Michelle Liu Email & Phone Number

Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Providing guidance to the SEA team on national, regional political and legal developments for Reprieve's advocacy and case work.Conducting research on legislation, policy papers and case law related to the death penalty, women offenders, mental health, drugs and juveniles in Malaysia.Analyzing trends in capital sentencing in Malaysia post-abolition of the mandatory death penalty including the Federal Court's review of death sentence & imprisonment for natural life process commencing 2023.Liaising with relevant stakeholders based in Malaysia and the SEA region for advocacy & collaborative work.

Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Assisted senior defence counsel with the conduct of trials and appeal hearings involving various criminal offences, including but not limited to capital offences such as murder, drug trafficking and kidnapping.• Assisted senior counsel in civil cases centred around contractual, corporate and employment disputes. • Responsible for devising litigation strategies for civil and criminal cases premised on analysis of legal documents, identification of relevant legal issues and thorough legal research. • Advised clients on legal and/or practical solutions available including possible outcomes of said solutions upon assessment of case facts and objectives via client interview, document review and legal research.• Presented oral arguments in support of criminal and civil applications in court.• Drafted court documents for filing and legal correspondence in Bahasa Malaysia and English.• Liaised with judicial officers, opposing counsels and investigation officers from enforcement agencies including Prisons Department of Malaysia for all matters arising from criminal and civil cases handled.

Selangor, Malaysia

• Shadowed the Honourable in government meetings, site visits and launch events attended in his capacity as MLA and State EXCO. • Supported the MLA’s constituency office in managing constituents’ inquiries, complaints and welfare applications.• Assisted the Honourable’s press secretary with the drafting of social media posts and media statements in English and Bahasa Malaysia.• Responsible for preparing publicity/presentation materials for the Honourable’s briefing of media/stakeholders on Selangor state government’s legalisation of illegal factories programme.• Supported the State EXCO’s office in the execution of community programmes such as the beautification/clean-up project for the village of Bagan Hailam at Port Klang, Selangor.

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

• Editorial: Covered legal developments surrounding the 2018 federal court case of Indira Gandhi and the screening of a film on death penalty 'Give Up Tomorrow' at the Freedom Film Festival 2017; illustrating complex legal facts, concepts in the most digestible form for lay readers

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

• Mainly responsible for assisting the Head of Marketing & Communications with content planning and development on the startup’s legal news site, The CanLaw Report.• Responsible for streamlining the content editorial process to ensure efficient content production and style/tone consistency aligned with the startup’s vision of promoting access to justice via informative legal articles on The CanLaw Report.• Conducted research and interviewed legal experts/activists on interesting legal developments in Malaysia to craft informative legal articles for The CanLaw Report.• Proof-read and edited articles prepared by other content writers before publishing.• Designed The CanLaw Report’s infographics and article thumbnails using Canva and Unsplash.• Assisted the Head of Marketing & Communications in monitoring, analysing and promoting content engagement and website traffic for The CanLaw Report.• Supported the Head of Marketing & Communications in implementing and monitoring online marketing campaigns to promote the startup’s main product, CanLaw, a lawyer-discovery platform based in Malaysia.

London, United Kingdom

• Elected into the Union’s executive committee as the student officer in charge of human rights education and promotion of student activism.• Determined and implemented long-term and short-term strategies for the human rights and activism department to align with the Union’s overall mission of upholding the rule of law, furthering human rights and promoting student activism.• Responsible for advising the executive committee and guiding the Union’s position on political and human rights issues in Malaysia.• Responsible for preparing/drafting the Union’s public statements on political and human rights issues for the term.• Monitored and directed the implementation of the department’s human rights programmes, initiatives and campaigns by a team of student executives.• Established departmental processes and protocols to facilitate effective communication and collaboration, taking into consideration the remote work environment of the team.• Provided direct and active support to the team during the execution of the department’s projects.• Established new partnerships with Malaysian student organisations, activists and human rights NGOs while maintaining the Union’s existing relationships with key partners such as the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

• Tasked with assisting in the documentation of reported custodial deaths in Malaysia.• Assisted in the drafting of SUARAM’s human rights newsletters.• Served as independent observer of peaceful public demonstrations on behalf of SUARAM.• Supported the organisation of SUARAM’s human rights training and public events.