A day in the life of the Family Law Secretary at Gilson Gray

Of course, like most, the day starts with a nice strong coffee to wake the brain for the day ahead.  If I’m lucky there may also be a slice of toast and avocado – what better way to set you up for the day?

My batteries are recharged and I’m ready to take on the day.  There is no easing into your day in Family Law.  Being the first point of contact for clients; it is 100 miles per hour from start to finish – but this is what keeps me motivated.  There is a sense of satisfaction from the forever flow of drafting legal documents and the clicking of “complete” on each dictation – or maybe the “buzz” is from the morning coffee…

I always like to get into work around 8.30am to get myself set up and prepared for the day.  With my coffee in hand, I note down my “plan for the day” consisting of prioritising my daily duties of checking emails, drafting of documents, dictation and diary management.  As anyone working in a fast paced office will know, the morning plan only makes it so far, and for me it will often change where needed to support the fee-earners.  However, it’s always good to have some sort of structure in place to help shape up your day.

With my plan in place, I’m set to go.  I check the diaries of each fee earner to see how their day ahead is, then on to scanning on the mail and checking e-mails.  My e-mails can range from setting up client appointments to sending client emails.  Next up is dictation check.  One of the most important tasks is prioritising dictation to meet the deadlines – having the documents typed up in plenty of time for the fee earner to send to the client in a timely manner.  In between I will be taking calls from clients, and one of the aspects I enjoy the most is having the chance to interact with such a wide variety of clients on a day to day basis.  This can range from taking messages, to providing a sympathetic ear.

You know what they say, time flies when you are having fun and before I know it, its lunch time – and if it’s a Friday, it’s my favourite time of the week.  The Family Law Team have our weekly Nandos lunch date.  It’s a great way for the team to get together and have some down time and also a nice little treat after a week of working hard.

Now that we’ve had our weekly treat, it’s back to the office to take on the second part of the day.  I check over my emails for anything that has come in over the lunch hour and deal with these accordingly.  Once this has been done, I’m back in dictation, making sure that I am meeting all my deadlines and supporting the fee earners to assist in getting everything in order for the clients for the weekend.

On the last Friday of each month the firm holds a social end of months drinks.  This gives everyone a chance to get to know each other on a personal level which ultimately builds better working relationships.  With that said, just before 5pm, once I have ensured all the mail is out for the weekend and all our work is done – the team head down for some drinks and socialising.  What better way to finish your working week?