Day in the life of a graduate lawyer at Pacific Legal Network

We were delighted to welcome Amy Ridge, a graduate lawyer from Macpherson Kelley, who joined the Pacific Legal Network team for a three-month rotation.

Amy shares her reflections on what a typical day looks like as a graduate lawyer at PLN.

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!