8:45 AM
I arrive at the office, set up my desk and get ready for the day. Normally this means catching up on emails or updates that came in overnight. I work across the Gambling, Media and IP teams and we work with clients around the world, which often means emails come through in the middle of the night.
9:00 AM
I get to work on the Daily News – a rite of passage for grads who come through the Media and Gambling team (affectionately referred to as ‘Team MG’).
Daily News involves going through the media- and gambling-related news from the past day and compiling the key updates into an email to send to the rest of the team. As an industry group, things are constantly changing and it’s important we stay on top of them. It’s also helpful for me to get up to speed on what’s happening in the industry and learn about the types of issues we (and our clients) typically encounter. Similarly, it allows us to keep track of what our high-profile clients are doing, both within Australia and internationally.
9:45 AM
Order pizzas. No, seriously.
I am on the firm’s Social Committee and we are hard at work organising our next event: post-work pizza and drinks on Friday. Social Committee is a fun way to get involved at the firm and get to know people beyond your own team. Grads are strongly encouraged to join!
10:00 AM
Today, we have our weekly Team G meeting (Team MG, minus the M). This is a great way to keep track of what everyone is working on, and have a catch up with my team members. It’s also a good way to manage capacity and distribute work across the team.
10:30 AM
Back to my desk and I get to work drafting a due diligence report for a transaction we are working on. This particular transaction involves several different teams across the firm. I have almost gotten through the sections I am responsible for, so today is mainly just crossing some T’s and dotting some I’s. I have been tasked with reviewing material contracts and summarising them and their key terms in the report.
12:00 PM
Scroll through social media. No, seriously.
Our client’s trade mark application has been opposed so I have been asked to research how the opponent has been using their trade mark so we can draft our submissions. This involves searching for any marketing or promotional materials, social media posts, news articles or other pieces of media that feature their trade mark.
12:30 PM
I jump on a client call with my supervising Partner. Our client wants to make sure they are properly complying with the (often complicated) gaming machine laws in Australia.
“One of the things I love most about Addisons is that I am able to have direct contact with clients, even as a Grad.”
1:00 PM
I debrief with my Partner about the call and then start preparing an email to our client providing advice on the matters they enquired about.
Gambling law can be quite complex because the enforcement of rules is often based on regulatory policy. Where there is uncertainty about the regulatory policy, it is sometimes easier to go right to the source and call the regulator, Liquor & Gaming NSW (which I had to do today), to understand how they interpret it. Luckily, they could provide some clarification and I was able to make sure we were providing informed advice to our client.
I get the draft printed off and give it to my Partner to review.
1:30 PM
Lunch time!
We are spoiled for choice with so many great food options around the office. One of my go-to’s these days has been Ichiban Boshi in the Galeries.
2:30 PM
I get back to my desk and start researching some questions our client has asked about their obligations under the Spam Act.
Admittedly, this is not an area of law I had given much thought to before, but I have had the chance to do a fair bit of privacy and spam work in this rotation and I really enjoy it. If there is anything I have learned about the Privacy Act and the Spam Act, it is that even the simplest questions may have a complex answer!
3:30 PM
I have been asked to prepare a template NDA for one of our gambling clients.
While it can feel like a whirlwind at times, one thing I really enjoy about working across three teams is how I’m constantly pivoting from one task to other (completely different) tasks. It helps keep things interesting and makes every day exciting.
4:30 PM
Enforcement action has taken place against some illegal gambling operators, courtesy of the ACMA, and a senior member of the team has asked me to summarise it into an email to send to our clients as an “FYI”.
I spend the rest of the day preparing those emails. Lucky for me, I was already aware of these actions because of the Daily News I did this morning, so this task did not require much further research.
5:30 PM
I bring the drafts to my Partner to review and, after a couple minor amendments, get the OK to send. We get these emails off to our clients, I post my time entries for the day and then pack up my things to head home.