Q&A with Dominic Wai
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Q&A
Q&A with Dominic Wai
Dominic Wai, an attorney with ONC Lawyers in Hong Kong, focuses his practice on advising clients on matters relating to anti-corruption, white-collar crime, law enforcement, and regulatory and compliance matters in Hong Kong, including advice on anti-money laundering. Wai, who earned his law degrees from City University of Hong Kong, also handles cases involving corporate litigation, shareholder disputes and insolvency matters, defamation cases, domestic and international arbitration cases, cybersecurity, data security and privacy law issues, competition law matters, e-Discovery, and forensic investigation issues as well as property litigation.
Before joining the legal profession, Wai worked in the banking sector and in the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). He is a member of the Primerus Quality Assurance Board.
Q: Before becoming an attorney, what was your first job?
A: My first job was a bank officer as I studied banking. Then I became an officer with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), a statutory law enforcement body set up with the main goal of fighting corruption. After that, I studied law and became an attorney (a solicitor, after two years of on-the-job training as a trainee solicitor after graduation from law school).
Q: What motivated you to pursue a legal career?
A: I have always wanted to study law and do something that relates to justice. I studied banking instead of law because my grades were not good enough to go to law school. Having worked at the ICAC might have rekindled the fire inside me to study law and pursue a law career before I am too old.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: A lot of things are about perception. If one changes their perception, one could have new ideas, insights, and understanding about a matter or thing. That taught me not to (or try not to) stick to one thing or one thinking as if it is cast in stone.
Q: What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
A: Draw comics/manga. I have read comics since I was a kid and I would really like to draw some if I could.
Q: What is your proudest career achievement?
A: Winning a case that set a precedent in Hong Kong on a point of law.
Q: What other career path might you have chosen?
A: I might have become an air traffic control officer.
Roller hockey is a leisure time passion for Hong Kong attorney Dominic Wai.
Dominic Wai
Q: What is your most treasured material possession?
A: The bands and bracelets that I wear every day.
Q: What is your happiest childhood memory?
A: Riding bicycles and playing with skateboards after school.
Q: What is your favorite movie and book?
A: Movie: “The Scent of a Woman.” Book: “The Road.”
Q: What is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited?
A: Niagara Falls.
Q: What are your favorite leisure time pursuits?
A: Movies, reading, and inline skating.
Q: What is your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
A: No one size fits all.
Q: Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
A: My wife (she might read this) and my Rotary Club members.
Q: What are the top three items on your bucket list?
A: Visit places that I have not visited before. Revisit places that I have not visited for 3 years due to COVID-19. Finish my 30-day plank challenge.