Koon Hong was one of the first members of staff in our Singapore office and worked there for an impressive 30 years. Koon Hong shares her memories of her time at the firm and how her career developed.

When did you work at Norton Rose Fulbright and in what team?

I joined the firm’s Singapore office in 1985 as one of two secretaries supporting an associate while the other more senior secretary assisted the partner. It was just the four of us then. Over the 30 years I spent at the firm, I watched the office grow from that original four to over 100 employees.

 

What are your favourite memories from your time with the firm?  

It is probably those times when all the support staff worked through the night to assist with the production of documents for a hearing. There was a great sense of camaraderie, cheerfulness and humour as we all worked together not only to get the work done but to get it done well as a proud Norton Rose Fulbright body. I am happy to say that I am still in contact with many of the secretaries who have since left the firm. When we meet our conversation always returns to the time we spent at the firm and how those times are still some of our best working days.

Was there anyone who particularly inspired you? 

There are several partners who really helped me to progress in my career. I rose through the ranks from a secretary to running the office (HR & operations) as the office grew and staff numbers increased. Simon Briscoe and Chris Moore were the managing partners at the time and their support and belief in me gave me the confidence to take on these new evolving roles. 

Eventually we had to split my role into two managerial roles – HR Manager and Admin Manager. Bob Ikin, our retired Asia COO wisely advised me to take the HR Manager role as it had wider scope and more technical skills to learn (from UK & HK HR) than an Admin Manager (which can be quite limited to just office operations).  His advice augmented well for my career progression and marketability in the legal market.

Where has your career taken you since leaving Norton Rose Fulbright?

After 30 years at the firm, I felt I had become somewhat a fixture at the firm and so decided it was time for a new challenge. The idea of working in a much smaller office again appealed to me as I had so enjoyed the journey at Norton Rose Fulbright of building the office from small beginnings. I joined a US law firm, Morrison & Foerster (Singapore) LLP.

What do you enjoy and what are the challenges in your role? 

Norton Rose Fulbright had grown to more than 100 people and the HR work had become more administrative and high level. I found I had less time to spend on the ground interacting with the various groups of people – partners, associates, support staff and solving day to day challenges.  Instead I worked more with policies and government bodies rather than the staff.  Morrison & Foerster was much smaller when I first joined (about 15 people in total) and I am still able to have personal interaction with everyone. I have to wear the hat of Admin, HR, Finance and IT and be hands on for the various aspects of running a law firm. The biggest challenge is certainly the finance aspect (including tax matters) although I am always learning. I would say that it was my time at Norton Rose Fulbright over the years handling all these areas that has really helped me in fulfilling my role at Morrison & Foerster.  It has also been good to relive those times of growth in Norton Rose Fulbright as Morrison & Foerster has grown from about 15 people to 42 in the space of the six and a half years since I joined.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given in your career? 

Treat everyone equally. I have always tried to put this into practice throughout my career and I always take the time to listen and to treat everyone fairly. This has meant that I have established some very good working relationships and people remember me and even now recommend me for other roles.

What do you do to relax when you are not working?

I regularly go to Cambodia (at least twice a year) to help out in an orphanage and a school in the area of character formation according to the Christian faith. Our church had bought some land in Cambodia and built an orphanage. When they organized a family trip there, I, together with my three children and husband, went along. We wanted our children to see how other children lived and experience some gratitude for their own way of life. It was a great experience for us all and I now go back twice a year. We have hired teachers and house parents to manage the orphanage and we have set up a programme of education to teach English as well as values such as leadership, obedience, truthfulness, responsibility and forgiveness.  I will go with a buddy or I will lead a team of about 20 people (could be just adults or families with young children) to set up carnival for the orphanage and the children from the nearby villages. I have seen many of the children grow up and have children of their own. One became the manager of the orphanage until she married and moved to Perth. It has been very heartening and rewarding to be able to give back to society through this volunteer work.