Over the course of my legal career, I have been fortunate to meet some colleagues who remain good friends even after we have left the firms where we first met.

My former colleague, whom I first met more than 13 years ago during my pupillage, has been sending me birthday cards, gifts and Christmas cards every year. They filled up a corner in my old office. We still keep in touch regularly up to this day.

Whenever I worked on corporate exercises at my previous firm, there was a colleague I knew I could count on. It was assuring to have her on the team. We did due diligence together, stayed in office till late to prepare for completion of an M&A transaction for the next day, rushed to finalise agreements for signing and reviewed countless draft announcements and circulars between us, usually with tight timelines.

Another returned call almost immediately even though it was 7 something in the morning (I called by mistake). I was touched by the concern.

They have been generous with their time and wisdom whenever I needed advice.

Before Covid, we would gather for Chinese New Years, birthdays, trips or just to catch up.

Whichever stage we are in our legal career, it is a blessing to have colleagues who genuinely care.

#friendsintheprofession
#lawyers
#lawyering

This post was first posted on Linkedin on 10 September 2021.