Tiyana Pertiwi

Foreign Attorney

“My co-workers are kind and helpful in and outside of work. Sometimes they would also share with me their work-life balance tips to handle the stress, information about restaurants in Osaka, or inspire me with their travel stories around Japan.”

 

How was Japan in reality to what you had imagined before you arrived?

It is still a cash-based society, where contactless debit card payment options are quite limited. I initially expected that before opening a Japanese bank account during my first week in Japan, I would be able to temporarily use my foreign debit card for payment of most things. Apparently payments by cash are more preferred in a lot of stores, so I had to adapt by readjusting my habit of carrying just one debit card in my pocket to actually carrying around a wallet containing cash on a daily basis.

Do you feel like you're having an impact directly on the clients that you work for?

Yes. What we convey in our client communications are paramount in importance, as they directly represent our clients' objectives and intentions in our own words. Personally, there is a sense of satisfaction somehow when we receive news from patent offices that a patent we are filing and prosecuting on behalf of our clients has been granted.

What are the challenging or difficult aspects of your work?

Having to learn everything about intellectual property law, since it was not an area of law that I was particularly familiar of. The hands-on training also means that we are expected to juggle the process of learning, reading, identifying, and solving problems in a case in a relatively short amount of time.

What were the initial difficulties of adjusting to life in Japan?

Getting familiar with the transportation system. I find that the train systems are quite complex to get used to the first time around. Public transportation generally stops operating around midnight, so taxis are the only option as opposed to walking after midnight, but getting into taxis when you have little knowledge of Japanese was also a bit of a problem.

How would you describe your co-workers?

They are fully committed to their work, attentive to detail, and are amazing problem solvers. They are also kind and helpful in and outside of work. Sometimes they would also share with me their work-life balance tips to handle with the stress, information about restaurants in Osaka, or inspire me with their travel stories around Japan.

What is the most important thing that working at the Firm has taught you about yourself?

The daily work in the firm requires meticulous work in a limited timeframe, which made me focus on improving my current level of reading speed and attention to detail.

What would you say makes someone successful at the Firm; and more specifically, what factors have made you successful at Firm?

I would say that to be a successful person working at the firm ideally means that person possesses the highest ability to work efficiently while balancing not only speed, but also quality output. I would not consider myself as a successful person yet in that sense, but the goal is to constantly improve myself in order to reach there.

What is the best thing about being a part of a global team?

It is always interesting to find out that there could be different views on a particular matter at work from different people coming from a diverse pool of nationalities and backgrounds. These inputs are extremely helpful since my team deals with cases in filed foreign jurisdictions, in which an approach to a similar case could vary depending on the law and customary in the respective countries.

What have been your 3 fondest leisure experiences in Japan?

Seeing the whale sharks in the Osaka Aquarium, going on an Izakaya-hopping tour, and feeding crackers by hand to the deer in Nara.

I am looking forward to experience ...

travel outside of the Kansai prefecture after the COVID-19 pandemic.

What three words describe the Firm best? First in English, then in your mother tongue?

Meticulous. Swift. Elaborate. Teliti. Cekatan. Terperinci.

What is your most treasured possession that you've obtained during your stay in Japan thus far and why?

A Japanese rice cooker. Before coming to Japan, I didn't know of rice cookers could cook rice differently. Now I can set just the right amount of fluffiness of my rice for my meals, depending on the dish.