Alumni - After Allens
Adrian Fisher
TMT Counsel
Linklaters, Singapore
This interview was conducted in 2016.
From Allens in Australia to Linklaters in Singapore, alumnus Adrian Fischer has had a whirlwind tour of Asia over the last few years. We find out what's been keeping him busy, including growing a TMT practice from scratch and becoming a father of two.
Since leaving the firm…
I've moved around a fair bit! I started with Allens in Sydney in 2006 and then moved to Hong Kong in 2011. Around the time of the alliance, I moved to Shanghai and joined Linklaters. I'm now in Singapore with Links, where I've been for two years so I've done a bit of a tour of Asia. I've also had a child and number two is on his way!
A typical day at work for me is…
never quite the same! I work in a small TMT team (there's only two people although we're about to expand to three) and cover the whole region for Linklaters – SE Asia and North Asia. It's varied work – I'll be immersed in Chinese data protection one minute and then dealing with an outsourcing issue in Singapore the next. We’re also spending a bit of time working with the start-up technology industry in Singapore which is vibrant and growing quickly. The UK and Europe is a big element of my work too; around 4pm to 5pm is when European colleagues log on and work from other parts of the world pours in. It keeps it fun and different and I always try to get home for bath time and bed time, even if I have to log back on later.
At Allens, I…
learnt a lot. I have fond memories of my time in the TMT team in Sydney. It was, and still is, a great group.
The thing that makes me get out of bed and go to work each morning is…
the diversity of work that I do is very interesting and keeps it entertaining. I always have something different to do and a big part of my time is spent on BD as we're growing our practice from not much. Two or three years ago, there was no TMT practice so there's lots of profile raising and meeting new clients which is great.
I'm also passionate about…
music – a great experience at Allens was playing in the house band at Allens. I have great memories of Jeans for Genes Day – it was always a great charity event and good fun!
The best bit of advice given to me was…
a phone call is nearly always better than an email (and face-to-face is even better).
The best part of my role is…
working with the juniors in the team. I really enjoy being part of their development, working with them and helping them as much as possible.
At Allens, I worked with/the people I remember most are…
apart from my fellow band members, the TMT guys in Sydney and the great barista up on the level 28 client floor.