key Points:
Clayton Utz Litigation and Dispute Resolution senior associate Tara Eaton has traded in the fast-paced life of corporate Sydney for a career experience with a difference – and a chance to play a part in Vietnam's legal history.
At the beginning of this year Tara was awarded a place in AusAid's Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program, which places skilled Australians between the ages of 18 and 30 on short-term assignments in developing countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
For the past six months, Tara has been living in the Vietnam capital of Hanoi and working for the country's largest local commercial law firm. One of her key responsibilities is to assist in building a legal framework to help Vietnam’s transition to a market-oriented economy.
We asked Tara some questions about her experiences so far:
1. What motivated you to apply for the AusAid program?
I wanted to work overseas for a short period of time and I have always been interested in Asia. I’ve lived in China and Hong Kong and had travelled to Vietnam a number of times before and thought it would be an interesting place to spend more time. A Youth Ambassadorship looked like a great opportunity to combine my interests as well as contributing to the development of a country.
2. Was Clayton Utz supportive of your decision to take part in the program?
The firm was very supportive of my somewhat left-field plans for 2007. I was granted a leave of absence as well as given support in order to achieve my Youth Ambassadorship objectives. This not only included financial support but also the use of CU resources. The firm donated a number of books to my Vietnamese firm, which has been a great help to the lawyers here. I also can’t tell you how many times I have used the legal research tools on the CU intranet. In a country where there are no hard copy secondary legal resources, let alone online ones, the ability to log on to the CU website has been a saviour.
3. How have your experiences as a lawyer at CU prepared you for your new role?
Part of my role is training junior lawyers to meet international legal standards. The professionalism and high standards CU sets has guided how I mentor these lawyers, in particular how I demonstrate to them what international standards are. For the other aspect of my assignment, drafting legislation, the attention to detail that I have learned through my legal training has informed how I review drafts – namely with an attempt to see the draft as part of a matrix of laws, not an isolated document. CU’s professionalism in how it treats its employees has also informed the more general advice I give my Vietnamese firm. For example, as a result of having an earthquake in Hanoi I learnt that there were no emergency procedures or escape plans! Needless to say, I remedied that ASAP.
4. What do you hope to take away from your time in Vietnam?
I hope to develop my business development, mentoring and negotiation skills. I also hope to gain a deeper understanding of international trade law and how it affects Vietnam, in particular the pharmaceutical industry within Vietnam. By working in a local firm and intensively learning Vietnamese I also hope to get an understanding of a culture that isn’t immediately apparent to people passing through Vietnam. However, despite taking four hours of Vietnamese classes per week I don’t expect to be anywhere near fluent by the end of my year here!
5. What have been the most challenging and rewarding parts of your experience so far?
The most rewarding part of my assignment so far has been actively participating in the drafting of a code of conduct for Vietnamese lawyers. They have never had one and there is no comparable concept of fiduciary duties or equity in Vietnam. This will make the drafting process challenging. I was asked by the Ministry of Justice (the Vietnamese equivalent of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department) to prepare detailed guidelines for the drafting of the new code to be sent to every Vietnamese lawyer as part of the Ministry’s request for contributions to the new code.
In terms of challenges, the physical environment has been the most testing. We are now approaching our fourth month of 33 degree plus temperatures, with humidity hovering at around 70% - 80%. I didn’t appreciate how this would affect me, my outlook and my daily life. For example, I can’t wear a suit to work without risking heat stroke and every item of food must be kept in the fridge to prevent spoiling – even flour, rice and bread.
6. Have you been keeping in touch with your colleagues at CU?
Of course. As well as keeping in touch with friends at CU I have also contacted colleagues for assistance with queries outside my area of expertise. I have also been contacted by colleagues about Vietnamese law. This has been very easy as the firm allowed me to keep my Blackberry and access the CU network. As the firm has given me so much support I am keeping everyone up to date with my progress through the internal newsletter.
