Peter Craney - Day in the life

I wake up early, iron my shirt, and take my two Shih Tzus for a walk around the block whilst checking any emails I may have received overnight. I bring my wife a coffee then head into work on the bus reading the latest industry news before reaching the Sydney business district.

I head to the kitchen for a coffee and some breakfast, usually porridge or toast, and have a chat with fellow colleagues about the English Premier League - I’m a Manchester Utd fan.

I receive a telephone call from a multi-national shipping and logistics client seeking urgent advice on the possible consequences of the impending insolvency of one of their key clients, and how they may recover their unpaid fees. Some initial verbal advice is given, and an urgent teleconference is scheduled with the company’s General Counsel, Senior Counsel and other members of the business in the next hour.

I’m thankful my wife made me lunch, and I begin preparing for the teleconference. I brief an Associate on the matter and relevant steps are taken to protect our client’s interests. I instruct the Associate to brief Counsel. After the call, I take the time to check-in with my team to review the status of certain matters for the coming week.

One of my team has an advice that needs review so I allocate time to do so. Once complete, I take the time to review the Supreme Court and Federal Court websites for any recent insurance, marine or aviation decisions for publication of an article.

I have a steady stream of paralegals and Associates seeking guidance. I am happy to discuss their issues with them, and it helps me to refresh my knowledge. I start dictating any non-urgent emails so our Document Production team can attend to them overnight for me to review.