Hello everyone,
I have been lurking in this forum for a while trying to absorb as much information as I can. Massive thanks to everyone who put in the time and effort in reviewing people’s applications. I am now ready to take the next steps in applying for the visa, and would appreciate if you could help review my application. Apologies as it is a bit long, but here goes:
Background
I am a foreign qualified lawyer in the Philippines with 9/10 years post-qualification experience. I hold law degrees in top universities in the Philippines and Australia (H1), and Oxbridge MBA (Distinction). I recently passed the Solicitor Qualifying Examinations and will take my oath as a solicitor in England and Wales soon.
My application is anchored on my specialisation in data privacy, at the intersection of open finance, digital banking and fintech. My experience is as follows: 5 years in a big law firm in the Philippines where I started dealing with technology law matters, then as in-house legal counsel and with a leadership position in a digital retail bank entity of a European bank (Company A), the legal director (regional head) and data privacy officer of a Southeast Asian open finance fintech company with presence in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam (Company B). I moved to the UK in 2022 to pursue my MBA and post-MBA currently as a data protection and compliance manager in a growth stage B2B fintech (Company C).
Data protection is a technical role and is increasingly becoming important with the UK being out of the EU and yet committing to comply with the GDPR + ICO decisions that are emphasising the importance of implementing the proper data protection controls.
Recommendation Letters
- CEO of Company A - 2020-21 - He is well regarded in the banking and finance field in the Philippines, as a three-time CEO/Country Manager. Alternatively this could be Legal Head of Company A before she left, still in the banking and fintech industry as legal head and well-regarded nationally.
- CEO of Company B - 2022-23 - My former direct boss. He will attest that I pioneered the legal and data protection practice in open finance in the Philippines and SEA, having held direct discussions with regulators and investors. I authored an industry paper that was signed by CEO of open finance companies in the Philippines. Obtained first fintech licenes in Indonesia. Put together first Open Finance Committee in local industry group. Requested participation in regulatory sandbox. Led Series B investment, which included Visa and MC
- General Counsel of Company C - 2023-present - He will vouch for my role as a data protection expert in the company for both the legal (negotiation of data protection aspects of all client and supplier contracts) and technical (design of the products) aspects of the company’s offerings
MC
Document 1: Received nationally/internationally recognised awards
- In 2024, recognised as a Fellow of Information Privacy - recognition given by the internationally recognised industry body, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, "to individuals who exhibit advanced knowledge of privacy and data protection topics”, and a “credential that allows leaders in the privacy field to demonstrate their experience and knowledge”
- In 2022, recognised as a Data Protection Officer of the Year finalist by the Philippine national privacy regulator - 5 out of x number of entries submitted in the country
- In 2020, 2-person legal team won Banking and Financial Services team of the year for Company 1
- In 2019 won first place in an essay by the Philippine competition authority for essay on disruptive tech startups and privacy as a competitive differentiator
Document 2: Commanded high salary or remuneration
- Company 3 copies of payslips with salary 50% to 100% of national average, employment contract excerpts, ownership of shares, 10% salary increase
- Company 2 - press release on onboarding as senior industry talent, payslips and employment contract excerpts
Document 3: Spoke at high profile digital technology events / Held significant expert role pane participation or assessing work of others
- 2022 TV interview re: importance of cybersecurity - 6.8k views
- 2022 Cited in newspaper articles as industry expert
Document 4: Published material in professional or major trade publications
- Not in professional or major trade publications, but in peer-reviewed journals - have around 9 articles (mostly 2018-2021), one of which has been cited by other top journals on blockchain, another is on ‘notice and consent’ mechanism in data privacy
OC2
Document 5: Talks or conference speaking with significant viewership
- 2022 2 webinars, one with 20k views on fortifying national cybersecurity defence. I was the lead speaker alongside the privacy commissioner.
