City Beat: Legal Eagle Laura Ching is fashionably chic

Regular City Beat columnist James McCullough was on leave recently and I was honoured to fulfil his duties for the day. I had a great time finding events to report on and was able to tick another item off my bucket list - write a newspaper column! 

Here is the column that ran. 

Date:

21 March 2014

Source:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/legal-eagle-laura-chong-is-fashionably-chic/story-fnfli675-1226860560891

Chewy Anzac Biscuits

Most of my generation and younger won't have had the joy of growing up with Day to Day Cookery book by IM Downes. I was lucky enough to have one in my house growing up - circa 1985 edition. 

The recipes are those you would see at the CWA bake stalls and the ones your Nan would have ready for your weekly visit. 

One recipe I make year after year is Anzac biscuits. They are chewy, tasty and incredible! I made a batch yesterday to take to my girlfriend (who is also making her own batch today). 

Did you know that there is an exception to the use of the world "Anzac" specifically for Anzac biscuits, provided they are made basically true to the original recipe and are made and sold as Anzac biscuits - not cookies! 

Here it the recipe:

Ingredients 

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of rolled oats

3/4 cup of desiccated coconut

3/4 cup of sugar

140gr of butter

3 teaspoons of golden syrup 

3 tablespoons of boiling hot water 

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Method

1. Sift flour into a bowl. 

2. Add rolled oats, coconut and sugar. Mix well. 

3. Melt butter in a saucepan, add syrup and water. 

4. Take off heat, add in baking soda and allow to foam. Pour immediately onto dry ingredients. 

5. Mix well. Make small pieces (I use a dessert spoon to scoop as a rough measurement), roll into a ball and press onto a greased tray. Leave room as they spread. 

6. Bake for 12-15mins in a 150 degree oven. 

They biscuits will be soft as you take them out. They will crisp around the edges. Don't bake until crisp as they will harden as they cool. 

If you are not a fan of the chewy Anzac biscuits and like the crunch, bake for 15-18mins. 

Enjoy with a great cuppa (tea or coffee for my non Aussie readers), while thanking our past and present troops. Those who sacrificed their time and lives for our Country deserve the highest respect and honour. Lest We Forget this Anzac Day. 

Don't leave before you have left

For anyone who saw my debate at the AIM International Women's Day debate back in March, you will already know my thoughts on Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In.  While I think her book has been fantastic in terms of raising much needed awareness surrounding the issues of women in business and gender equality, however in terms of content, personally I did not take much from the book. Except this - Don't leave before you leave. This chapter was moreso focused on women making decisions now in anticipation of what could happen in the future, eg not taking a promotion now because in 3 years you may want to have maternity leave. However, the name of the chapter suggests to me this concept is can be expanded to be used after you have resigned and while working out your notice period - don't (mentally) leave before you have left. 

I recently resigned my job and finished up in employment and workplace relations law to return to my love of insurance and personal injury litigation. At the time of resigning, I was still managing my health issues, but I made it clear to my Partner when I resigned that I was not leaving before I actually left.  The idea behind this is not burning your bridges and still producing quality work until your last day. 

During your notice period don't start taking extended lunches, don't lapse on timing of work and continue to follow up instructions from clients. Leave plenty of time for a full handover and talk with your Partner to see how they want to conduct the handover. I recommend file notes for each matter with key dates and issues highlighted, including your thoughts on the matter. If necessary, arrange a meeting with your co-worker who will be taking over the matters and ensure your secretary assists with having filing up to date. 

No matter what your reasons are for leaving a position, you should never create bad blood while working out your notice period.  Remember, you never know where you will end up in the future and you will find its a small world. Have enough respect to your firm, your Partner, and to yourself, to continue to apply yourself 100% during your notice period. You won't regret it. 

Recipe: Quiche (secret family recipe)

I love cooking (for others more than me). But one dish I love making of a weekend to keep me nourished during the week is this scrumptious quiche. It's a family recipe that has been passed down and even has a secret ingredient - jatz biscuits! Who would have thought!

