day in the life

bailey breen

law graduate at macpherson kelley

6:00 am

As much as I want to appear the hero who’s up by 5am, I’ll be honest and say that it’s only after fighting through several alarms that I’m up and out the door.

Knowing that I’ll thank myself later is small solace as I brave the chilly stroll to my car, and it’s off to the gym where I:

a) Wish I was back in bed;

b) Put my hopes in Spotify to distract me; and

c) Increasingly thirst for my first coffee of the day.

7:30 am

Blessed relief in the form of caffeine and frothed milk hits the spot as I drive to the Dandenong office. One of the great things about MK is the flexibility; to work from Melbourne or Dandenong, or even occasionally from home.

I’m currently rotating through the Property team, who are based in Dandenong. So, most days of the week I make the gentle commute with a podcast (‘The Rest is History’ is a go to – I’m a history nerd), or Spotify DJ for company.

8:30 am

Like any good grad, I arrive on time and give myself five minutes to wrap my head around any outstanding tasks for the day.

I’ve found it so helpful to hear from my other grads, junior lawyers and even principals about their work styles. Though I’m a stubborn pen and paper operator so I draw up a to-do list based on outstanding tasks and a brief review of my inbox.

9:00 am

I see an email come in from one of my Principals with some comments on a draft contract of sale I prepared yesterday. Something I genuinely love about MK is the access you get as a grad, and the opportunity to work directly with some incredible principals.

Not being an urgent task, I make a note to review these changes prior to sending it off to the client.

9:15 am

Is there such a thing as too much coffee? Probably. But that’s a concern for another day.

A group of us walk to the local coffee spot around the corner, and this is a great chance to connect with people from across different teams. And to stretch the legs before settling into a big day of work and meetings.

11:00 am

After a lengthy client meeting involving a complex commercial purchase and lease-back, one of the Senior Associates in the team takes me through some of the next steps to the matter. It is this willingness to teach and genuine care that makes the MK program really special.

Having done Prop A and B what seems like an age ago, I had a couple of questions to clarify. But everyone at the firm is super encouraging (think ‘no stupid questions’ – at least I haven’t found that line yet!), and every task is seen as an opportunity for learning.

12:30 pm

Unable to ignore the call to food any longer, I join some of the other juniors for a stroll to the best Banh Mi joint in Dandenong. We’re spoilt for food choices out here, and after a long week of tuna and rice it’s time to treat myself.

Lunchtime in the office is a lively affair, and there’s always a great vibe and the banter is high. We finish off with a bit of a friendly putting competition to see who’s top dog.

1:30 pm

Satiated and ready to go, it’s back to the desk. Nothing screams productivity legend more than putting the desk into standing mode and putting on the headphones.

I’ve got a complicated commercial lease to draft, and the extensive background documents are increasingly daunting as they load up on my screen. Setting Teams to Do Not Disturb, I crack right in.

3:00 pm

After triple checking I’m replying to the right email chain, I press ‘send’ and shoot the document off for review. Fortunately, my buddy was on hand to send me a couple of precedents to look at for guidance.

A quick snack in the kitchen, which in reality is just trying and failing to resist the call of a tea and some choccy, and back into my tasks.

4:00 pm

Social Committee time! A great part of Grad life are our weekly meetings, where we spitball our ideas for social activities and just generally chew the fat. The hour absolutely flies by.

5:00 pm

I check in with my Principals to see if they have anything they need done by the end of the day.

There are a couple of urgent settlements, as often seems the case in Property, so I quickly draft a couple of emails to go out tonight. These get the all clear to be sent on to clients with minimal changes, which is always a really rewarding feeling.

What could be a dangerous question in other firms (think dinner at your desk, how good!), is not the case at MK.

5:30 pm

Having completed my to-do list for the day, and made some notes for my under-caffeinated brain tomorrow morning, I pack up and head home.

7:00 pm

It’s back home and into dinner with my housemates, before we inevitably fight for control of the TV remote. Whoever wins will just browse the menu for an hour anyway…

amy ridge

law graduate at macpherson kelley

5:30 am

My alarm goes off and I head straight for the coffee machine. After a quick caffeine hit (the first of many), I make my way to boxing. There’s nothing quite like punching inanimate objects at sunrise to prepare you for anything the day might throw at you.

8:15 am

The number one priority when I step into the office? Coffee. Round two. Once re-caffeinated, I settle in at my desk, check emails, and glance over my to-do list which helps me map out what needs to be prioritised for the day.

9:00 am

I’m currently rotating through the Pacific Legal Network (PLN) team, a cross-border commercial and advisory practice across 21 jurisdictions in the Pacific. The work is dynamic and regionally diverse and no two tasks are ever quite the same. My days often involve legal research across various Pacific jurisdictions, drafting corporate documents, or preparing risk reports that consider not just the legal framework but also geopolitical nuances affecting business operations in the region.

10:30 am

I head out for coffee (it’s the last one for today, I promise…) with my mentor, Christina. While our catch-ups inevitably drift into elaborate and passionate dissections of the culinary delights we’ve indulged in over the weekend, it’s also a great chance for me to get career advice and talk through any work questions I may have. The mentoring culture at MK has been a real highlight of my grad year so far.

12:30 pm

Lunch means a walk and a poke bowl. My Fishbowl order is down to a science. Getting outside for a bit of fresh air and sunshine is the perfect reset before the afternoon kicks in.

1:30 pm

After lunch, I catch up with Jeff, one of the other grads, to plan the upcoming trivia night we’re hosting. We bounce around some theme ideas and joke about how competitive the Litigation team is likely to get. It’s been fun working on something a bit creative and it’s a great way to bring people across the Sydney office together.

2:00 pm

I spend the rest of the afternoon working on a due diligence report for a client expanding into a Pacific jurisdiction. The work involves understanding the local legislative framework and risks, and piecing everything together clearly and concisely. It’s a satisfying challenge, and there’s something deeply gratifying about translating legislative complexity into something that actually makes sense.

4:00 pm

We jump into our PLN team meeting, with colleagues dialling in from Sydney, Melbourne, London, and across the Pacific. It’s part legal briefing, part catch-up, and a great way to stay staying connected and aligned on active matters. It’s always interesting hearing the local insights and developments from our colleagues in-region and the team camaraderie makes the distance feel smaller.

5:30 pm

I log off and take a slow walk down to Circular Quay to catch the ferry home – an ideal way to decompress. The harbour at sunset is hard to beat, and it gives me a few quiet minutes to reflect before shifting gears into evening mode.

7:00 pm

At home, I wind down by cooking dinner and chatting over tea (or a wine) with my housemates. After that, I assume a horizontal position to read a few chapters of my book or fall into a Mobland binge. Then it’s off to bed to do it all again tomorrow!