With NYU Abu Dhabi (2023) and a Cambridge LLM (2026) behind me, I am energized to be stepping into a field reshaped by ex-ante antitrust litigation, sovereign use of lawfare in territorial claims, and the economization of environmental law. My professional path has been an exercise in curiosity and impact. Across every role, three patterns emerge: adapting legacy systems to emerging trends, building consensus that outlasts the project, and leaving workflows leaner than I found them. Below are five experiences that were particularly formative of my early-career interests.

1. AML Regulation and Enforcement

In August 2022, I joined the Central Bank of the UAE’s Enforcement Department, where I drafted enforcement memos, authored a regulatory supplement to the Federal Law on AML/CFT, and coordinated the update of the federal Consumer Protection Standards. On my own initiative, I proposed a structured roadmap for the Central Bank to adopt an algorithmic approach to trim processing times of sanctions cases on Licensed Financial Institutions (excluding Insurance). My work contributed, in part, to the UAE’s eventual removal from the FATF grey list in 2024.

This experience sharpened my eye for risk management from a policymaker’s standpoint. It also opened my eyes to how thoughtful policy design can balance what many view as a zero-sum trade-off between innovation and security. Through proportional licensing and tiered KYC, opacity can be swapped for traceability, without killing the very cost and speed advantage that make channels such as cryptocurrencies and Hawaladars valuable in the first place.

Jury promotion event at Judicial Reform Foundation.

Jury promotion event at Judicial Reform Foundation.

2. Legal Policy and Civic Advocacy

In 2020, at Taiwan’s Judicial Reform Foundation, I helped a pro-jury coalition keep parliamentary pressure high during a pivotal legislative session (3rd Sitting, 1st Extraordinary Session of the 1st Session of the 10th Term Legislative Yuan). I learned to compress hours-long daily press conferences into 200-word press releases on-site within 20 minutes of event conclusion.

I also overhauled the Prosecutorial Misconduct Project at the Foundation, which challenges news reports that leak confidential evidence (e.g., bodycam footage of arrests) and compromise defendants’ presumption of innocence. I coded a Python script that web-scrapes offending news articles, pinpoints the responsible police jurisdiction, and automatically populates a FOIA-style request. This script slashes processing time of each report by 80%, freeing up labor for the resource-scarce nonprofit organization. I then adapted this idea to an interactive web workflow, allowing ordinary citizens to file these complaints themselves.

SES 2023 closing remarks at COP28, United Arab Emirates.

SES 2023 closing remarks at COP28, United Arab Emirates.

3. Youth Engagement in Global Energy

I co-founded my university’s first Student Energy chapter – aptly named TAAQA (Arabic for “Energy”) – to connect global youth sustainability activism with the Middle East’s legacy energy producers. As a founding executive board member, I led recruitment, ran campus events, and organized career talks with local energy companies and government sustainability agencies.

From my final semester through January 2024, I stepped up as Sponsorship Associate (and de facto paralegal) for the Student Energy Summit (SES) at COP28. I shepherded 13 sponsorship contracts between the host university, government entities, and corporate partners such as the Bezos Earth Fund. I aligned each contract with UAE regulations and UK anti-slavery rules, and I oversaw onsite delivery of sponsorship commitments. Held under the patronage of the UAE Undersecretary of Energy, SES is the world’s largest student-led conference on energy. Our newly formed student society brought it to Abu Dhabi for the first time. The funding enabled the largest SES to date: 650 delegates from 129 countries, half of whom were attending their first international conference.

4. Military Service

Drafted into Taiwan’s Army Corps as part of my national service, I first tackled a problem no servicemember wanted: the chow line. I worked with my squad members to apply the Ford production-line principles, sequencing plating, delivery, and cleanup service on a rotating roster. We cut meal service duration (including cleanup) from 60 minutes to 21, earning us the regiment’s first-ever honorary leave for a mess squad. I later deployed to a frontline unit facing the Taiwan Strait in a combat capacity, before my honorable discharge into reserve duty in 2024.

During my service, I advocated for a squad member who was facing disproportionate disciplinary action due to their socioeconomic status, and they eventually saw their penalty reduced after a formal appeals process.

Teen Diplomatic Envoys Competition, Preliminary Rounds 2024.

Teen Diplomatic Envoys Competition, Preliminary Rounds 2024.

5. Public Speaking

For three consecutive editions (2020, 2023, 2024), the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs tapped me to host its Teen Diplomatic Envoys Competition at all preliminary rounds around the nation, later televised on the Public Television Service. I delivered opening and closing remarks, hosted the awards ceremony, and presented 1,000+ contestants across three editions.