Annette Wong '12 discusses law & identity
For Annette Wong ’12, the Spirit of the Law speaker series has come full circle. After listening to a series of successful attorneys share their stories over the years, the former Spirit of the Law president and recent USC Gould School of Law graduate got her chance to stand behind the podium. Wong shared her experiences with current students in the latest installment of the lunchtime speaker series, which is sponsored by the USC Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics and the USC Office of Religious Life.
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| Annette Wong '12 |
Although born in Los Angeles, Wong grew up in Beijing and Hong Kong. She returned to the United States to attend Yale University, where she graduated with a B.A. in history and international studies in 2006. When she came to study law at USC, Wong became involved with the Spirit of the Law program, drawn by its focus on helping students merge their personal interests and professional goals for a fulfilling legal career.
“I felt that the very issues that brought me to law school had gotten lost,” she told the students in attendance. “Spirit of the Law helps students see the human side of the profession and the opportunities that a law degree can create.”
As an Asian American who attended British schools in Hong Kong, Wong said she faced the “perfect storm” for an early identity crisis. Despite living in Asia, Wong was taught very little Chinese or American history.
“I felt that there was something incongruous about what was being taught in school and how I viewed the world,” said Wong.
Wong stressed the importance of understanding one’s identity and history to ensure that every person is appropriately represented in the judicial system. She also spoke of the role that history plays in understanding any lived event.
To further explore how history and the law interact, and to put into practice what she learned in an International Criminal Law class taught by Prof. Hannah Garry, Wong spent this past summer working in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
For three months, she collaborated with national and international judges and lawyers to research and draft judicial decisions. In particular, Wong worked on a decision concerning alleged interference by the Cambodian Prime Minister in the proceedings against Nuon Chea (“Brother Number 2”) and a decision regarding the conditions of the Trial Chamber’s release of Khmer Rouge Social Action Minister Ieng Thirith. Nuon Chea and Ieng were both charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and genocide against the Muslim Cham and the Vietnamese.
“I also had the opportunity to travel through the country and learned a great deal not only about Cambodia’s history and its people, but also about myself and how lucky we are to live in a system which, despite its flaws, respects the rule of law,” she said.
Although the job search can be stressful for 2Ls and 3Ls, Wong urged students to view the uncertainty as a learning experience.
“It’s about how you make sense of the whole constellation of things you have done,” she said, while encouraging students to “connect the dots” when thinking about their past experiences.
“I encourage you to take stock of all the dots in your life—those that have come before, and those that present themselves as opportunities later, to decide what kind of arc best suits your best vision for yourself,” she said.
Wong co-founded the Critical Legal Studies Association to encourage discussion about how the law intersects with race, gender, sexual orientation and class, and received the Edward S. and Eleanor J. Shattuck Award during her 3L year.
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