
Daisy Deng, ’12, is a University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law alumna, who serves as senior legal counsel at VIP.com in Guangzhou, China.
1. Tell us about yourself. From undertaking an LLM in Transnational Business Practice to being a Senior Legal Counsel, what influenced the other?
Before undertaking the LLM degree at McGeorge School of Law, I was an attorney at Schinders Law. I was young and did not have a clear plan with my career path. Thanks to the encouragement of Henry Liao, ’98 (an alumnus of McGeorge and a member of the International Board of Advisors), I started thinking about studying abroad for a year or so. And thanks to his support (not only financially), I got the opportunity to make my dream come true at McGeorge. I don’t quite remember how many programs were running at the time and the reason I picked Transnational Business, but it turned out to be a very smart choice for me. With the study at McGeorge, I became more familiar with American and European legal systems, and had more sense of how business was working internationally in modern times. After leaving Schinders, I firstly joined Amway (China) Co., Ltd., a corporation headquartered at Ada, Michigan, as a legal counsel, and then Vipshop (China) Co., Ltd., an NYSE listing company, as a senior legal counsel. I would have to say, my study at McGeorge has shaped my career path. Without it, I would not have the chance nor the ability to serve my employees (international company or company with international business) as well as I do now.
2. Being a legal counsel to a company of the NYSE seems a complex work. Could you please describe your practice, and what legal skills are most relevant?
Vipshop is a sales company with its biggest market and major operation in Mainland China. Therefore, as legal counsels, we provide our legal advice mainly under the scope of law of P.R. China. We support the operation of the company in all aspects on a daily basis, e.g. contract review, dispute resolution, intellectual property and so on. Of course, it has some overseas transactions, and the knowledge I acquired at McGeorge helped me a lot in this regard.
3. What are some of the most interesting issues or cases that you have worked on during your career? What stands out for you as one of the major or most important moments of your legal career?
Please refer to my CV (attached hereof) for my working experience. The cases may mostly be found boring instead of interesting though.
4. Before you came to McGeorge, you had an LLM from Sun Yat-sen University. Why/how did you decide to pursue an LLM through McGeorge?
As mentioned in Question #1, I was encouraged by Henry to undertake the LLM program at McGeorge. The idea of studying abroad did not have much to do with one more LLM degree. The experience was more attractive to me. I was interested in the American legal system, which I knew from my study at Sun Yat-sen University, that varies a lot from the legal system in Mainland China. Furthermore, I was interested in American culture, food and so on. I watched some American soaps when I was a college student, e.g. Friends, I thought it would be nice to spend some time living in U.S. It was not until I arrived in California that I realized the U.S. was such a big country with so many states and different cultures.
5. As an international student, how was your integration into the Law School and Sacramento Community? What did you think of the international students’ support system at McGeorge?
Thanks for this question. I have to extend my gratitude to the international students’ support system at McGeorge. I received so much help and kindness from them, Clémence Kucera, Jocelyn Blinn, Rachel, and so many others. I was having my first child during my stay at McGeorge. I remember clearly that, after my child was born, we could no longer live in the dormitory due to the rules of campus. They helped me to find and move into a house near the campus. It was not easy for a new mom to take care of her baby and the courses at the same time. But they pulled me though. I can’t remember how many times Jocelyn drove me to the grocery stores on weekends, as I did not have a car at that time. Whenever I recall my days at McGeorge, I thank them a lot for their help.
6. You recently joined the International Board of Advisors for McGeorge, How do you see your role? Where do you want to see McGeorge International Community? If there is one message you would want to give the McGeorge global alums, what is it?
Thanks for Henry’s recommendation, I joined the IBOA for McGeorge recently. I wish I could contribute more to McGeorge’s international program, and could actually add value to IBOA as far as I can. Nonetheless, it was not easy for me to make up a plan to visit McGeorge or join the IBOA meeting in person. I don’t have many vacations with my job, and now I have two children to take care of. There’s one piece of advice though. Whenever McGeorge is enrolling international students for LLM programs, please share with us a message/brochure via e-mail. I would love to forward them to the students at Law School of Sun Yat-sen University if this helps. One message for the McGeorge global alums? Happy New Year! Welcome to China! The visa-free transit stay period for foreigners has been extended to up to 240 hours now.