Elizabeth Cheung-Gaffney, known as Liz to her students, is Assistant Professor for John Sexton. Prior to relocating to Shanghai, she was a litigator in New York. She is a graduate of Columbia University and in 2014, she was inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame (Soccer, ’98). Currently, she lives in Shanghai with her husband and three children. OCA: Where did you grow up?Professor Cheung-Gaffney: I grew up in New Hyde Park, New York which is a typical New York suburb with lots of kids on every block riding their bikes after school. My parents were both born in China, my mom from Shandong and my dad from Guangdong, so my childhood was a real mixture between immigrant Chinese-ness and the American-suburban life. OCA: Tell us about your education.C: Before my four years at Columbia, all my education was at Catholic schools, starting from grammar school, then high school and finally at Notre Dame Law School. OCA: Can you tell us about your experience as a soccer player?C: I started to play when I was seven and I kind of started to play and never stopped. Soccer was an amazing outlet for me because it gave me an outlet aside from school to achieve milestones and goals. But at the same time it was really social because all my friends were on the team. I was able to travel to different countries through soccer and it taught me about leadership and competition. I still play on a team with my husband, who was also a division one college soccer player, and it’s something we can do together without the kids. OCA: Why did the legal profession interest you? C: The legal profession interested me because it is a combination of working with and for people, but at the same time is very intellectual, academic and scholarly. Being someone who liked to help people but also being very bookish - the law was a good combination for me. OCA: What positions do you currently hold?C: Aside from being an Assistant Professor with President Sexton, I'm also the coordinator for the NYU Law Program in Shanghai. I also work for the US-Asia Law Institute which is based at the law school and I sit on few mediation and arbitration panels in Shanghai. OCA: Which experiences led you to your current position?C: The biggest experience that impacted where I am today is moving to Shanghai. Over five years ago my husband's job took us here. Prior to that I was a litigator in New York doing mostly arbitration work against the teacher unions. OCA: What are the main differences working in Shanghai versus New York?Shanghai is such a great city because there are so many opportunities here. It also is such an interesting time to be in China because so much of the world's focus is on China. Things in New York are always great but it is definitely more exciting being in Shanghai just because of the mixture between the developed parts of China and the parts that are just catching up, and the fact that they live side by side.OCA: What do you like and what don’t you like about your career?C: I'm pretty happy with my career choice. My most personal satisfactions have to be when I've helped a client or a student. It is great to hear students say that our class has taught them new ways of thinking. When you are a lawyer you have the capacity to really make a difference in someone's life by doing very simple things and that is hugely gratifying. OCA: Which part of your job do you find most fulfilling? C: Helping clients and students. OCA: What were the keys to your success? C: I would love to know that answer. I'm definitely not there yet so I will let you know if I ever get there. OCA: What particular skills are crucial for a career in the legal profession?There are so many different skills that lawyers have. I would say all lawyers need to read quickly and be able to digest and analyze situations and facts quickly. OCA: What advice can you give to NYU Shanghai students that wish to follow in similar footsteps?C: My advice to students would be follow your instincts and pursue things that fit with your personality and interests. OCA: Ten years ago, where did you imagine yourself to be?C: I'm not sure I thought that far ahead ten years ago. I definitely had an idea that kids would be in the picture and that certainly came true. I vaguely knew I would still be working as a lawyer in some capacity so that definitely came true as well. OCA: Would you want your children to work in the legal profession?If that’s what they wanted I would certainly not discourage them. I think being a lawyer gives you great flexibility in life, whether you practice law or not. Just take my own career as an example. Having a law degree allowed me to work in two different continents.

This article was written by Joanne Chun. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: law.nyu.edu