For DLA Piper Hong Kong office Managing Partner Kevin Chan, studying law at university came naturally due to his love of debating.

Chan was born in Shantou in Guangdong province, before his family moved to Hong Kong in 1980 when he was 10 years old.

He recalls his family had no place to live when they arrived in the city, but they were fortunate enough to stay with a relative who owned a mahjong shop in Yau Ma Tei. Along with his parents and two older brothers, Chan lived in a spare room above the shop for two months before they moved to Sham Shui Po.

"Then I continued to study in Hong Kong, but when I first went to primary school here, I couldn't speak Cantonese and I wanted to go back (to Shantou). I think I cried a little bit as some kids in school made fun of me and I couldn't respond in Cantonese."

In order to learn English, Chan was the only child at a night school in Sham Shui Po that was normally attended by adults. But after working diligently for eight months, he topped his primary school's English tests.

Later he was admitted by Queen's College - one of the best secondary schools in Hong Kong - and then went onto the University of Hong Kong where he studied law.

"I've always liked debate, so became a lawyer was quite natural to me, also I watched a lot of TV series about how great lawyers are, they are doing great job and having fun, which also had some impact on me."

The first law firm he joined was Johnson Stokes & Master, where he trained for two years before leaving for a small firm specializing in litigation.

"I had a schoolmate who worked at that firm and told me it was a young firm, very energetic, so I joined, but it didn't work out as then the partners started to leave."

Around that time, he was approached by a partner of DLA Piper, before signing on in 1997. After the global merger, the firm drastically increased in size in 2005 - the year Chan was made partner. He was named as managing partner in 2012.

"I was promoted to partner quickly as I worked really hard. One year after I joined the firm, I started to bring clients to the firm before I was promoted to partner, I was already doing the same work as a partner, so to me, promoting me was something both the firm and myself expected to happen - also a partner title would help me expand my client base."

Chan says he is a great believer of self-motivation, as you can't force people to do something they do not enjoy. Instead, he tells his staff that they don't work for him but for their clients, and to help people will give them satisfaction.

He says he spends a lot of time with the firm's junior lawyers to understand their goals in life, and then encourages them to combine their personal career plan with the vision of the firm.

When you see yourself grow and improve, that's the ultimate happiness you can get, Chan says, so he encourages his young colleagues to have a long-term plan about where five or 10 years from now.

"Then you need to combine your plan with your day-to-day work. If what you are doing today is part of your longer-term plan, you will be passionate and energized to accomplish it," Chan says.

sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 10/24/2016 page7)