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Between 9 and 16 October, my week went from a birthday cake to a conference hall in Kuala Lumpur, and then straight back to China for two training sessions in a single day. It was one of those weeks that wears you out while you’re in it and feels lovely to look back on, so I wanted to write it down before the details fade.
A Birthday with Colleagues
On 12 October, JT&N held a birthday party for everyone born in October, and this year I was one of them. I like that the firm celebrates birthdays together. When you’re standing around the same table with colleagues who share your birthday month, it stops being “my birthday” and becomes something we’re all part of. Someone had clearly put real care into the dessert table: flowers, a cake, rows of pastries.
Then came the part I hadn’t expected: a blind-box auction. A pink mystery box sat on a small table, nobody had any idea what was inside, and that was exactly what made it fun. There was a lot of laughing and guessing.
We bid with brightly coloured play money, which took all the pressure off. When the money isn’t real, everyone suddenly becomes a very bold bidder.
Looking back, I’m glad the week started this way. Before the flights, the panels and the training rooms, I had an afternoon with the people I work alongside every day, and a reminder of how lucky I am to work with them.
From Birthday Cake to Boarding Gate
The very next day, I was at the airport. It’s funny how quickly the mood changes: one day it’s birthday cake, the next it’s boarding announcements. The first photo I took on the trip was this APEC China 2026 display in the terminal.
And then, the plane waiting at the gate. The party was behind me, Kuala Lumpur and Asia ADR Week were ahead, and I was really looking forward to it.
My First Asia ADR Week with AIAC YPG
From 13 to 15 October, I was in Kuala Lumpur for Asia ADR Week. It was my first since joining the Core Committee of the AIAC Young Practitioners Group (YPG), and the invitation meant a lot to me. This time I wasn’t only attending a conference; I was meeting a community I had just become part of.
Some of the YPG members I met had, until then, been faces in video calls and names in group chats. Finally saying hello in person made those connections feel real in a way online meetings never quite do.
The programme gave me a lot to think about. One panel in particular, “Truth.exe: AI, Digital Evidence and Technology Disputes”, stayed with me. These are no longer hypothetical questions for those of us who work on disputes, and it was useful to hear how other practitioners are thinking them through.
One of the moments I’ll remember most was seeing Dato’ Mary Lim, President of the AIAC Court of Arbitration, again, and getting another photo with her. I have admired her for a long time. Every time I meet her, I come away encouraged, and a little more determined.
The hosts also thought of the small things: a delegate badge with my name on it, notebooks, and gifts from Malaysian law firms. None of it was big, but it made me feel welcome, and I was touched by the thought behind it.
Between sessions, I took a coffee and a few minutes to just breathe. In a packed programme, those quiet moments felt precious.
Being there also made me think about the next two years. AIAC will celebrate its 50th anniversary during my 2026–2028 term on the Core Committee, and I’m genuinely glad I’ll be part of the community when that milestone comes.
Back Home for Two Training Sessions
I really wanted to stay for the Gala Dinner. But I had two training sessions waiting for me in China on 16 October, so I said no, with real reluctance, and flew home.
The first session was at China Overseas Property, on legal document writing. Teaching writing to an in-house legal team is harder than it sounds. General principles only go so far; what people need are examples that look like the documents they actually draft. Preparing that takes time, but it’s also the part I enjoy most.
The second was at China Resources Mixc Lifestyle, where I talked about commercial arbitration procedure and walked through some cross-border dispute cases. Going from legal writing to arbitration on the same day made for a full, and fairly intense, day of teaching.
Teaching is an honest mirror. Standing in front of a room, you find out very quickly what you can explain well and what you can’t. These two sessions showed me how much room I still have to grow: in how I structure an explanation, how I respond to questions, and how I make a complex topic clear for a particular audience. I left both already thinking about what I’d do differently next time.
By the end of the week I was tired, but in a good way. I had celebrated with colleagues, met a professional community I’m still getting to know, seen someone whose work I admire, and shared what I’ve learned. I came away grateful for all of it, and keen to keep getting better.