Season 3: Episode 4: Alyanna Apacible
Legal Researcher at International Association of Privacy Professionals
Alyanna Apacible
Legal Research Associate at International Association of Privacy Professionals
How to find a job in the U.S. as a Tech Law LLM?
A LL.M. in Technology Law has become increasingly well sought, I interviewed Alyanna, a Tech Law LLM graduate who has successfully found a job in the U.S. upon graduation.
When Alyanna was a lawyer in Manila, Philippines. She served numerous clients from the IT, media, and Fintech sectors. The exposure inspired her to pursue a LL.M. in Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown. Following her graduation, Alyanna successfully landed a job as a Legal Research Associate at International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
I love it that Alyanna is eloquent and very quotable during our conversation. When asked about her favorite American legal TV shows or movies, Alyanna admitted that she’s the “Suits generation”, though she found those lawyers hard to relate to. She believes that it is a misconception that you need to be a shark to be a good lawyer. You can be a teddy bear and still be an amazing lawyer.
How did she leverage her experience and the Tech Law LLM degree to find a job?
What was her job search process?
What activities and opportunities in law school helped her secure her position?
How to market yourself successfully and build your “brand identity” as an internationally trained lawyer?
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Where did you grow up? And why did you choose to study law?
I grew up in Manila, Philippines. I have to be honest and admit I wasn't very well-informed about what law school and being a lawyer would be like. I'm really just the kid who argued a lot and was told by "grown-ups" I'd be a good lawyer. This is funny because I've never been a litigator/ engaged in adversarial practice at all.
I came to the U.S. because the best schools are in the US. Given my interest in technology, it made sense as the US is the engine of technology in the world.
What languages do you speak? What do you do as a multilingual lawyer?
I'm bilingual and grew up speaking both English and Filipino. In my most natural speech, I use a combination of the two. The Philippines is one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world and English is the medium of communication in schools and professional settings. I’m a Legal Research Associate at International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
You have successfully found a job in the U.S. after getting your LL.M. in tech law. What leads you to your current job?
I started taking my job hunt pretty seriously around the second semester of my LLM, so when the spring semester started, and I was pretty committed to it, because that was really my goal to get a job here coming into the LLM program. So I tried to do something each day that would advance my job search, whether that would be to submit a job application or to try to network with some people.
Prior to my LLM, I was an associate at a law firm in Manila. The work I did was mostly corporate and tax. We had clients that were engaged in IT, media, and Fintech. As such, we dealt with a lot of tech-related aspects of the law such as data privacy and intellectual property in our transactional work. I wanted to focus on this as the main course of my career and not just a side dish, so I wanted to do my tech law LLM to be able to dive deeper into the field.
How did you hear about the job opportunity?
While I did a lot of networking and applied to several jobs through networking, ironically the job I eventually got at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) is one where I actually just applied without knowing anyone at the organization, although I was quite familiar with the organization itself as I read a lot of their content. I learned about the job from an email sent by my program director at Georgetown. However, I would like to think that the organization was interested in me because a lot of the activities I engaged in during my LLM year were very aligned with the organization's thrusts. For example, during my time at Georgetown, I was a research assistant at the Center for Privacy and Technology and extern at the Federal Trade Commission. I think my experiences there really helped me stand out.
How did you network during your LLM?
In my case, in the fall semester, my focus was really just to understand what the landscape was like. So it was actually harder in the beginning to network because you don't really know where to start. But then I find that once you start meeting people, it's easier for you to expand the network once you have like these first-degree connections. So by the time that I was doing networking in the spring semester, I was already talking to like second or third degree connections from the people that I had initially spoken with in the first semester. And there were times that I would not know any more how to proceed and like, feel that I had to stop. There's just so much information coming at you. I would just read all of the emails that were sent to me and attend different events. And then those would always generate new ideas for me as to opportunities or that I could pursue or people that I could possibly speak with.
What activities and opportunities did you participate in law school that enable you to land a job right after graduation?
There are so many activities at Georgetown, right? In my case, I wanted to join a law journal. So that was something I was proactively seeking. Even before the program began, I was writing to the editorial board asking how I could be a member or be a staff editor on their team. For the other opportunities and activities that I pursued at law school, I think I had some idea of what I wanted. For example, I knew that there were graduates of the tech LLM program who externed at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). So that was something that I also thought that hey, I might want to do that too. And so I actually reached out to those who did their externship at the FTC and asked them: how did they learn about this position? What was the interview process like for them?
How do you market yourself effectively to get the job?
First, I think that you really have to enter the job search with a humble mindset, because you could have been like a big shot lawyer in wherever you came from. But then here, you have to communicate that effectively. And it can get frustrating, I understand when people don't see that right away.
Second is that in connection to having to communicate your value to these prospective employers, you are marketing yourself in a way. And I think being very conscious of what your brand identity is as an applicant is very important. You have to know why an employer would want you. You have to ask yourself: what unique thing you can bring to the table and not just in general, but to a specific organization to a specific role, or even to the specific person who is looking to hire you.
Could you elaborate on “brand identity”? How to build your brand identity during job search?
When I started searching for jobs, I cast a wide net. So I was applying law firms, in-house positions, policy roles. But I think later, as I proceeded in the application process, and in the interview process, I started to get the feel of what kinds of positions I was a better fit for.
I noticed this because in the interviews, for example, in my current job at the IAPP, when I was interviewing for them, the interview felt just so easy because everything came so naturally to me, because I didn't have to hard sell myself. I was like, you know what, even if I was foreign trained, I can be just as good as the JDs.
So it wasn't about showing that I'm as good as the others, but because they were looking for someone with a global perspective, and it wasn't really important that they were barred elsewhere or specifically a JD here, I think they could really appreciate that I had my previous experience in international law and policy.
I think that’s what I meant about being conscious of your brand identity. If you catch yourself while job hunting, always having to explain your perceived shortcomings, then maybe it's time to reassess the kinds of roles that you're applying for, because you shouldn't be explaining why you're just as good as others, I think you should be aiming for those roles where you're showing that you are the best person for this job.
What American movies or TV shows about lawyers inform or inspire you about the American legal profession?
I was in law school during the height of Suits fame. But I find it hard to enjoy most legal TV shows because I find most to be unrealistic. The legal profession in reality involves a lot of boring work. TV shows and movies only show the "sexy" side of the profession, but it's a lot of paper pushing at 10 p.m. in the office. Also, most TV and movie lawyers are portrayed to be fierce and sassy. As a generally reserved and (I would like to believe) nice person, it's just hard for me to relate to.
What are the important lawyering skills to do what you do well?
I think it's important to stay abreast of important updates in the area you want to practice. Read a lot, even if it's not directly related to a current work matter. Furthermore, resourcefulness is so underrated. There is no point in trying to know all the answers. Instead, focus on learning where to look for answers so that any question may become answerable.
Who is your role model in the law?
Truth be told, I don't have one single career peg. However, I'm always inspired to meet lawyers who are successful but also humble, kind, and down-to-earth. There is a misconception that you need to be a shark in order to do well as a lawyer, but I have found that is not true. You can be a teddy bear and still be an amazing lawyer.
