MHC Life with Lauren McCausland

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

After I did my Leaving Cert, I actually headed off to NUI Galway to study Biopharmaceutical Chemistry. It quickly became apparent to me (and probably everyone else in the lab) that I wasn't much of a scientist, so after my first year I made the move to Dublin to study Law in Trinity. During my final year I worked part-time in a general practice firm, so I got lots of varied, hands-on experience. This motivated me to pursue a career as a solicitor and I did a few other internships in private practice and the public sector, which was a great indicator of the variety of work available. After I graduated, I moved back to Donegal and worked as a paralegal in an international insurance company while doing my FE1s. Once I completed that hurdle, I took up my training contract in a mid-size firm in Dublin and I qualified at the end of 2021. I joined the Public, Regulatory and Investigations team at MHC in January 2022 and I haven't looked back!

Fav​ourite thing about your role?

The variety! No two days are the same and it makes for such interesting work. I really enjoy having the mix between advisory and litigation work, and our broad range of clients means that we have lots of different types of challenging work.

Section 2: Personal (answer question in yellow and pick 2-3 questions from this section)

T​​alk us through a typical day for you

I'll usually snooze my alarm multiple times before accepting that it's time to get up. On work from home days, I'll make a coffee and settle into my home office for the morning. My day is typically varied, and is a mix of client meetings, emails and drafting advice notes. I'll usually make a few trips downstairs to visit the dog, who will be lounging on the couch and assure her she is the best girl in the world. She'll stare blankly past me at the front door, waiting for my husband to get home.

In office days are usually scheduled around court appearances, and can be challenging to juggle, but I enjoy the buzz!

The aforementioned dog's internal alarm clock will usually go off around 5.30pm, and we'll head out for a walk. Once she has resumed her position on the couch, I might wrap up some emails and prepare for the following day.

I'm a recent Reformer Pilates convert, so I'll try and squeeze in a few classes a week, otherwise you'll likely find me unwinding by watching a trashy reality show.

W​​hat was your first job?

As a teenager, I worked in a local hotel as a waitress at weddings and functions. I wasn't very good and left shortly after I dropped a roast potato into the handbag of an unsuspecting diner.

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

I recently went on a safari holiday in Kenya, and it was a once in a lifetime experience. Seeing so many animals in the wild was incredible, despite a near miss with a particularly aggressive bffalo! ​​​