Vivien has a PhD from Monash University and a law degree with honours from the Australian National University. Her PhD research investigates systemic weaknesses in the Malaysian corporate regulatory framework.  She was awarded the best paper prize at the Corporate Law Teachers Association conference in 2013 and 2018, and graduate student article award by the Asian Law and Society Association in 2018. In 2021, she received a commendation from the Dean for excellence in research as an early career researcher. She currently teaches corporate governance at the Department of Business Law and Taxation and has also taught corporations law and commercial law.

Vivien investigates the adequacy of legal protections for consumers in financial stress together with researchers from Melbourne Law School and consumer advocates, and is part of an international collaboration on directors' accountability, and gender equality.  Vivien has been a visiting research fellow at the National University of Singapore and has previously held an academic position overseas.  Her publications include articles on Australian and Malaysian corporations law, gender, debt collection and financial regulation in the ASEAN Economic Community. She regularly contributes to corporate governance and business law blogs, and to law reform initiatives.