Yen Lee Sim
Senior legal counsel
Schneider Electric
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6:30 am
Wake up to prepare coffee and a sandwich for my husband.
7:00 am
Do my routine facial, dress, and make-up before heading into the office.
7:30 am
Stuck in traffic for 45 minutes while on the way to the office. I listen to my favourite songs by Michael Learns to Rock to cheer me up and pass the time.
9:00 am
My mailbox has several urgent emails that require responses. While I provide my feedback, I munch on my cream puff, which is today's breakfast. Print out the documents that require thorough review.
9:30 am
Leave the office with our team to visit a customer to negotiate the closing of a supply and install contract.
10:00 am
Before walking into the building, our internal team does a quick alignment before the meeting to make sure we are on the same page.
10:15 am
The customer's procurement team, legal counsel, project managers, and members of the tendering department greet us in the conference room and the meeting begins.
1:00 pm
The negotiation ends with a handshake and signature, concluding the deal. What a satisfying moment for the parties to see the deal is finally closed and sealed! During the negotiation, I saw a few text messages and missed calls, mostly about chasers on outstanding matters or some other urgent request. I respond accordingly.
1:30 pm
Grab a tuna sandwich as a quick lunch while rushing back to the office for another meeting.
2:00 pm
Catch up with the tendering managers for each business units. We check the tender status and outstanding matters to be closed by legal. When in doubt, I seek more clarification to close the gaps. Check through the documents one last time before submitting them to the customer's tender secretary.
3:30 pm
Finally, after a day of meetings, I am back to my working office room to check and respond to my emails. I review contracts to provide legal comments and recommendations on mitigation plans.
4:30 pm
Quick catch up with the VP of business on gift and hospitality compliance requirements regarding corporate sponsorship of an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
5:00 pm
Conference call with the Taiwan management team to revise the Delegation of Authority chart to improve the internal process and possibly empower local employees to have more discretion in performing their daily work.
6:30 pm
Log in to the system to approve the document that's required for company chop.
7:00 pm
My day in the office is over. Leave for a quiet dinner with my husband without our phones beside us. Life can be so peaceful for a moment without technology.
9:00 pm
Arrive home and promptly check text messages and browse through some legal updates and emails.
10:30 pm
Do a 30-minute indoor cycling to build up a good sweat before winding down for the night.
11:30 pm
My daily facial routine is the final task before I prepare for sleep. Thank God for such a fruitful day and hope that tomorrow will be even better.
