Stephanie Siu, a lawyer at eBrevia, a Donnelley Financial Solutions company, discusses how she stays on top of her professional game, her motivations during this past year, her passions, and much more.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I am a legaltech lawyer at eBrevia. We specialize in providing an AI-powered contract analytics and management platform which helps lawyers review contracts more efficiently and accurately. I am responsible for leading eBrevia’s expansion in the APAC region. My day-to-day work involves working with other lawyers on integrating our platform into their practice, developing new features with our product and tech teams, and formulating our APAC business strategy.

Prior to joining eBrevia, I was a corporate lawyer at Reed Smith Richards Butler and provided advice on initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate compliance issues.  I also teach the Legal Ethics and Professional Practice course at the University of Law.

How do you stay on top of your professional game? Any tips on how you keep your competitive edge?

My work is at the intersection of law, finance and technology, and I see it as part of a bigger push towards the modernization of legal practice. To stay ahead of the curve, I read extensively and frequently discuss industry developments with my product and tech team, as well as others in the legaltech space. Many of the people I have met have been generous with their knowledge and contagious in their enthusiasm. Their support has been invaluable, given that I did not come from a tech background. 

I am also learning to be more comfortable with change in my professional life. My training as a lawyer has taught me to be risk-averse, so it would be an understatement to say that the move to legaltech was a difficult choice! 

What has kept you motivated to succeed this past year?

I enjoy interacting personally with the lawyers we work with. The atmosphere is generally very positive, as they are excited to see how our platform can help their work, and I am eager to share it with them. I am also happy when we brainstorm cases together, as I get to exercise the creative streak in me. 

My hope is to help the legal industry embrace technology and work more efficiently!

Aside from work, what are your other passions?

Classical singing and painting. I’ve also been experimenting with drawing on my iPad, and would love to own a little card shop one day. My choice of travel destination is somewhere remote where I can enjoy the great outdoors. My fondest memories are of watching penguins along the Garden Route in South Africa, and taking long walks around Wengen, a little mountain village in Switzerland.