Mei is a third year lawyer specialising in competition and consumer law. In just these few years, she has already built up an impressive resume in this field – including working on billion dollar deals in Australasia, being recognised as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 for Competition, Trade and Regulation, and active involvement in a number of committees in her firm. She is passionate about legal innovation, an advocate for inclusion and diversity, and works to support junior, female and foreign qualified lawyers.
The best way to contact Mei is via her LinkedIn.
Interview with Mei Gong – Competition and Consumer Lawyer
Hey there!
When I was in university, competition and consumer law was somewhat a mystery to me (particularly the competition part) as it is often taught as a university elective, and unless you get in, you often have no idea what it is. Yet competition and consumer law play an important part in regulating how businesses interact with each other, and how they interact with everyday consumers (cue, people like you and me). As it’s a niche area, lawyers in this area are also in reasonably high demand and the learnings are highly practical.
To help demystify this area of law, here’s a Q&A on some of the most common questions I get from law students, clerks and junior lawyers. If you have any burning questions I haven’t covered, or any comments you have, please feel free to reach out to me through my LinkedIn!
Competition and Consumer Law Questions
1. What does your average week/month look like?
One of the best aspects of competition and consumer law (and my group’s generalist practice) in this area is that you get the chance to work on a full spectrum of issues (which I will detail below). Work hours are usually reasonable, 9am to 5:30pm (or possibly 6:30pm), and rarely will there be late nights/weekends unless there is an urgent deadline.
Outside of working on client-related matters, I get involved in a range of internal firm committees relating to advancing the development of female professionals to supporting legal innovation initiatives. I’m also involved in all aspects of preparing marketing materials (i.e. monthly newsletters, insights), spotting potential client opportunities, preparing internal and external presentations, drafting pitches, and the most enjoyable aspect of my job: mentoring other junior lawyers and seeing them thrive.
2. What kind of responsibilities and work can you be expected to do in this sector?
Unsurprisingly, this would depend on your team and your firm. I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to directly work with my partner on all of the matters I have worked on since I was a first-year lawyer, so my experience may not necessarily reflect that of other junior lawyers.
However, you could be expected to be involved in the following:
a) Advising clients on the full spectrum of competition and consumer law issues
The topic areas you can advise on are as diverse as the issues themselves. For example, you could be:
- writing a memo/delivering advice in a Board meeting regarding complex competition law and consumer law issues;
- reviewing contracts (and other internal and external facing policies and documents) to identify the key risks; or
- getting a first glimpse and advising on the client’s next advertising/promotional campaign.
Other times you could be involved in all aspects of the risk cycle. By that, I mean, you could be doing risk assessments (including recommendations) on how a business can lower its competition and consumer law risk profile, help clients implement compliance training or do an audit on how effective a client’s compliance program is. Throughout the process, you will get to learn a lot about the dynamics of the business (through interviews and document review) and the industry as well.
b) Engaging with regulators (either as part of mergers or an application), or defending against regulatory investigations/prosecutions
The main regulator that you will get to interact with is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), although it is possible that you will also get to interact with other regulators such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or the ACCC’s counterpart in NZ, being the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC).
You may interact with the ACCC proactively in the context of lodging an immunity application for cartel conduct, or more benign scenarios such as lodging an authorisation or notification application (so that your client can engage in conduct that would otherwise be in contravention of competition laws), and in merger/acquisitions. Other times, you may be on the more ‘reactive’ end and be assisting clients to respond to an ACCC investigation, or in the worst scenario, be on the defence when the ACCC launches litigious proceedings against your client.
3. Talk me through a transaction that you can disclose that you worked on. What did you find quite interesting/exciting from a strategic or commercial perspective?
I’ve been very fortunate to have worked on billion dollar transactions and securing historical regulatory approvals (such as the first resale price maintenance authorisation in New Zealand). However, one matter stands out for me in my short career so far.
The matter is notable because it was one of the rare examples where commercial law intersected with public interest (which is unusual except perhaps in a pro bono context). In March 2020, when everyone was trying to grapple with what the COVID-19 pandemic meant to us as individuals (and as a society), I had the surreal experience of helping to prepare a client pitch relating to COVID-19 (detailed below), subsequently being informed we won the pitch, and then drafting and finalising submissions (all within one week).
The submission related to allowing the major pharmaceutical wholesalers in Australia to collaborate on COVID-19 related supply chain arrangements to ensure all Australians had timely and equitable access to essential medicines and pharmaceutical products (in simple terms, do things like impose supply restrictions to reduce panic buying behaviour). Not only was the submission drafted in record time, we also secured regulatory approval on an interim basis in record time (within 48 hours over an anxious weekend). This was an incredibly short timeframe when compared with the normal one month period that the ACCC takes to deliberate on interim authorisation applications. As we had to report to the ACCC on a regular basis, I get to track the actual impact that the matter had on the day-to-day lives of all Australians which is a really cool and humbling experience.
4. What are some of the highlights you have had as either a trainee or lawyer?
There are many, but I will try to distill three.
