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23rd July, 2012
MELBOURNE: A leading Australian university has featured a Malaysian lawyer to highlight its alumni’s global impact.
The University of Adelaide says from the boardrooms of New York to the orphanages of Bali, to international policy development in Geneva, its graduates are exploring new cultures, sharing their knowledge and helping to improve the lives of others.
It says one such trail-blazing alumnus is Karen Abraham, an IP lawyer with Shearn Delamore & Co in Kuala Lumpur.
The university’s alumni magazine “Lumen’ says the words “social” and “creative” may not immediately spring to mind when one thinks about corporate law – but spend five minutes with Karen and it’s clear that open engagement with ideas, people and cultures are powerful igniting factors.
She says it’s an approach to life that began during her time at the University of Adelaide.
“My time studying in Adelaide was a turning point for me. It introduced me to the Australian way of life in general – it’s all about balance – and I think it’s just that which has so much to offer Asian students,” she told Lumen.
The young lawyer, who graduated with a Bachelor of Law (Hons) in 1988 in Adelaide, credits numerous firsts to her name, including being the first Malaysian woman appointed on the International Trademark Association’s Board of Directors (INTA) headquartered in New York, and the first Malaysian to sit on the Bureau of the Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI) based in Zurich.
Karen heads the Intellectual Property and Information Technology Department of Shearn Delamore & Co, one of the oldest and largest full service firms in Malaysia.
Studying in Adelaide, Karen was following in the footsteps of her father – pioneering University of Adelaide medical graduate Datuk Dr Samuel Abraham.
Among the first Malaysians to study in Adelaide under the Colombo Plan, the late Dr Abraham was the first non-Australian Student Union President and integral to bridging the gap between Australian and Asian students at Lincoln College at the University of Adelaide.
Throwing herself into university life, Karen counts singing in a band at the UniBar and performing in the Adelaide Law Review as equally important as the classroom.
Karen specialised in IP litigation for 10 years after graduating, before realising she needed to “reinvent” her career.
“I diluted my litigation focus of my career and started travelling, speaking and writing abroad – gaining international recognition for my firm,” she told the magazine.
As part of this, Karen has been invited to speak to Malaysian students about studying in Australia – a topic she is passionate about.
“I strongly encourage students to spend their time at the residential colleges; it’s about learning and exposing yourself to another culture.”
Karen’s last words of advice for students: “Study hard but play hard!”
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