Finding Strength in Discomfort for Your Career

Life has a funny way of leading us down paths we never expected. For me, becoming a paralegal wasn’t exactly a choice—it was more of a joyful accident spurred by curiosity and opportunity. I started my legal career as a temporary project assistant, where the temp agency had to fill a spot in a construction litigation firm in Northern Virginia. With a background in Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures, I embarked on a unique academic journey that wove together my passions. I was not certain that I wanted to accept this position but eventually convinced myself, Why Not?? As a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong, the word “discomfort” is no stranger to me. Navigating life in a new language, I often felt like I was on the outside looking in. My approach? Work harder, be the most reliable person in the room, and hopefully, success would trace my footsteps.

But here’s the catch: in a world that often applauds the loudest voices, the “quiet workhorse” tends to get lost in the shuffle. I grappled with this mismatch, pouring my energy into people-pleasing until the inevitable burnout occurred. The loss of my father in 2017 became my wake-up call. I hunkered down, thinking productivity would be my shield against grief, but all it did was leave me in ruins.

By late 2019, health issues pushed me to reconsider everything. I decided to leap into the unknown and founded Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG). With two decades in patent litigation, I learned a thing or two about resilience and had a wonderful network consisting of loyal friends. Whether it was racing against time to meet filing deadlines or coaxing FedEx employees to stay open a moment longer, those tense moments became the foundation of my newfound venture.

I realized it was time to break the silence. Public speaking terrified me, yet I accepted invitations to moderate and speak at panels this September. Saying “Yes” was my declaration to the world—I have stories worth sharing. Each tear I cried while speaking about my father became a reminder that vulnerability fosters connection. Allies like Steve Gong, Gail Su, Adam Jaffe, Jeremiah Chan, Amanda DoCouto, and Micheal Binns of ADAPT.legal encouraged me, proving that our journeys are tied together. I also formed a bond with Azie Aziz, a patent agent of Malaysian descent who forged a STEM background with a special flair in art, who ended up introducing art and diversity to her law firm, Womble Bond Dickinson US, LLP in Houston, Texas.

My lessons are simple yet powerful.?

1. Raise Your Voice:?Your stories have the power to inspire and uplift others. Embrace vulnerability as a source of strength. While it's essential to exercise discretion and evaluate whether the timing and environment are right, taking that risk can be profoundly liberating. Let go of the adage "Fake it till you make it"—authentic expression invites connection and encourages you and those around you to thrive.?
2. Shift the Focus: Instead of worrying about appearances, concentrate on how you can serve others. Service can be fulfilling, even in the high-pressure world of litigation.?
3. Connect and Collaborate: Networking isn’t just about professional growth; it’s about building supportive communities. Our recent interactive workshop on cite-checking is a testament to the power of collaboration, despite early hiccups.?

Remember, growth often arises from discomfort. If you dare to dream and accept challenges, new opportunities will unfold. Your journey matters—embrace it!?

Ashley asked me to review Jessica Chen’s book Smart, Not Loud: How to Get Noticed at Work for All the Right Reasons. For anyone who wants to increase their work presence, this is a must-read, especially if they come from a quiet culture background.?

From the opening anecdote, there are real-world stories and helpful advice on how to make your presence felt in the workplace, even when you feel like fading more into the background. The advice is detailed in an easy-to-understand format, with helpful recaps, called the “Bottom Line,” at the end of each chapter.

Jessica talks of four cultural reframes that a quiet culture person needs to do to be seen in the workplace while remaining true to their quiet culture selves. These are how we: Engage Others, Spend Time, Handle Wins, and Manage Conflict. Of these, I feel like Engage Others and Spend Time are most helpful.

When talking about Engage Others, Jessica says that we need to not only think about how we present ideas at work, but the presentation needs to be further tailored to whom we are presenting. While most people know that we should not present an idea the same way at work as at home or in a friendly setting, but further, you need to present an idea differently to a boss than to co-workers, as each group comes with its own priorities and biases. Focusing on what each group you are presenting to individually can not only help you get your point across better but also help you feel more prepared and confident.

When she discussed how we Spend Time, Jessica wrote of a morning meeting where she was busy working trying to find more information to bring to the meeting, while those around her were talking about their weekends and catching up on each other’s lives. She said though she was showing her work ethic, what she wasn’t getting was visibility. She wasn’t working on the interpersonal relationships that can bring fulfillment and advancement. Interestingly, she doesn’t say that a quiet culture person necessarily needs to join the morning banter, but rather, they need to make sure that they are keeping people up to date on the projects they are working on and making sure that they are interacting with others on a regular basis to help boost their impact in the workplace.

These are just a few examples of what I loved about Smart, Not Loud: How to Get Noticed at Work for All the Right Reasons. I plan on rereading the book as I implement its values into my life. I have also encouraged others I know who are quiet culture people in a loud culture world to read it. This book is one of the first I’ve read that I feel is a practical guide for a quiet culture person to advocate for themselves while still remaining true to their nature.

Even experienced cite-checkers often become confused as to the spacing of sets of books (for example, F. Supp. 3d) in citations. There are three Bluebook rules (covered in Rule 6.1(a)) to keep in mind (and a new optional spacing rule):?

• Single Caps. If you have two single capital letters that are adjacent to each other, close them up with no spaces. And for purposes of this rule, treat ordinals (such as 2d, 3d, and 4th) as single capital letters. Thus, the following are all correct:?

U.S.?

F.2d?

F.4th?

N.W.2d??

• Multiple Letters. If an abbreviation has multiple letters (such as Supp., App., or Cal.), place a space before it and after it, as in the following correct examples:?

Cal. App. 4th?

F. Supp. 2d?

F. Supp. 3d?

• Periodicals. Be careful with the title of periodicals, which have special spacing rules that require the abbreviation for an institution, such as B.U. or N.Y.U., to be set apart from other adjacent capital letters, as in the following correct examples:?

B.U. L. Rev.?

N.Y.U. L. Rev.?

S.C. L. Rev.?

• Optional Spacing. Per Bluebook B.6, in court documents, to save space, cite-checkers may optionally close up abbreviations in reporter names (but not in any other sources), as in the following correct examples:?

F.Supp.2d?

F.Supp.3d?

Cal.4th?

Most attorneys do not like this new optional spacing, likely because it violates deep-seated citation tradition, although some attorneys will use this optional spacing if their court brief is close to any word count maximum. Ask your attorneys before you use this optional spacing and keep notes as to which of your team members like it and which do not.?