Get to know our member Olivia Mulvany, Senior Associate at Broadfield, who talks us through her involvement in Interact Law, how it has benefitted her practice and what success looks like.
How are you involved in Interact Law?
I am a key contact at Broadfield for Interact Law and, together with Tim Clark, I manage the firm’s day-to-day relationship with the network. I am also the key contact within BDB Pitmans for our internal lawyers looking to refer work out to a trusted person in another jurisdiction, and colleagues in member firms who need to refer work to an English-qualified lawyer.
Additionally, I jointly run the Interact Law Young Lawyers Group with Dominique Mattmann, Senior Associate at Wenger Vieli. The YLG aims to get more fee earners across the various member firms involved in the network from an earlier stage, thereby ensuring the longevity of the network.
How has the network benefited your practice so far?
The network has helped me establish, develop and maintain professional relationships, both within the network itself and within BDB Pitmans.
The twice-annual conferences have also been beneficial to my practice in several ways. Getting involved in the network at an early stage has helped me learn and understand more about law firm management and international relations. More importantly, the conferences allow lawyers from diverse backgrounds to exchange legal expertise and best practices in an engaging, productive way.
Getting to know so many international colleagues also enables me to develop an understanding of the legal market within which they operate, which makes the referral process that much more effective.
What is your experience of advising on cross-border matters?
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I regularly advise on cross-border matters. This largely comes from my niche specialisms drafting, negotiating and advising on both clinical trials contracts and international transfers of personal data. The vast majority of international counterparties I encounter are established in the United States so I have a great deal of experience negotiating and advising on contracts drafted under various States’ laws and in the American style. Of course, I cannot advise on U.S. law itself (I would need to refer that to an Interact Law colleague) but this work has given me a good feel for cross-border issues and how to guide clients through dealing with them.
I have also negotiated deals with counterparties in several other jurisdictions so being a member of Interact Law is a great fit as it helps me maintain a network of professional contacts who I can call on.
What does success mean to you?
Being happy with where you are and the path you are on. Success encompasses both our professional and private lives. It is important to set goals for yourself in both and to establish a road map of how to reach them. Even more important is enjoying the work you do because that will invigorate you across all aspects of your life and make reaching those goalposts feel so much easier.
