This week we interview Wanhsi from ArrowGates LLC to get to know her better beyond her work as a lawyer. Wanhsi specializes in the practice area of FinTech and recently authored and article to help FinTech companies in Singapore navigate the fast-changing regulations around FinTech.
What made you want to be a lawyer
I didn’t actually want to be a lawyer. I had watched a documentary when I was 12 about starving children in Africa (cliché I know!), and it made an enormous impact on me. My dream ever since, was to become a doctor, working in Africa. I guess the humanitarian work that I do in Mozambique is a part-fulfillment of that childhood desire.
But I can tell you why I want to be a corporate lawyer. I enjoy the area of finance/business. Businesses/ companies are a vital tool in social transformation. Beyond generating wealth, they can and have a positive and lasting change and influence on people, communities and societies.
What is your most prized possession
Hard question! My passport. I love being in different nations, living there, learning about the culture and people. I lived in the UK while I was doing my law degree, and backpacked most of Europe. Downwards from England, to France, worked my way across Spain, hopped on a ferry across to Morocco. I watched the milky way travel across the night sky while lying on the Sahara sand, and serendipitously met the Lonely Planet Guide writer for Morocco on a train ride from Marakesh to Fez where I was invited to his sister’s week-long wedding celebration. Across from England to Central Europe, all the way to Poland, Czech Republic.
I have been involved in non-profit work for the last 10 years and co-founded a disaster relief, humanitarian non- profit organization, with bases in Brazil and Mozambique. Due to this work, I have had the privilege of serving in different nations, and have spent considerable lengths of time in the US, Pakistan, Philippines, Brazil, Mozambique and Korea. I will never forget hiding in the boot of the car, while trying to get away in a Taliban-controlled area, or running for my life away from gun-toting policemen in a favela in Sao Paulo!
My guitar, which I take out to play when I can. Helps me to relieve stress. My hope is to be able to play jazz on the guitar or piano, one day….
Fun fact about you
I once shaved my head on a dare. It took me more than a year to grow my hair back! I was young and foolish, never again.
Where someone might find you in your free time
Wherever I am, either roaming the side streets of a city/town, exploring and taking in the sights and smells, the people going about their daily lives, and discovering little surprises and delights!
Otherwise, I would be by a large water body, either a beach, lake or perhaps a waterfall. I love how water can be relaxing and calming in a still lake, beautiful and soothing at a beach, yet raging at a waterfall.
This article is written by Gabriel The from Asia Law Network.
This article does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter discussed and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and practice in this area. If you require any advice or information, please speak to practicing lawyer in your jurisdiction. No individual who is a member, partner, shareholder or consultant of, in or to any constituent part of Interstellar Group Pte. Ltd. accepts or assumes responsibility, or has any liability, to any person in respect of this article.