Sandy Nyunt

5.00 AM

My alarm goes off at this time every morning and I take my dog for a short walk before heading to the gym. As much as I dislike the early morning exercise, I find it helps clear my head before starting the rest of the day. 

6.30 AM

After completing my morning routine, I start getting ready for work. Despite the firm's dress for your day policy, I tend to dress more on the corporate side because it puts me in a good headspace to work. It is also helpful to already be prepared for any court runs. As I'm rotating across property and planning & environment, I accompany the planning lawyers to a hearing every couple of days.

8.30 AM

I arrive at the office and start setting up for the day. I will usually make myself a coffee in the kitchen before logging on and checking my emails. I generally read through my emails to check whether there is anything urgent that has come through before checking my calendar to see what meetings I have scheduled for the day. I will then pick up any tasks that have come into my inbox. Since I am rotating in the property team, I have been undertaking a lot of ongoing lease work and will spend most days preparing leases for clients.

9.30 AM

I have a workload catch-up with one of my supervisors three times a week. This is just a check-in to see how I am going, what my capacity is like, and making sure I am getting enough exposure to different types of work.

10.30 AM

I often catch up with one of the lawyers for a coffee at this time. It's a nice way to get out of the office and get to know some of my colleagues a bit better.

11.00 AM

Coming back into the office from the coffee catch-up, I continue working on a lease that I received instructions for in the morning. This generally involves reading through the client's instructions carefully and making sure the clauses in the lease address all of the client's needs. Depending on the lease, this can be quite a lengthy process.

12.30 PM

I have lunch with the other grad in the office almost every day. We often go to the food court nearby to get some food and then we take it to Australia Square and eat outside in the sun. Getting out of the office for lunch is a good way to get some fresh air and to get some extra steps in. 

2.00 PM

I have completed the initial draft of the lease I picked up in the morning and will send it to the property special counsel for review. At this point I will usually have another task or emails in my inbox that need responding to, so I turn my attention to those.

3.00 PM

The planning & environment team has documents and applications that need to be filed in person at the Land and Environment Court registry every day. I usually file these in the afternoon. The paralegal that pulled together the applications will put all of the folders and documents into a big suitcase which I then roll up to court for filing.

4.00 PM

My lease has been reviewed and I join a meeting with the property special counsel to go over any changes that need to be made before being sent to the client. I then make those changes and also draft a cover email to the client at the same time. The email outlines the way that we have approached the drafting and poses any questions that we have for the client. 

5.15 PM

The second draft of the lease is reviewed and I receive confirmation that I can send it off to the client with my cover email. I send the email and copy the property special counsel before packing up and leaving the office for the day.

6.00 PM

I have dinner with a couple of friends that also work in the city at a restaurant nearby. I enjoy having social events planned after work to help me unwind before settling down for the evening.

8.00 PM

I get home and I try to avoid looking at screens for the last hour or two that I am awake because I find staring at a screen really disrupts my sleep. I read a book (I am currently making my way through The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro) to help me settle down for the night and prepare to do it all again the next day.

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