Autobiography

Being service for current position from almost scratch , I, Katherine wishes to take new challenges and to use and combined the skill sets during these years, to take a further step of next page of life.

As the eldest daughter of my parents, for father as an chief engineer of civil works in petrochemical industry before retirement and mother being a certified accountant, I've been taught to push harder and focus on solving problems, being brave to face obstacles by myself but also not to shy to ask for needed assistance since childhood. 

I had attend quite a few student clubs back in school days, well, the collage I graduated, Soochow University tried to have students well trained but also encourage to attend the clubs if available - such as a choir member, served as a scout girl , participate the service team , attending literature camp etc. I'd also once a tutor of cram school, being MC of some exhibitions assist by TITRA as part time jobs. I'd learned a lot, knows more about having the communication with different types, different ages of persons. Those experience had become a treasures, which do lots of help after starting formal work.

My first position is a loss adjuster in H&B loss adjust LLC. It's a small company with only 10 employee(include the boss). Being the only local adjuster and need to take over all works from the position within a month. The soon-to-leave colleague condense the work need to hand over and I managed to take over about 70% of the work within a week. The 2nd month I've been assigned to the biggest case at deck (total claim amount in 20 million USD,) .the main request for that specific case is to corporate with US law firm and to make/assure legal interpretation of said case base on Taiwan Law. Though I was not with them for a long time, but this is where I'd acknowledge insufficiency of myself at that time, and set a goal to become an in house legal officer.

I've become a legal officer of current company back in around 5 or 6 years ago. For lack of hands, I didn't been given a sufficient time to fit in, and again , start the very first work at the 3rd day and being assign to attend MHI project- which is a land as well as high-rise building development project. For current company has a conservative tradition before/after privatized, that project had been shut down due to too many uncertainty. Still I'd learn about EPC and some knowledge about land development. 

After MHI project , my main works is focus on all kinds of types-- from usual non-defendant Act case, basic internal compliance and legal compliance from projects corporate with various big company overseas, producing assessment report, holding construction insurance bidding, negotiation and draft/revise consortium contracts. The company and my supervisor valued my ability in English and majors, also I appreciate the trust and opportunity in attending the projects, facing more challenging for years, the company finally considered to expand the legal team of group, and that's where I had the chance to step up and try to find my own way as leader, which around a years ago.

I would say each project has their particular shinning spot, but some of them earn a space in my heart since what I learn from case is way more. 

First project I'd like to mention is the 2 relevant port dredging project, being a legal officer from construction company, It's rare to have a maritime engineer project. These 2 cases just bring up an opportunity for me to exam the legal strategy during lawsuit, the negotiations in between, the risk control and reasonable legal advise base on details and feedback from site office, avoid inconsistency legal claims for there are around 5 to 7 serial lawsuits arising from 2 projects. Half of the serial cases has come to an end, one winning case against bank who issuance the performance bond to one the subcontractor in amounting 20 million NTD, and main case in against the project owner(Taiwan power company, one of national owned company) which successfully secure a claim in amount 0.4 billion out of 1.2 billion at 1st stage appraisal during trial, either outsource counsel or legal department have positive provision in securing more credits foregoing. 

Also it's the first time our company faced an international arbitration the very first time .As main case handler from legal section, besides assistance outsource firm , I'd coordinate and to exchange legal opinion , had an opportunity and pay more attention on how to extracting useful info from our witnesses in assist of our outsource firm, Allen Gledhill, LLP, for which I valued this is an expiring experience.

Second project I'd like to share is The 3rd terminal of Taoyuan international port. Along with our outsource counsel, the founder of Haiguo Attorney at Law, I participate the project from prepare bidding stage, including negotiation and strategy exchanging, revise consortium contract in accordance with negotiation status, also I drafting/set up standard subcontractor contract after awarded. What made me once again realized about the exquisite during negotiation with our current JV partner, Samsung C&T, also to predict and set up further steps to defense the principle. For roughly 4 month preparation time, nothing crucial , most of terms of contract finally set at 1 day before the dead line to submit the bidding proposal. that means no matter what the legal team from both parties shall upmost their efforts to deal with the terms back and forth. Fortunately things gone well and awarded without question is due to excellent works from all staffs whom had attend this project, for total price of this project in amounting 44.5 billion NTD.

Third project is Hailong ONSS project, though it's unfortunate our company lose the last price bidding round, but attend a project to have preliminary understanding and the structure of offshore wind power project is another brand new experience.

After becoming deputy chief, I start to extract time to organized and rebuild a more proper internal educational mini training course ,try to train colleagues at site(for most of them are engineers, aren't familiar to the legal dispute or to gather sufficient documents in preparing the fight against project owner thereafter) or to build up simple guidance to make sure regular administrative works regards to do insurance, transit routs to comply with company regulation. This year, I planning to set up a more compact version of legal compliance inside the company as one of annual new suggestion plan raise from legal section. For which the preliminary report (which I assigned 2 new colleagues to produce the plan as their test)shall finished by June, 2022, and submit out by the end of 2022. It's a flexible of using the ability of legal section , also it's an answer to the provision in expecting to set up a compliance system for projects involves with foreign JV partners, also to share the burden by splitting the work.

The experiences from past years had made me who I am, and international arbitration , offshore wind project brought out a new era which is new to me. Thought I still got lots need to learn, but not afraid of challenges unexpecting, and take it as a new opportunity .