I’m pleased to share the latest episode of the Penn State Dickinson Law Profiles in Leadership series, featuring Cheryl Seah, Drew & Napier LLC.

In this conversation, Cheryl reflects on a career spanning three vantage points on law and leadership: Deputy Public Prosecutor, legislative drafter in Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore, and now a practitioner at the intersection of technology regulation, AI, and digital trust.

Our discussion explores what leadership looks like across these roles. Cheryl takes us inside the often-unseen discipline of legislative drafting, the “sausage factory” of lawmaking, where policy must be stress-tested against real-world edge cases. We also discuss how Singapore has approached forward-looking regulation, including regulatory sandboxes for autonomous vehicles, and how lawyers can navigate transitions between public service and private practice.

Along the way, Cheryl offers practical advice for younger lawyers: managing intensity, owning mistakes early, building psychological safety in teams, and conducting what she calls an annual “happiness audit.”

Cheryl offers a simple but powerful reminder: leadership is not a function of seniority. It often appears in small, high-character choices made in the moment.

Grateful to Cheryl for sharing her insights and to our growing Profiles in Leadership community for the thoughtful conversations these interviews continue to generate.

Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7BOvZL_l-M

For other episodes, see: https://dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/faculty/profiles-in-leadership