8DAO Chat Vol 3: Monin of Mung Legal (八問 : 三）
In our third edition of 8DAO Chat, we speak with Monin, the founder of Mung Legal. In this interview, Monin shares with us how DAO interweaves her passion, life, and work.
1. Enlightenment with Monin Ung: A true DAOnie
There used to be one known DAO in the world, which saw many thought leaders - Laozi’s Dao , the source, wisdom and order of the natural universe. Now there is another DAO generating similarly a variety of thought leaders and experimentalists, one where Monin is fervently passionate in: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. In this interview, Monin shares with us how DAO interweaves her passion, life, and work.
2. How did you get into Web3?
Monin and blockchain were love at first sight. For blockchain Monin had no second thoughts in leaving her international law firm practice to start MUNG from humble beginnings in this unique and nascent practice area some 6 years ago, since the established legal practices thought blockchain equates cryptocurrencies and there was going to be too much of KYC and AML issues.
However, it hasn’t been an easy path. For the first 11 months, MUNG didn’t have any client, then 2 years of Hong Kong unrest erupted, followed by over 2 years of the pandemic. “The worst times to start a law firm, worst still, in a novel practice area where few could understand!”
To stay faithful to her passion (“nature”) and vision, with sheer grit (“utmost sincerity”), Monin saw the DAO unfolded道生一 一生二 二生三 三生萬物, DAO sprints one (the “being”), one springs two (ying and yang), two springs three (heaven, earth and man) and three proliferate all things. Not only did MUNG weathered the storms, it now has a second office in Singapore, another vibrant Asian hub for Web3 activities.
3. Tell us more about MUNG.
Monin has a deep love of all things DAO. She founded MUNG in 2018, the first dedicated blockchain law firm in Hong Kong, which primarily handles blockchain-related cases. Her passion for DAO stems from its qualities of decentralization, liberation, and empowering individuals to self-actuate.
MUNG is also the first law firm to deploy a Bored Ape, named Daonie, as the firm’s icon and a DAO newscaster. “Work is exciting and fun each day, and Daonie has passed probation and proven himself to be a valuable team member”, muses Monin, who is also the Founder of Women in DAO.
4. Would you like to share more about your personal life?
Monin’s parents are art lovers and collectors. They are diligent, lifelong learners, continually expanding their knowledge through new discoveries each day. Monin is immensely proud of her Dad, who is a scholar, obtained multiple degrees over the years and became a lawyer when he retired at the age of 68. Mr. Ung is now 84 years old, has been a Partner at a US law firm specialising in Intellectual Property law and act as Honorary Legal Adviser to over 20 NGOs and business associations.
Monin’s mother just completed a diploma in Chinese medicine at the age of close to 80 years old. Madam Mok has always been passionate about performing arts and as a young teen had aspirations to be an actress in stage productions. Unfortunately, Monin’s grandfather fiercely opposed her mother’s dream and went to great lengths to prevent it, at times caning her lower legs in order to ground her at home. Drawing deep outrage from this history, Monin is fiercely protective of women, devotes herself in support of artists through her pro bono legal advisory, particularly young female artists and seeking avenues to help in bringing visibility to such endearing young talents. She is also a mother of two sons and advocates her sons to find a higher calling and seek ways to create a positive impact in other people’s lives.
5. Winning the first DAO Lawsuit in HK
At the time of this interview, MUNG had just won the first ever DAO-related lawsuit in Hong Kong. DAO disputes provide an avenue to explore interesting and fundamental aspects of DAO, including what legally and practically is a DAO, the liabilities, risks, ownership rights, governance and accountability issues surrounding a simple, fluid yet complex web of legal relationships in the operations of a DAO. Daonie will announce details and the judgment of the case in due course.
6. How's your experience in 8DAO so far?
Monin is immensely delighted to witness 8DAO’s achievements since she helped with its DAO legal structure. Interacting with 8DAO’s diverse members has allowed her to share her unique knowledge of DAOs with many others. She hopes to help create more innovative variety of DAOs and sub-DAOs, e.g., for alternative food sources, artificial intelligence and women centric goals. Currently Monin is joining forces with a group of ex-big pharma scientists to set up a life sciences DAO for research into precision medicine for oncology, rare diseases and anti-aging.
7. What's next for you?
Monin’s future plans are to open and operate offices in three cities, bringing with her the core values of utmost sincerity in human advancement. So far, she has accomplished two cities in 6 years, with established presence in Hong Kong and Singapore. She is currently evaluating options for the third location. What after ?
Laozi: “It’s the journey”
Monin: “It’s the wisdom”
Daonie: “It’s how you use me”