Ingredients

Half a pack of jatz crushed - I use the cracked pepper jatz

2 cups of grated cheese

1 onion diced

1 large carrot grated

3 eggs beaten

1 cup of milk

6-7 middle bacon rashers cooked and diced

Method

Crush the jatz with a potato masher. Not to crumbs, but just smaller pieces. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Once mixed through, add to a pie dish. I swap between round and rectangle ones depending on my mood! I find rectangle better as I can cut the quiche into pieces to take to work. 

Cook at 175 degrees for about 40 minutes. Some ovens may take longer, so check in the middle before taking out. If it is not cooked through, keep checking every 5 minutes until done. 

You can serve it warm or cold with salad. I prefer it cold - tastes yummier!!!

Enjoy. 

GLOSS: February 2014 - The Need for Gen Y to use Social Metworking

I am proud to say I am a member of LBD Group. It is a fantastic forum for mentoring and personal development, without the fluff.

In February 2014, I was a contributing writer to LBD Group's monthly publication GLOSS. Here, I was able to write about my passion for social networking and the need for young professionals, aka Gen Y, to use social networking in their business development. 

Date:

February 2014

Source:

https://asp-au.secure-zone.net/v2/index.jsp?id=993%2F1104%2F4668&lng=en

City Beat: Women Run the World

Now I have made a Media and Gallery page, I will be uploading some articles, pictures etc. 

Here is the City Beat article following the International Women's Day Debate, where I was thrilled to have been represented in caricature! 

Date: 

8 March 2014 

Source: 

http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/city-beat-women-run-the-world/story-fnihsps3-1226848524368

Performance Reviews - the tips you won't find online

It's performance review aka PDR time. This is something no professional at any level should overlook, but it's even more crucial as a young lawyer when you are trying to climb that corporate ladder. 

The biggest mistake young professionals make is believing they are entitled to a payrise simply due to the effluxion of time. Ahhhh wrong!! You need to earn it and you need to show why you have earned it. Your Partner knows your are great in general, and PDR time is your chance to show them and HR why a payrise is justified. 

Here are my key tips to helping you nail your PDR. 

1. Take the time to complete the paperwork. Most firms give you timetable for PDRs, including links to the forms you are to complete (and when you will get they letter about any payrise!).  Do not do it the night before/morning of as you are bound to forget key information. 

2. Dig out your "Good Girl" (or boy) folder. A past Partner introduced me to this and it has been invaluable for not only PDR time, but also when tenders and proposals are being done. This is an email folder, and a hard copy binder, of all documents and emails reflecting your great work. It can be things from a client thanking you for getting a 2 day task to them overnight, or a note to yourself about a file you were instrumental in. 

3. Make sure you use attachments to support what you are saying. My first ever Partner told me before a trial, "if you are believed on your evidence, you will be successful". Evidence is key! When matters are opened, depending on the system, the referring lawyer and client introducing lawyer are referenced and reports can be run showing your stats. However, some programs can only record Senior Associates and above and your great efforts may not be recorded.  Therefore, I encourage you to keep a table with the following:  

a) new clients you have introduced to the firm;

b) new matters you have introduced to the firm - for new and existing clients; and

c) new instructions you have taken from new or existing clients that you have referred on to another workgroup. 

If you continually update this table throughout the financial year, it will help you complete your PDR forms quicker and in more detail. 

Other documents you should include are a summary of your average chargeables (yes, the Partner would have this, but you should have this information handy), key marketing and business development events/documents you have had input in, a list of articles you have had published (or contributed to for junior lawyers), seminars you have prepared or presented and any media regarding you/your matters. 

4. Know your worth. While mid and top tier firms continually benchmark salaries, you should also keep an eye on the market. Hays publish a great legal salary guide that you can request. If you feel as though you have contributed to the firm above someone at your level, use your attachments (see point 3) and the market guide to negotiate your salary. While it is a bold move to negotiate your salary, if you have the evidence and a good argument, (hopefully) you have nothing to loose. 

5. Plan ahead - where do you want to be in a year, 2 years and 5 years. Do not go into your PDR saying "I want to make Partner someday" when you are a first year. Yes this is a great goal, but be prepared to discuss short term goals. If you want to move to Associate or Senior Associate, set out a timeframe to discuss and have your Partner provide input to your career plan. 

