Growing up as a kid in Hong Kong, a city that only seemed to offer limited career options, my young self would never have imagined that I now have “Juris Doctor” after my name. It was not long ago when I first walked into my law school lecture hall, and now, I am ready to sit for the Bar Examination in July, 2021. On May 15, 2021, I walked on stage as a graduate for 2021 Juris Doctor at the University of San Diego, School of Law. Three years of law school went by but the journey was never easy, whether it be claiming possession to a fox you just hunted or trying to “invest” in a tax shelter, the pool of legal issues and subjects is bottomless and the ceiling of which is ever-expanding. Under an academically challenging and competitive environment, I learned to thrive in it. After all, as I quote from one of my favorite Broadway shows Hamilton, “Immigrants, we get the job done!”
Looking back, to the day when I first joined the Law Offices of Gregory S. Masler in 2018, it feels as if I was making copies and sending out faxes just yesterday. Throughout law school, I have grown alongside the firm, witnessing the various changes. Now that I am back as a full-time employee, I am excited and eager to grow and expand the firm’s practices. As the firm continues to grow our international network of clientele under this challenging climate, the constantly changing immigration regulations and policies often arise as obstacles to international clients. With my legal focus on immigration law, I believe the knowledge I have acquired from my various immigration internship experiences will enable me to better service our clients, whether they be domestic or international.
If I have learned one lawyer skill from law school, it will be that there is no end to learning new materials. A lawyer must always keep him/herself informed about the current standing of the law at all times. That is also true to being on top of your cases and keeping your clients informed. To this, I am truly glad to have found and joined an amazing team that will be by my side in this new chapter of my life.
Thomas Hoi-Fai Yau (邱海辉) – Law Clerk