Blogs

Continuing our "day in the life of" series, Curwens conveyancing assistant Maria Sarouchanova spills the beans on her experiences and aspirations of lockdown

Coping with the Pandemic

I am often asked how I’m coping with my training contract during the Pandemic and to be honest I’m really enjoying the challenge. I’m a first year trainee and have recently transitioned from a full time property paralegal role at the firm which I have held for 3 years. I’m currently 11 months into my training contract and in my second seat which is split between Employment Law and Private Client; as well as continuing in my assistant role in the Residential Property team. All of this as well as having recently become a proud new house owner,  which we are renovating entirely. Sounds fun I know! I do feel very lucky and grateful to be gaining such invaluable experience in the areas of law that interest me and working alongside these power teams.

My style of Juggling 

Aside from constantly panicking that I have missed a deadline, or forgotten to draft a document, or forgotten to send a document I drafted, I seem to be doing okay- I think, especially given the fact that I am juggling training in two completely separate disciplines and two separate supervisors!

My day will start with my getting up at 6:55am and get in the office between 7:30 and 8:00am.

Whilst getting ready I check my emails to prepare me for the wonderful hurdles I am likely to face during the day. Usually, my inbox is a mixture of emails which are quite straight forward, which enables me to respond before I get in the office (although doing this means I will likely have a response to my email by the time I’m at my desk! – oh the wonders of modern technology!)

Once in the office, I check my various subfolders of emails; and top of the list of priorities is to action any urgent matters (which means Bradley’s (our Head of Property and residential conveyancing #guru) subfolder has to be clear by 9am). Having subfolders helps me organise my emails and allows me to see which matters and/or departments require my attention and when, it has been key to staying organised working across three areas of law.

Throughout the day I run up a significantly large “to do list”- which is almost impossible to be complete by the end of the day, this  often results in a panic when I look up and its suddenly 7:30pm and I am yet to finish ticking items off- and needless to say still sitting at my desk!

2020 has definitely been a memorable year, to say the least. The volume of work, along with the pace it has to be completed in is unimaginable. You have to constantly be available, especially because our teams been busier than ever. I have to ensure that I have a stringent system in place to ensure the work is done and that client’s expectations and needs are met. Each of the three areas of law that I am working in are fast paced and usually with quick turnarounds required.  

The BXB Team - making my days become my dream 

The one thing I can always rely on to get me through the day is my BXB team (Bradley Bernett) with whom I’ve spent many weekends and evenings working with, and of course my family who always ensure there is a hot plate of food upon my return because ultimately, in a few hours, the cycle will begin again. Would I change it? No, because this is the path to my dream……being a qualified solicitor!