Plexus Engage Lawyer Spotlight Interview: Katrina Uttam

Lawyer katrina

Katrina, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to join Plexus as a legal secondee?

I was in private practice for about 5-6 years before I decided to leave for a couple of years to focus on my start-up.

But I felt that I still needed some aspect of the Law, just not full time. I also wanted to have the flexibility that I never had previously.

What attracted you to Plexus Engage?

The reason why I wanted to work with Plexus was because I felt the model worked for me.

I really like the employment model where I don’t need to have my own ABN or do any of the administration side of things; Plexus takes care of all of that. I liked being an employee at one company but still getting to work at different client sites.

I got my first secondment within a month of applying. It was so quick and ever since then I’ve been working with clients. I’m on my second secondment and my current secondment has been going for 2.5 years.

Can you tell us what a day in the life of a Plexus Engage secondee could be like?

When I first started my current secondment, I was working more in the property law space. I’ve been with them for 2.5 years now and I do about 70% property law work and 30% non-property work, like marketing and IT contracts.

My average day could involve anything from dealing with the clients - our two property managers - directly, negotiating directly with landlords, project managing files, making sure I keep my boss up to date, and anything else that comes up.

What have you been able to do as a Plexus Engage lawyer that you wouldn’t have been able to do previously?

At my previous secondment I was managing the external lawyers. I liked that I had the chance to learn more about project management, as opposed to just sitting there and reading contracts and advising. I would not have learnt that had I been at a private practice firm.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about becoming a secondee?

You will thrive as a Plexus Engage lawyer if you don’t have a traditional mindset about your career growth. It’s great for someone who wants to work with different clients and get variety as part of their career and not be in the same environment for 10 years straight.

If you are a lawyer who really wants to become an Associate or Partner then Plexus isn’t the right move for you.

I think moving into the modern world lawyers can see that they have a lot of interests outside of the Law and Plexus gives that flexibility to pursue that. I think it would really resonate with people who have interests outside of the law and want to add more variety to life and to their 5-day working week.

Katrina has been engaged as a Plexus Lawyer since 2019 and is currently on her second secondment.

Flexible support for in-house legal teams, on demand

Plexus Engage provides top-tier legal talent to support the ever-changing needs of in-house legal departments. Our highly skilled lawyers are available for immediate start.

Subscribe

Get weekly legal transformation best practices, benchmarks and trend analysis in your inbox:

Thanks for subscribing

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience and improve our services. By using our website, we assume you're ok with this. View our privacy policy for details.

Get your free eBook!

Modernise your legal function with the Digital Transformation Guide for General Counsels.

Digital Transformation Guide