As a strategic solution to stop the brain drain in the Attorney General's Chambers in late 1980s, I had an accelerated promotion to Senior Crown Counsel in 1988. In 1991, the senior management reposed their confidence in me and I acted up as Deputy Principal Crown Counsel from time to time. I also got an offer at the equivalent rank as Assistant Director in the Intellectual Property Department.
The challenge upon me was to decide whether I should be a generalist in the Attorney General's Chambers or a specialist in the Intellectual Property Department. As I had already engaged in intellectual property negotiations internationally and law reform work domestically, I was duty -bound to accomplish the mission. It was also believed that I would develop my career better as a specialist.
Soon after I was transferred to the Intellectual Property Department, I had my first opportunity to join the United Kingdom delegation in the World Intellectual Property Organization process in Geneva in February 1992. I was excited and delighted with my role at the international level again and took a photo to document it. The background photo depicted on the feature photo of this blog post was it.
While I was speaking in Shanghai on July 20, 2018, a smart girl captured the basic version of the featured photo and allowed me to use it. What I like about the feature photo was that it somewhat illustrated my "space-time" ie the "me" in 1992 and the "me" in 2018, the similarities and differences. If I had not become a specialist, I would not have the capacity and support to speak in the specialist conference at all!