This is Allens
Kip Fitzsimon
Kip is a partner specialising in major projects and construction, advising sponsors, lenders, government and a broad range of contractors on some of Australia's most iconic projects.
I remember being six or seven years old and telling family and friends that I was going to be a lawyer. I grew up in a small country town – as one of five children, I was accustomed to constant negotiation and had a real hunger to explore the big wide world and play an active role in it. The law was my ticket to Sydney, new ideas and opportunities.
I'm not sure why I thought the law was for me. I wasn’t from a family of lawyers but I was very good at arguing. As an aspirational student, I was hoping to make a difference by addressing issues of social justice. I couldn’t imagine being a lawyer without being an advocate of the court. I think I had dreams of being a criminal defence barrister or working for Legal Aid. All that changed after undertaking a clerkship in corporate law. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you can make an impact on clients, society and people in need within a large firm. The resources and networks you can tap into allow you to positively impact the community – whether through your day-to-day client work, your interactions with colleagues or in providing pro bono assistance.
This is also true for working on infrastructure. I work on building essential infrastructure like schools, hospitals, rail – services that make a place liveable, safe and connected. These projects touch all members of the community. We're enjoying an infrastructure boom and it's nice to see how so many of the projects I've worked on over the last decade have come to life and are connected in some way. It's exciting to see that these projects are connecting communities and creating opportunities. It's pretty cool to know that as a lawyer I played a small role.
One of the things that initially attracted me to Allens was how genuine and generous people were with their time. It's a culture that exists right across the firm. People are motivated to work together, to help one another and their clients, and the whole firm is pulling in the same positive direction.
I love my job. I feel energised when all the elements of my job come together. When the team you work with are engaged and motivated, clients are appreciating the work you do, and there is a clear pipeline of work on the horizon, there's no better feeling.
A day in Kip's life
0545 Alarm goes off and I roll out of bed to perform the dreaded task of packing lunch for three kids. Will they eat it or won't they? That is the question.
0600 Wake husband and oldest child – they are heading out for a surf before school.
0630 Virtual yoga or exercise with a friend.
0715 Exercise interrupted by a two-year-old who insists on lying on me.
0745 Organise the kids for school. Change and negotiate with a toddler who wants to dress up and refuses to put on anything I offer. Throw the lunches into school bags, then hand the baton over to my husband, so I can now get ready for work. Stack dishwasher, kiss kids goodbye as they all head out the door with my husband and go to school and day care. Oh no! I notice remnants of toddler's vegemite toast on my top and get changed.
0800 Grab coffee on the way to work and enjoy the silence of the drive in.
0900 Add final details to pitch for large project.
1000 Coffee with client at District Brasserie to chat about upcoming opportunities.
1100 Virtual meeting with team and client to discuss our strategy for Monday's interactive meeting with government stakeholders. We need to run through the red flags to see whether there is any wriggle room on our departure positions.
1200 Join call with client to run through advice on contamination regime. Post-meeting chat with the Allens team to make sure everyone knows what they are doing over next few days.
1330 Attend Movember session. I'm slightly late, but I want to support this great initiative.
1400 Chat to colleague in the business development team about setting up a strategy day with a key client. Lots of ideas and so little time to organise. Fortunately, I can trust him to pull it all together.
1430 Pop downstairs to get a pasta from Mordeo. YUM!
1400 Respond to emails and walk around the floor to check in with members of the team.
1430 Review departures table for major government procurement.
1600 Final review of Amendment Deed that needs to be executed tomorrow. Call client to clarify one point before sending out.
1700 Performance coach catch-up with one of the senior associates. We set goals for the next few months.
1900 Entertain eight dinner guests at home for our eight-year-old's birthday and manage to get three kids off to bed in amongst the chaos. Guests finally leave. Quick clean up.
2130 Catch-up on emails, settle revised contamination advice and send to client.
2200 Finally get to watch something with my husband: episode 4 of Vigil. Just to remind myself that I made the right choice to become a lawyer and didn’t pursue a career as a submariner.
2230ish Final check of work emails. Settle PDA and send to client. Set alarm for 5.45am and collapse into bed.
