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Ashurst

4.4
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Eirene Psomas

The great part about my team is that client networking is encouraged from a junior level and there are a range of different events specifically targeted at juniors.

5.30 AM

I am an early riser - I love getting up and making the most of the day! Whether that be a bayside walk with my cheeky beagle or going to an Ashurst boot camp session before hitting up some much needed breakfast at home, my desk or a café close to work with the graduate 'Breakfast Club'.

8.30 AM

As a graduate in the Restructuring and Special Situations Group (aka the Insolvency practice group) I work on a mixture of transactional and litigious matters.

On the mornings I have court, I get in to the office and grab any documents I need and head straight to court. At Ashurst you are often given a lot of responsibility from the get go and will attend minor appearances in court solo (yes it is terrifying … but a senior associate is always just a call away). For more complex matters, I will assist a more senior lawyer in court.   

If I don't have court that morning, I get to my desk, check my emails (whilst chatting to people as they filter into the office) and continue working on any outstanding tasks I have been given - from researching Cayman Islands company law to drafting deeds, life as a graduate is never a bore!

Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-portrait

9.30 AM

By this point of the morning I am craving coffee… and so are a few of my co-workers! We all head down to our go-to coffee spot and energise for the day. These coffee runs are a great chance to catch up with the graduates, or get to know my team better.

Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Moring-Coffee

9.45 AM

Time to head over to the client's office and witness their affidavit.

I arrive at the clients office and we make small talk about holidays and the client's children before we double check the client's affidavit. Once we have gone through the affidavit, I confirm the clients identity and the client affirms that the contents of their affidavit are "true and correct" to the best of their "knowledge and belief". They initial each page and sign the last page, having witnessed the client do this, I do the same.

10.15 AM

I am back at my desk again, and quickly check my emails and voicemail. A client has requested some minor changes to a debt sale agreement. The changes don't take too long to make and once I am done I go chat with the lawyer in charge of the matter so they can review the agreement and make any further amendments.

Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Computer-Desk

11.15 AM

It's time to head off to Chambers with a senior associate to discuss trial strategy with Senior and Junior Counsel. I admire the view from Chambers as we chat with Counsel about the matter and run through the material we have sent over to Counsel earlier in the week. I field a few questions about case research I have done and we finalise any outstanding matters in anticipation of court.

12.00 PM

After our meeting with Counsel I make sure the court documents are ready to go, follow up any requests from Counsel and call the client to give them a brief update.

Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Meeting-with-Counsel

12.30 PM

Finally its lunchtime! As someone who is always thinking of their next meal, I can't wait for lunch! Whether its catching up with lawyers in my team at whatever food place we have been craving all morning, eating lunch with the other grads in the sun, or hanging out with friends from other firms and companies - lunch is a great time to catch up with what's happening in and outside the firm.  

1.30 PM

Battling my after lunch food coma, I get back to work and stuck into the array of tasks on my to-do list – reviewing documents, research tasks, managing correspondence, preparing court documents and organising team events.

Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Research-books

2.30 PM

I am off to a client coffee catch up with another lawyer in my team. The team has a lot of client events – whether it’s breakfast, coffee, evening drinks or even battling it out on the sports field – at least once a week I am mingling with clients about the challenges they're facing, market and industry trends or just catching up on life generally.

The great part about my team is that client networking is encouraged from a junior level and there are a range of different events specifically targeted at juniors. These events are a great opportunity to get to know people at a similar level to you. At the moment I am counting down the days to a client hosted 'Cocktails and Pampering Evening", and the Ashurst hosted "Beer and Dumpling Night" on our Terrace (which I have very diligently offered to taste test all the beer and dumplings for!)

 Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Get-to-know-people

3.30 PM

Back at my desk after my caffeine hit, I get stuck into researching the application of certain equitable remedies in an insolvency scenario. I get a call from a pro-bono client who tells me that they have received a bigger then expected payout - I am over the moon!  Pro-bono work is a chance to give back and is also a great learning experience as a junior as you are usually given full carriage of the matter.

5.15 PM

One of the Partner's calls me into their office to discuss a matter I have been assisting them with. We get a little side tracked chatting about Netflix before calling our client in Hong Kong.

 Day-in-the-life-Ashurst-Eirene-Psomas-Partner-Disccuss

6.00 PM

Once I get through all my billable client work, I check in with my work providers, post my time for the day and then dash out of the office to enjoy dinner with my family or friends. No night out is complete without dessert – so before heading home I use some persuasive legal reasoning to get some ice cream (I wouldn't want my law degree to go to waste!) 

10.00 PM

I start winding down for the night by messaging friends, reading a book or getting lost in YouTube videos (all of which will inevitably lead to me going to sleep well after 10pm).