[Case 5] New York-qualified Lawyer. Has worked in Japan, the US and Singapore across Finance and Legal roles. Anonymous

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"You need a niche in order to increase your market value.”
New York-qualified Lawyer. Has worked in Japan, the US and Singapore across Finance and Legal roles.
Anonymous

Tell us about your career so far

After I graduated from university I joined the Japan office of an international law firm and started my bilingual career. I thought it would be helpful to have a brand name on my resume when I look for jobs overseas so I chose this firm. After working for a few years my colleagues recommended that I should get a legal qualification from the US. So in order to save money for law school tuition, I moved to a foreign bank and started working in Compliance. My area of work changed from Legal to Compliance through this move.
After I'd saved enough I went to the US and I also qualified for the bar in the state of New York. I worked as an intern at an American law firm after graduating from graduate school and later shifted to a full-time position. This was my first job overseas.
The law firm I worked at was acquired and thus I returned to Japan and started work at the Japan office of a foreign bank doing Compliance (what I used to do). I then moved internally to the Singapore office of the same bank. Subsequently I moved to an asset management firm where I'm now handling Compliance.

Why did you want to work overseas?

I experienced some difficulties when working in Japan including sexual harassment. It was physically and mentally draining dealing with that and I wanted to be in environment where there wasn't harassment.

You have so much overseas experience - Did you grow up overseas?

No, I grew up in Japan but I did have exposure to English early. When I was 10 I went to an English school at the church near where I lived. My family would also host guests from overseas. We hosted people from Australia, Indonesia, etc. When I was in high school I participated in a 2 week homestay in Chicago and then I spent a year overseas on exchange during my university days.
When I went to the church near where I lived I heard about this concept called a gap year which was never talked about in Japan. I felt that there was a variety of different concepts outside of Japan which I could identify with strongly, and so I'd always felt attracted to overseas from a young age.
While my English was considered to be better than my peers I wouldn't say I could speak it well. English was not my major in university but I chose it as my first language. My professor at that time introduced to me the summer school at Stanford University. When I went to California I was deeply attracted and wanted to work there.

What was your toughest experience working overseas?

When working at my first company in Singapore while I had legal knowledge, there were times I couldn't quite keep up with the conversations that were about topics outside of work. There were many opportunities to speak with those in Compliance but didn't have a legal background. It took effort to keep up with those conversations. I felt that in Compliance your legal knowledge doesn't matter as much as being a native English speaker. As such, I wanted to find a role where my strengths of having a legal background and my bilingual English and Japanese skills could be used. In my current role I feel I am playing more to my strengths.
In Japan if you take too much initiative it's frowned upon sometimes. In Singapore they encourage people to just go ahead and do it.

What was your best experience working overseas?

The lack of sexual harassment. I'm a lot more relaxed everyday. Back in Japan sexual harassment was a constant problem and I used to get really exhausted. I spent weekends just sleeping because the work week was so mentally draining. Ever since I started working overseas I don't have the same problem and my weekends are fulfilling. Lately, on weekends, I've been going to the gym and I'm enjoying working out.

Tell us about the working visa application process in the US and in Singapore.

In the US when I first went for law school I was on a student visa called the F-1. You have to show your bank account balance and proof that you have enough savings to pay tuition and support yourself. For most law students it's pretty easy to get it. Initially I went to summer school at Georgetown University and then on to law school, so the initial visa was under Georgetown University.
After that I moved to New York University where I studied law. I'm not sure if I remember this part correctly but I think you need to renew your visa if you change schools. After I graduated I did an Optional Practical Training (OPT) for a year. I applied for an OPT visa and worked as an intern at an American law firm for a year. After the 1 year was up the law firm helped me to apply for a H-1B (professional) visa.
As for Singapore, I worked on an Employment Pass (EP). If you become unemployed in Singapore you have to return to your home country within a month. For professionals who are making high salaries you can apply for a Personalized Employment Pass (PEP) that allows the employment pass to be tied to you as an individual rather than the company. There's also Permanent Residency (but has to be renewed every 5 years). When I started looking for my next job I obtained the PEP. However you can only use it once so I haven't activated it.

Tell us about law school in the US

There are 2 law programs in the US. The first is a Juris Doctor (JD) and it's a 3 year program. The second is a LL.M. which a Masters of Law and this is for law graduates from countries outside the US. It's a 1 year program. Upon completion of either you can choose to be called to the bar.
For me I managed to get pretty good recommendations so I was accepted by 3 schools. I chose the highest-ranked New York University. There are quite a lot of things you have to prepare before going so I joined this group with other people who were going to enter at the same time and we would exchange information. This included things such as how to set up bank accounts, where to live, what documents needed to be submitted to the school, which classes were good, which professors were good etc. I really benefitted from all these so I would like to do the same for others someday.