If you want to start a Masters or other type of study and training, this is your chance to discuss the prospects of it working with your practice and if the Firm can fund it. 

6. Be prepared to discuss any issues you have. PDRs are a great time to discuss any diversification or specialisation you want within your workgroup. This is the time to ask if you could start working on professional indemnity files as well as public liability.  If you feel as though you are struggling with a certain area, ask what resources the Firm can offer to help you upskill. 

7. Ask your Partner what they believe your strengths and weaknesses are so you can grow and improve! Don't be offended by any weaknesses they highlight. Wouldn't you rather know what you can improve, as opposed to just letting it continue and it potentially impacting your career later? I would rather know. Knowledge is power!!

8. Don't lead with a negative. This is common with females who often say "I know we only just got that claim for X filed in time, but the instructions didn't come in until 10am". Instead use, "on X file, we received urgent instructions at 10am to file a claim that day.  I was able to rearrange other commitments and assist Special Counsel in drafting the claim so that it was approved by the client, filed and served that day by 3pm". See the difference - positivity without arrogance. Instead you have shown you can manage other clients expectations, manage your own commitments and work with the team to meet a tight timeframe. 

9. Use the time for the PDR meeting wisely. It is easy to get off track and start talking about your current matters, and while a ice-breaker is good, the focus needs to be on your career plan and getting through what you need to discuss. Similarly, if you think you will need longer for the meeting because there are extra details you want to discuss, eg putting in place next steps to get you on the Senior Associate path, have your secretary schedule more time. 

Remember to take pen and paper to the PDR so you can make notes on what you need to follow up. A PDR isn't finished at the end of the meeting, you need to be proactive and continue to action your career plan. Set yourself a bring up every 4-6 weeks throughout the year to review your career plan so you are not scrambling come April next year to get everything done. 

Good luck with your PDRs. It is a nerve racking time, but now is your chance to show why you should have a payrise and/or get a promotion. 

Cas

QB Monthly - April 2014

Recently I had the most fortunate experience of being profiled in the CourierMail's Queensland Business Monthly (QB Monthly). I was also lucky enough to land the cover!

Thank you to Robb Kidd for writing such a fantastic piece. The feedback has been amazing. I even cried when I received a letter (yes a letter!) from a high school student wanting to tell me that I inspired her. So glad I can pay it forward and help the next generation. 

Here is the article. 

Networking: What do you want to be known for?

There are always plenty of networking events for young professionals and as your profile starts to grow, you will find more of these event invites will come direct from clients and other industry professionals.

I know first hand how exciting is to receive the invite personally, rather than through your Partner or Director, however I want you to learn from my "mistake". You don't need to accept every invite!  One of the senior members at my last firm, when discussing a double-booking I had, asked me an invaluable question "what do you want to be known for?".  

While I love networking and every event presents a new opportunity, I was getting overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the events. Wine tastings with accountants, trivia nights with young professionals, lunches with women associations. I was spreading myself too thin and I started to loose sight of where I should be concentrating my business development activities. But given I have been told I can be an "extremist", I did not want to end up at the other end of the spectrum - not marketing at all (remember the worst time to market is when you need to). 

Being a list person, I revisited my personal business development plan and decided to do the following:

1. Assess each event so I had a balance between social business development events ie the trivia nights and the Business Chick type lunches, from client potential business development events, ie the wine tastings with accountants and the industry luncheons.  

2. Limit myself to no more than 2-3 events, maximum 4 in peak seasons (end of financial year and Christmas), per month with one being a client potential event as these events should be prioritised over others. 

3. Above all, make work related events a priority. These are the ones were the Partner has been invited and I'm an extended invite, or Firm hosted events. 

4. Continue to follow up key introductions from events to maintain contact. 

After being asked what I wanted to be known for, I now read through invites in more detail, including having a look at key sponsors and promoters of events. I want to attend events that will help build my profile in the area of law I want to be known in. Looking at key sponsors can also help you assess who you could also invite to the event. 

I will forever be grateful for being asked what I wanted to be known for. It has helped provide me with an advantage in taking my business development to the next level. 

