December 6, 2021

Entrepreneurial UOW alumna wins Distinguished Young Alumni Award

Adeline Chin’s achievements celebrated at the Australian Malaysia Alumni Awards

University of Wollongong (UOW) alumna and entrepreneur Adeline Chin has accomplished an exceptional amount in her 34 years. She is the co-founder of three legal-related companies, sits on two professional boards, and holds qualifications from UOW, University of London, and tertiary institutions in Malaysia.

The UOW Sydney Business School graduate was named winner of the Distinguished Young Alumni Award at the 2021 Australian Malaysia Alumni Awards held in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (4 December 2021). The awards recognise and honour the most prolific Malaysian graduates from Australian universities who have enhanced the reputation of their university through outstanding professional achievements, personal accomplishments, and loyal service to their alma mater.

Ms Chin boasts a diverse professional background including sales, product management and event management, but it was an opportunity in the legal industry, in the field of Knowledge Management, which set her on an entrepreneurial path.

Recognising a gap in the market, she launched a start-up when she was 30. Ms Chin is the Director and Co-Founder of Law Asia 365, a consultancy specialising in Knowledge Management, helping law firms, legal departments, company secretarial firms and legal tech companies to innovate and grow, sustainably.

“Legal Knowledge Management and Legal Innovation firms are far and few in between in this region, and there weren’t any that I could join to learn more about these areas here in Malaysia. So, I started Law Asia 365 as a challenge for myself, to see if the market is receptive towards these services,” Ms Chin said.

On a mission to address the pain points of the legal profession, along with her co-founders, Ms Chin is helping speed up the adoption of legal technology across different verticals in an effort to shake up the traditional silos that have existed.

Ms Chin graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Law (Hons) degree from the University of London, before completing a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Administration and Management, part-time while working in Malaysia, from UOW Sydney Business School.

Ms Chin looks back on her days studying her MBA as an overseas student with immense pride. What stands out most was the inclusive nature of the course.

“The UOW MBA course entitled us to be treated as internal rather than external students, which made us no different from students who studied on campus in Wollongong or Sydney,” Ms Chin said.

“Coming from a person who had been an external student for years, this sense of belonging meant a lot to me. I specifically liked the entry requirements for the UOW MBA that made working experience in a supervisory position a precursor to signing up as a part-time student, because that has opened up a lot of valuable networks and peers as opposed to many other MBA courses in the market.”

^{UOW alumna Adeline Yin named winner of the Distinguished Young Alumni Award at the 2021 Australian Malaysia Alumni Awards. Photo supplied.}  

Ms Chin is incredibly passionate about the future of the region’s legal tech and innovation ecosystem, both in Malaysia and the wider APAC region. She regularly gives back to her profession.

She is a member of the Association of Women Lawyers in Malaysia, and sits on the Tech Experts Committee established under the auspices of the Asian International Arbitration Centre.  Ms Chin is also the newly elected Co-Chair of Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation & Technology Association, a regional network with more than 250 member organisations globally, connecting communities physically and virtually to facilitate cross-border collaboration and knowledge sharing in the space of legal innovation and technology.

Ms Chin has enhanced the reputation of UOW and of her profession more broadly through her outstanding professional achievements, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to education and excellence. For this reason, she has been recognised by the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council as a winner at this year’s Australian Malaysia Alumni Awards.

“This recognition further strengthens my sense of belonging that UOW has offered me and my fellow peers alike, and how Australia is willing to recognise achievements of its students regardless of their nationalities, race, and culture. The inclusiveness is astounding, and very praise-worthy,” Ms Chin said. 

“It is truly meaningful to be recognised by the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council for work that I did out of passion – to promote happiness and innovation in the legal fraternity. Being announced as the Australia Malaysia Alumni Awards Distinguished Young Alumni recipient is sure to help break the stereotype, especially in the legal fraternity, that recognition is based on seniority and conventions.”