MHC Life: Janet Cafferky

Tell us a bit about you and your career journey to MHC – what inspired you to get into this career?

My parents owned a couple of retail businesses in which I worked from an early age but they were always keen for me and my siblings to forge our own careers and encouraged us to take our own paths in life. Throughout school, law was often suggested to me as a career option and it always appealed to me as a profession. Given my family background, I maintained a keen interest in business which led me to study B&L in UCD. I quickly found the legal side of the course to be of a particular interest and I knew from then I wanted to be a lawyer.

Following my training I joined MHC in the summer of 2014 as a newly qualified solicitor in the Commercial Real Estate Department. I remember my first day like it was yesterday, it felt a little daunting walking into South Bank House. Thankfully, this feeling was for a mere moment as I instantly felt welcome and warmth, Barrow Street has felt like home ever since.

Favourite thing about your role?

I have always had an interest in property and as a practice area I find real estate to be very tangible. I love being able to walk around the city and look at developments knowing that I either helped to buy, lease or sell a building. No two deals are the same. The real estate industry is a constantly evolving sector and affords me the opportunity to work in a very interesting area with a vast array of clients on all sides of transactions.

Talk us through a typical day for you during the COVID-19 pandemic…

I have lived two very different pandemic lives, one WFH and one on maternity leave.

Like everyone, I was unsure how a real estate lawyer would function working from home. Thankfully in reality, the working day was not all too different from being in the office. My typical WFH day started at about 7 am with a coffee from home instead of my coffee from Insomina. Then it was a brisk walk around the neighbourhood compared to a run on the treadmill in the office before starting at my desk at about 8 am. I replaced the daily team catch up over the side of the desk with a zoom kick off call instead. Outside of these small differences, little else changed and I have been able to continue to serve clients throughout the day as effectively as pre-Covid. It is funny how quickly we adapt. Evenings and weekends were usually spent in the garden having a BBQ and binge watching all of Netflix.

My husband and I welcomed a baby boy into the world in October and since then my days are a little different, often starting earlier than 7 am and filled with a lot more coffee. Thankfully walks have survived and are still a daily ritual, with BBQ’s finally back on the agenda. I’ll be returning to the office in May and I look forward to re-embracing the WFH life and re-connecting with my colleagues and clients.

What are you most looking forward to when normality prevails?

I am most looking forward to seeing people face to face again, friends, family, colleagues and clients. While WFH and zoom will continue to be part of our lives, there is nothing quite like real life interaction.

What sports/hobbies/pastimes do you enjoy?

I love sporting events. As a proud Mayo fan, you’ll always find me visiting Croke Park in the summer with that eternal hope of one day bringing Sam home…..

I love watching golf and playing it badly. My husband and I love to lose a few balls around Carne Golf Links when we are in Belmullet, the course holds a very special place for me as my Dad was a founding member.

What's your idea of a perfect holiday/favourite place you've ever visited?

My perfect holiday is going on safari. I am lucky enough to have experienced this in both South Africa and Kenya. Kenya is my favourite place I’ve ever visited. I went there on my honeymoon and it is idyllic. There is nothing quite like chasing lions all day and having your sundowners while watching the sun set over the Masai Mara.