My parting tip for young professionals, while we have LinkedIn, still collect business cards and create your personal database. Maintain contact with these new connections by having a coffee every few months or send a case/article that may be relevant to their industry. I speak regularly on using social media to promote your profile and obtain clients, however I don't believe traditional forms of business development should be abandoned. 

I hope this post helps you and as always feel free to comment below or email me with any questions. 

One last thing - BE AUTHENTIC!!

Tips for graduates and young professionals

Today, I wanted to share with you a book that helped me when I was a graduate and staring out in my first professional job 7 years ago, and one that is helping me now as I move into the next phase of my career.  I have even shot a quick vlog (my first one!) and encourage you to share this with other graduates and young professionals.

When I started at my first law firm, I thought I knew it all.  It wasn't until a female partner and I were talking one day that I realised there were certain behaviours I could improve, as well as my dress and how I acted.

Luckily for me, I was introduced to Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office by Dr Lois Frankel.  Personally, I am not into self help books, or the latest buzz words that are around for career progression.  However, this book was different.  It was real, it was relevant and it wasn't telling me I had to "be a bitch" to get ahead, or start acting more like a man.

Some key tips (also in the vlog), I took away were:

• Dressing for the job I wanted.  I wanted (and still do) to be a Partner.  Dressing too casually in a corporate office wasn't going to get me there.
• Viewing senior male colleagues as a father figure - this is where I kept going into my school girl ways, fumbling about and not being confident in my approach to my work.
• Wearing appropriate make -up.  What is good for a Saturday night, is not good in a professional environment.  After reading the book, I sought assistance from a make-up artist to best learn how to apply make-up that was appropriate for work.
• Constantly apologising.  I would do this all the time when it was not necessary.  I would lead with "sorry" and I did not understand the impact this would have on the way others viewed me - especially my Partners.
• My behaviour around colleagues in the industry.  I am an outgoing and energetic person.  I am happy to chat to other colleagues when at Court and before mediations.  However, after a few odd coffee date requests from older males in the profession, I spoke to one of my Partners, and realised the way I interacted could be viewed as flirtatious, even moreso because I was young and female in a predominantly boys' world.  Coupled with my constant hair playing, my bubbly personality was being mistaken for something I did not intend at all.

Dr Frankel recently released a new edition of Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office.  I am at the next stage of my career and looking to move into a more senior role.  I have been reading the new edition to remind me of these unconscious mistakes I have been making, which could be sabotaging my career!

I encourage you all to purchase this book and share it with your friends.  It's all about paying it forward, and this book will help you more than any other in the market.  What I like best is how Dr Frankel also recommends books by other authors to read - you don't see that very often.  These books, like Dr Frankel's, are not over the top (again noting my distaste for self-help style books) and are helping me gain that competitive, yet friendly edge, over my colleagues.  My "Corner Office" is a promotion to Senior Associate and I can't wait to get it!

Mel V's super moist protein biccies

I love my protein, but I also love my sweets!! Seeing I work out at least 5 times a week, I need my snacks, but as with most career girls, I don't have time to make things and often resort to buying snacks that have that much preservatives I am sure to be mummified instantly upon death.

But then Mel V (you know the girl who exposed the truth behind the before/after body transformation pictures), came along with these biscuits. We were having a bander on Instagram over her use of the word "moist", so I rose to the challenge and made them. DELICIOUS and yes moist!

What surprised me most was the secret ingredient - see if you can pick it below. 

Ingredients

- 30g of melted butter (I used nutlex)

- 100gr of natural peanut butter

- 400gr of chickpeas washed, rinsed and spun through the blender

- 40gr of ground oats

- 2 tbsp of honey (ok I used 3 - sorry Mel!)

- scoop of whey protein powder (Mel used Delicious protein peanut butter chocolate shake, I only have vanilla so I used that)

- 25gr of chocolate chips

Mix everything, bar the chocolate chips, REALLY well.  Once mixed through, add in the chocolate chips.  Roll into chunky biscuits. Probably don't flatten them as much as I did. 

Bake for 15-18mins at 160 degrees.  They are really sticky so use baking paper.  Makes 9. 

Cannot thank Mel enough for this recipe. I LOVE THEM! 

Cas