Meet Madison!
Madison Walsh is a Solicitor in the
Commercial Dispute Resolution Team at Hicksons Lawyers. She initially commenced with Hicksons as a
Graduate and successfully commenced as a Solicitor in 2022.
Curious to know what a day in the life of a Hicksons Solicitor looks like? Madison runs us through what a typical day as a Solicitor at Hicksons involves.
8:30am - 9:00am
Once a week I meet with my friends for coffee before work in Wynyard station as we each work in the area. I really enjoy this start to my morning!
I then get to the office, say hello to everyone and get ready for the day!
9:00am - 11:00am
The first task of my day was attending a directions hearing (where a matter is listed before a Judge or Registrar and legal practitioners attend to be provided with orders that determine the progression of a matter) with Counsel to obtain orders related to the matter we were working on.
I then met with Counsel afterwards to discuss and sort out next steps in the matter.
11:00am - 1:00pm
Following Court, I returned to the office to go through my emails and discuss what occurred at Court with Associate,
Tayah Stevenson, and Consultant,
Chris Moore, who are looking after the matter. We then prepared an update for the client.
I then checked in with the Partner in our team,
Chloe Ellis, to flag any upcoming deadlines and things we need to follow up or complete regarding the matters that I assist her with.
This was followed by preparing for a meeting scheduled later in the afternoon with Chris and a client, in order to prepare affidavit evidence.
I usually look through the matter to ascertain which key areas we will likely discuss in the meeting, and write up any questions I think will be helpful to ask the client.
I find it really helps me learn to go through these questions prior with my team attending the meeting.
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Now it’s lunch time! We are often all quite busy during the day, so it’s nice to check in and see how everyone is going.
We usually discuss any upcoming tasks and issues, along with what we got up to on the weekend and any Netflix shows we are enjoying!
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Following lunch, I dialled in for my meeting with our client to prepare affidavit evidence.
The call was very productive, the client provided answers to our questions and presented us with the information we needed to begin drafting our evidence.
3:00pm - 7:00pm
Following the call with the client, I began preparing for an upcoming meeting with a potential expert witness. Chloe, Chris and I jump on the call along with Counsel on the matter. It’s very interesting to work with experts as they see the matter through a different lens.
I then go through the rest of my emails and begin preparing the affidavit evidence based on our call earlier in the day. After this, I start wrapping up for the day!
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Following work, I usually head home to see my partner and we make dinner together (pesto pasta is a favourite of ours!) and watch some Netflix before bed.
Highlight of the Day
The highlight of my day was attending court. It’s always great to see the barristers interact and advocate!
Also, when waiting in the list for your matter to be heard, there is an opportunity to hear snippets of other cases which can be varied and interesting.
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