Document 6: Evidence of mentorship or thought leadership outside immediate occupation
- 2017 - 2022 Worked part-time as professional lecturer for 5 years, pioneered and created Digital Law subject which primarily focused on the intersection of privacy and technology law issues. Promoted 5 levels.
- Mentored undergraduate level students’ thesis/research on privacy and technology
- Outstanding faculty rating (2 certificates)
- Supported by letter of recommendation by professor (head of law department)
- 2024 Article featuring the subject that I created, link to an Australian government website that funded the scholarship for my law degree in Australia
Document 7: Evidence of mentorship or thought leadership outside immediate occupation
- Convenor for Technology community of practice for Australia alumni in the Philippines
- Head of Legal and Regulatory Committee of banking industry group
- Head of Open Finance Committee of fintech group
- Industry paper I authored for the industry and signed by open finance CEOs
- Note: The above would be referenced by Legal Head/CEO of Company A + CEO of Company B in his LoR
OC3
Document 8: Led development of high-impact digital product or services / Letter from Employer detailing contributions - Focus on contribution on horizon scanning and assessment of business readiness in countries where clients are based for Company C
- 2024 - Horizon scanning of all relevant regulations in banking and privacy for 50 countries where company C operates
- 2024 - Application of recent EU regulations (including AI law, Data Governance Act, DORA, etc.)
- Supported by letter of recommendation by direct manager
Document 9: Product designs or architecture diagram / Letter from Employer detailing contributions - Focus on product design input and privacy policies made for Company C
- 2024 - My input on data privacy aspects of Company C products for various projects
- Supported by same letter of recommendation by direct manager in Document 8 or by previous manager
Document 10: Product designs or architecture diagram / Letter from Employer detailing contributions - Focus on Company A and B
- CEO of Company B will provide separate letter detailing my contributions to the company and industry. My sense is that I will provide a specific work sample to support this, such as the industry paper and essentially all company policies on data privacy. Alternatively, I can get the COO of Company B to recommend me hopefully.
- CEO or Legal Head of Company A detailing my contributions to the company and industry
Some additional questions:
- Is it ok that I do not include my employment contract / payslips from my time in Company A?
- Is it ok to leave the letters of recommendation undated (but still appropriately addressed to Tech Nation)?
- Is it ok that I do not really provide anything work output-related under MC? I’ve put them all under OC3
- I am not sure if item 4 would fit the criteria considering it’s not a professional or major trade publication. I was hoping to make an analogy here as to why it’s similar + evidence of recognition as leading talent
- Is it acceptable for CEO of Company B to provide two letters? One for the required letters of recommendation and another for Document 10. They will provide different content.
- I initially considered applying for OC4 in lieu of OC2. However, my concern is that they’re not PhD level, and I received feedback from a GTV holder that only PhD graduates are best suited for OC4. If I proceeded with OC4, I would dispense with Documents 5 to 7 under OC2, and use them under MC instead. I feel like I could not let OC3 go as they provide the most recent work that I did. Would you suggest I let go of OC4 and go with OC2 instead? My OC4 documentation would have been the following:
(1) Significant published paper - Now Document 4 under MC.
(2) Presentations at peer-reviewed conferences - They are from 2018-2019 so might not be that recent/relevant. They are also mostly academic conferences.
(3) Award for outstanding applied work and academic achievement - I have received H1 in my LLM, Distinction in MBA, and top quintile in the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. However, not sure what “applied work” means - I may be able to provide samples of my consulting projects for real-life clients during my MBA supported by a faculty member’s LoR?
- Do I mention my forthcoming qualification as a solicitor? I received top quintile marks for the qualifying examinations with the lowest passing rate so far in its history (44%).
- Do you think my narrative around data protection and technology makes sense? At some point my work as a lawyer and data protection SME converges, but I would rather ensure my data protection expertise stick out as it impacts on my salary rankings, etc. and obviously I don’t have many years of experience as a lawyer in the UK (although I would say I am well-established as a banking and fintech lawyer in SEA).
Thank you very much for going through the entire thing, and appreciate your thoughts and input.