Celebrating International Women's Day
Contacts
Partner
China
I am an intellectual property partner at Bird & Bird China, based in our Shanghai office. Together with our association law firm Lawjay, we have represented numerous companies in achieving excellent results of IP protection in China.
Today is International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, which has been observed since in the early 1900s.
As a firm, we're committed to a diverse and inclusive environment. Last year, we were recognised as a leading firm for female talent, winning six awards at Euromoney's Europe Women in Business Law Awards and three prizes at its Asia Women in Business Law Awards. Three of our female partners were also included in a new UK legal magazine, Flux, launched in November 2015 which showcases high-profile women within the legal industry.
To mark the day, we spoke to three of our female partners - Christine Yiu in Shanghai, Catherine Erkelens in Brussels and Joanne Wheeler in London to learn more about their practices and the advice they'd give to aspiring female lawyers.
Catherine Erkelens co-heads our International Aviation & Defence Group and is based in the Brussels office. She specialises in Aviation regulatory, Aviation litigation, and commercial work in the Aviation sector, as well as data protection and technology related work.
What is your one piece of advice for a woman wanting to progress their legal career?
Stay who you are, do not try to copy behaviour. Proceed in your own personal way. Focus on the aspects of the job which you are good at, where you excel.