Tell us about your jobhunting process after you graduated from NYU.

After you graduate you have to move out of the dormitory. I had a Mexican friend who moved to Miami so I decided to go visit Miami. After that I moved to California where I stayed in hotels and AirBnBs. I started sending my resume out to law firms and consulting firms in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Miami. I also did volunteer work as required by my qualification. Through the university's network I contacted a Japanese senior who was working in the US. After jobhunting for a while, I got an offer from a law firm in Los Angeles and I started my internship there.

How did you become a full-time employee from an intern?

I interned for about a year and was strongly recommended by one of the lawyers to become a full-time employee. My job scope was to deal with the setting-up and other legal matters (including intellectual property) for a Japanese entertainment firm looking to set up in California. I participated in deposition and also did research on past cases. I wanted to stay in the Legal field but due to management difficulties the department was dissolved and after working for a few years I had to go back to Japan.

What did you do after returning to Japan?

I did have an offer to return to a Legal position in Japan but I wasn't sure about the team so I ended up going back to Compliance. That said, I didn't want to give up on working overseas so I looked for internal mobility opportunities. I chose to work at a foreign firm in Japan. And in the second year, I had an opportunity to move to Singapore.

Tell us how you found your second job in Singapore

I worked for 2 years in my first job in Singapore but I didn't get along very well with the team so I started looking. I used LinkedIn as well as headhunters specializing in Japanese and foreign companies. In addition to my current job, I received another offer and that was via LinkedIn. The job scope and salary was decent as well. If you use a headhunting firm, they interview you before recommending - which works as a pre-screening process for companies. When the headhunting firm recommends you a job the process is slightly faster as companies generally let you skip the first round since the headhunting firm has done some screening. I also used job search sites, and searched for keywords like Japanese, Legal or Compliance daily.

Tell us about your current role

It's a small firm and I cover legal, compliance and also investor relations. I review contracts, deal with Japanese and Singapore regulations and internal policies.

Your job changes seem to have gone really smoothly. What's the secret to that?

I've changed jobs quite a few times even in Japan. I think the key is that you have to increase your market value. I've always focused on my strengths which are law, cross-cultural communication, and Finance. I think the only exception so far was the job in the US. It didn't play to all my strengths but I felt it would add value to my experience anyway. I think if you don't have key strengths it's hard to negotiate a good package. It's important to have consistency in what you have done throughout your career.
Every time I join a new company I always think, "This is it, this is going to be the firm I work at forever". But somehow people around me have tended to recommend things like "You should go to a better company". As such I feel like I should work harder and strive for the next bigger thing.
I read a book that said your life wouldn't change drastically after the age of 37. It was an idea that resonated with me so I made efforts to lay a foundation overseas before I turned 37.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I feel really blessed being in my current position. I would like to expand my scope of work and increase my knowledge on the laws in Singapore, Japan, US and Hong Kong to increase my mobility value.

What advice would you have liked to give to your 20 year old self?

I would have liked to tell my younger self, upon graduating from university in Japan, "Try to proceed to a law school in Japan". At that time the passing rate of the bar exam was higher and it's better to qualify when younger if you wish to practise law.
In addition, when I was in the US I had an offer for a Compliance role at a Japanese bank. I declined that offer. I think I was over 30 then. I would have liked to say to myself, "Just take it". They offered an expatriate package then. If I'd had a record of being on an expatriate package then it would have been easier to negotiate better terms for the next role. But at that point I wanted to challenge myself by getting a job in the legal field. I also didn't really know what it was like to be on an expatriate package at that time.

Would you recommend that others work overseas too?

I think it has been quite a winding road getting to where I am today. I wouldn't quite recommend it to everyone. It wasn't easy qualifying for the New York bar. And it wasn't easy moving internally to Singapore either.
I have a really strong desire to work overseas. I think back in 2007 I did briefly think that if my work was smooth-sailing I could just stay in Japan but it wasn't and I decided to move overseas. Despite being born in Japan if you feel you would be happier elsewhere then you should try it. When you work overseas your experience will differ a lot in terms of your job, colleagues, friends and lifestyle and I think your efforts will be greatly rewarded.

シンガポールで就職起業した21人(日英表記)