The biggest is supporting the growth of other junior lawyers (whether they are first years, graduates, and summer clerks). It is an unparalleled feeling to be able to celebrate the success and growth of others (and knowing that you played a small part in their journeys).
Another would be getting involved in initiatives beyond my work that seeks to make a broader impact on my firm and the legal profession. Whether that is being involved in various committees in my firm, or supporting Foreign Qualified Lawyers (FQL) through my work with the Asian Australian Lawyers Association. It was exciting to conceptualise the FQL interview initiative from the ground up and launch it successfully.
Lastly, but not least, having the opportunity to ‘step up’ and thrive. For example, I have had nerve-wracking though also confidence-building experiences of being a probity officer in a meeting involving four CEOs and an experience commercial negotiator, or the time when I had to chair a call between our CEO client, and the senior partner of another law firm. Getting to be a co-author of published case notes and international conference papers were also notable highlights too.
5. Best aspects of working in competition and consumer law?
I hope I have written enough above to convince you already. However, I will add two more aspects:
a) You will become a much more informed consumer in your own right – knowing your legal rights will allow you to better spot and protect your consumer law rights in your everyday life (who doesn’t love a refund or replacement!).
b) Getting to interact with the most senior executives of the company – in this area of law, you won’t just get to interact with the General Counsel, but you will get the chance to interact with the CEO, COOs and Chair of organisations of all sizes. It is both a highly rewarding and thrilling experience.
6. What kind of skills are required in this area and what skills did you learn?
I think the skills required to succeed in this area are very similar to any other area of law, such as having attention to detail, a strong sense of curiosity about the practice area, and having a good attitude to learn from mistakes and grow. Having a growth mindset is incredibly important as the law itself is quite broad and ever involving, and its application has so many nuances that take time to understand and master.
I learnt how to do market research and understand economic concepts such as how to define a market, and how to measure substantially lessening of competition (for someone that did not have an economic background, I initially found these concepts hard to grasp). I also learnt the subtleties of different clients and how we tailor our legal advice accordingly (so what you would call commercial awareness). One other thing I picked up was how to spot potential marketing opportunities and craft marketing materials, including newsletters and articles.
7. Do you have any tips for looking to qualify in this area?
I am a big believer that there are many ways to get to the same destination, and it is all about figuring out which way is the most suitable for you . Nonetheless, my top three tips are:
a. Have a clear understanding about whether you have preferences for working for clients in particular sectors, or for particular parties, i.e. representing the regulator or the business. Find out which law firms are well known in what area and apply to them!
b. Approach either lawyers that you know that works in this area (or know someone who does) and ask them for an introduction or chat. If you do not know anyone, consider jumping on LinkedIn and send someone who does a message to understand what it is like working in this area.
It can be as simple as shooting them a message like:
“Hi X, I hope you don’t mind me reaching out but I’m very interested in working in competition & consumer law and noticed that you’ve got an impressive career in this space. If you’ve got some time in the next few weeks, I’d love to connect (over a virtual or in person coffee) to learn more about your work. No worries if you’re too busy. Either way, hope you have a good week!”
c. Engage with content in this area, whether it is through following the ACCC’s LinkedIn/press releases, or other thought leaders that posts content in this area. This allows you to understand what is going on and things to talk about when you get to an interview/chance to chat to someone that works in this area.
General Questions
1. Why did you choose law?
I did a Science/Law degree, and actually thought I might become a teacher one day. However, two years into my degree, and after spending a lot of time in the laboratory, I realised I didn’t enjoy the ‘hands on’ aspects of science but enjoyed exploring different perspectives and arguments, so decided to focus on exploring law as a career.
I did some volunteering work at community legal centres, crime victim support organisations and detention centres and it confirmed my initial hunch that I wanted to explore having a legal career, so decided to apply for a commercial law clerkship and the rest is history.
2. Why competition and consumer law?
I fell into competition and consumer law due to a mix of serendipity and conscious decision. While I set out to be an intellectual property (IP) lawyer, my plan had to shift when I realised that due to unforeseen circumstances, a rotation spot was not available in the group. After trying out a banking and insolvency rotation, I wanted to try out competition law just as a spot opened up and I remembered I had enjoyed the subject at university. I decided to settle early because an opportunity opened up for me to take leading responsibility on several ongoing matters (which was too good to resist). The partner was supportive, and I enjoyed the work, so thought “why not try it out for a few years, what have I got to lose?“. I’ve never looked back and remained in this area since.
3. What does ‘commercial acumen’ mean to you?
When I was applying for clerkships, the phrase ‘commercial acumen’ was thrown around a lot. I knew it was important but did not truly understand what it meant (as I didn’t have any commercial law experiences at the time). With the benefit of hindsight (and a few more years of legal practice under my belt), I see commercial acumen as being curious about the client, understanding their risk appetite, and giving them practical legal advice that is tailored to their risk appetite and circumstances. While as lawyers we may want our clients to pursue the ‘risk free’ option, that is usually not the commercially sensible option and you need to learn to be comfortable with the fact that as long as you have warned the clients of the risk (and they decide to take the risk nonetheless), there’s nothing much you can do beyond that point.