The Novice Lawyers' Village: Level-Up Battle

Trainee Lawyer, JRF Volunteer
Kuo Hung-chih

After a decade of studying bitterly through the cold window, one finally passes the bar exam, only to be plagued by the mental torment of, "There are so many geniuses in this world, what do I have to compare with them?" During the Taichung seminar, Attorney Nieh Jui-ying specially drew upon her own experience to tell novice lawyers: "There is no such thing as a useless experience in life!" The lives we led before passing the exam and the efforts we made during the examination process will all become pillars of support in our future legal practice. This is because we never know whether a major opportunity that arises in our career might have been catalyzed by a minor, seemingly meaningless matter from the past.

I originally learned about the Novice Lawyers' Village through a friend, and registered for the event with the mindset of, "I don't have much going on anyway, I might as well go listen." However, upon stepping into the venue of the first Novice Lawyers' village seminar in Kaohsiung, I realized this was a "seminar" unlike any in the past. Everyone formed a semi-circle centered around the speaker, without the barrier of desks between individual seats. Only after sitting down did we realize this was not a solemn lecture, but a sharing session for exchanging information and insights through casual conversation.

3P: Professional, Presentable, Patient!

Formosa Transnational Attorneys-at-Law
Attorney Tseng Chiung-yao

During the first seminar, Attorney Tseng Chiung-yao specifically mentioned that every novice lawyer must possess the "3P"s! Although I know none of you will misunderstand, I still want to tell you that these "3P"s refer to Professional, Presentable (communication skills), and Patient. These three "P"s are actually interconnected. The "P" for professional not only refers to legal expertise, but also includes a deep mastery of cases and building trust with clients. Furthermore, Attorney Tseng drew upon her experience practicing in a large law firm to analyze with everyone the differences among various types of law firms, as well as the methods for cultivating and learning the "3P"s. During the second-half Q&A session, when a novice lawyer asked, "By what standards should trainee lawyers demand of themselves?", Attorney Wu Chun-ta and Attorney Liu Chia-jung used their own experiences to tell everyone that during the traineeship stage, one should try their utmost to learn various types of basic cases (such as traffic accident cases, etc.), and must demand of themselves that, after five months, they acquire the ability to independently complete all procedures of a case. The two attorneys emphasized: "Handling cases independently" is the ultimate goal of a trainee lawyer's learning!

Gogoro Senior Legal Manager
Attorney Li Kai-tai

At everyone's request, the second seminar invited Attorney Li Kai-tai, Senior Legal Manager of Gogoro, to unveil "the mysterious veil of non-litigation lawyers and corporate legal counsel." Attorney Li told everyone that non-litigation lawyers must not only be meticulous and patient, but also have staying power, because you often have to sit at your desk all day organizing mountains of data. After listening to Attorney Li's sharing, I learned that the work done by legendary, glamorous non-litigation lawyers seems even more monotonous than that of litigation lawyers, which gave me much more to consider for my future plans. During the Q&A session, Attorney Li specifically mentioned the reason why he resolutely abandoned an offer from a large law firm to join a startup company team. Attorney Li said: "In a large law firm, you can only follow their rules; but by joining a startup company, you are a part of the company's flesh and blood, and the company's growth and your ideals are integrated as one!"

The day after the Kaohsiung Lv.2 seminar, a Novice Lawyers' Village seminar was also held in Taichung.

There is no such thing as a useless experience in life

Hong En Law Firm
Attorney Nieh Jui-ying

When sharing her successful experience with the novice lawyers present, Attorney Nieh Jui-ying emphasized: "There is no such thing as a useless experience in life!" Attorney Nieh shared that after entering practice, she once attended a meeting with her boss where all the attendees were legendary big bosses who "make hundreds of thousands a minute." Unexpectedly, halfway through the meeting, the recorder's batteries suddenly died! Because of a habit cultivated from her previous work of carrying spare batteries with her, Attorney Nieh calmly took two portable batteries out of her bag amid the chaos, rescuing the awkward situation on the spot. For this "beauty saving the hero" act, Attorney Nieh was no longer referred to by her boss simply as "that lawyer," but gained her own title as "Attorney Nieh Jui-ying"!

Shang Jih Law Firm
Attorney Wu Chun-ta

Speaking on his recipe for success, Attorney Wu Chun-ta shared that he originally loved writing articles and answering questions online, but unexpectedly received an invitation to deliver a lecture on topics like home interior decoration as a result. After several pro bono lectures, Attorney Wu met an interior design magazine editor, and ultimately, upon the editor's suggestion, compiled the contents of his past lectures into a book, thereby becoming an expert in the field of home interior decoration today.

The success of Attorney Nieh and Attorney Wu may seem like it accumulated from a series of coincidences, but it was actually the experience and capability accumulated from the two attorneys' "turbulent lives" years prior. Attorney Wu emphasized: "As long as you do every job well, even if you lose a lawsuit, you can lose gracefully! Your earnestness is seen by your clients. As long as you are earnest, you will never lack a source of cases. Clients are your simplest yet most important interpersonal resource." Attorney Nieh also remarked on this: "Once when I lost a lawsuit, I cried even harder than the client, and the client ended up turning around to comfort me. Why did this happen? Because we had already done our utmost in the litigation and comforted the client's soul; at that point, whether we won or lost no longer mattered."

Attending these seminars has truly been immensely beneficial. Aside from learning some tips for getting along with clients and handling litigation, I gained a much greater understanding and realization of the legal practice ecosystem. For someone like me currently in a state of hesitation, the greatest takeaway was learning the condensed philosophy behind the two speakers' success: there is no such thing as a useless experience in life! Just as the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in his 2005 Stanford commencement address: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future!" As long as we seize every opportunity in the present, strive to do every job well, and treat every client sincerely, we will all be able to forge our own path to success in the future!