This Working Life: ‘Sometimes your career direction is set by the opportunities that show up – it’s best not to orchestrate too much’
Summarise
Growing up in east Kerry, the experience of working behind the counter in the family business, dealing with people coming in – who could all be going through different types of days – I think those customer skills stand to me today.
We were rooted in the rural community through the farming machinery sales store and garage we had just outside Castleisland.
I worked summers in my uncle’s farm beside us. I milked cows in the morning and then worked in the garage and in the stores. I loved it.
There was no legal background in my family. I had a blend of interests growing up that leaned towards law, history and English.
I remember going on a walk with my mother, Maura, and sister, Bríghid-Íde, when I was in early secondary and discussing careers – and one was law.
When I started my degree in UCC in 2006, I was certain I wanted to be a barrister in criminal law or mixed practices. But I wouldn’t do commercial law.
I was interested in criminal law, in legal theory, constitutional theory – they remain big interests of mine.
And I love advocacy – standing up and making an argument. Debating was something I enjoyed.
Yet what happened in the next few years disproved me of all my certainties.
I teamed up with a friend in my final year at UCC and we got to the final of the Irish Intercollegiate Moot competition, where students compete in simulated court proceedings.
I took one of the speaker prizes – a three-week paid internship at a London law firm. I was supposed to go to San Diego on my J-1 with friends, but I thought to myself this would be the only opportunity I’d get to do commercial law.
The last weeks of summer are when everyone travels to Las Vegas, to the American national parks. It was a case of weighing up what was the unique opportunity. I did not realise then that what I was weighing up would be my career – my whole life.
I did the three weeks with the law firm, and to my surprise I found I loved commercial law.
The friend I was debating with in UCC did qualify as a barrister, and his practice has grown. It is like a mirror image of what I thought I wanted.
He has gone on to have a successful public law practice, working a lot in the immigration and refugee area. He has helped us at DLA Piper Ireland with some pro bono matters.
And I even got to San Diego for a few weeks on the J-1. That summer was one of two halves. Flipping burgers with friends on Mission Beach, then suited and booted with a tan.
Exercising judgment
When I finished my three weeks, Mayer Brown offered me a training contract.
I knew from the start commercial law appealed to me. With corporate law you are working on bigger teams, there are bigger projects. We have international clients and are dealing with different challenges around the world.
You get the macro view. With our clients in western Europe, what we’re seeing now are disputes around energy regulation. These are reflective of the need to de-carbonise and the shift to renewables.
Disputes inevitably follow commercial engagement. We start our work when there are differences of opinion. We bring it out of the dispute stage – we steer it away. We navigate the dispute, as opposed to hammering it out to win.
Sometimes it is charting a path through the trading relationships. We have a lot of clients in the tech and pharma sectors, or we could be dealing with Irish customers. We reflect all the local regulations and EU law – sometimes international regulation too.
When I graduated from UCC in 2009, I did a master’s at the London School of Economics. If you get a training contract in the UK, they will send you to their preferred college and the legal practice will pay the fees.
During my training in Mayer Brown, I got a six-month stint in New York at their banking and finance group. It was exciting, I loved the city and loved the work. And it was full-on – there were 4am and 5am finish times when we were close to closing a deal.
Occasionally I would work weekends depending on what was coming up, but I got plenty of time to enjoy New York. My father’s cousin lives there and was an excellent guide.
I’m lucky because, if needed, I can get by on a short night’s sleep and still get up and focus. It’s genetic.
Lawyers work notoriously long hours but there’s a bit of a buzz when working on something with a finite deadline – you get a good kick out of it.
I finished my training contract in London and when I qualified they offered me a job in the litigation department where I stayed another two years.
I moved back to Ireland in 2015. I got an email from a college pal who worked for A&L Goodbody in Dublin, to say her boss was looking to hire someone at a particular level with experience in another jurisdiction.
Without really thinking, I flicked on my CV to send to the partner. He was in London soon after, we met for a chat – and that coffee turned out to be a full-on interview. I was slightly surprised, but luckily I had done enough prep to be able to carry myself well enough.
After that I went to Dublin to meet more of the partners. The partner I went on to work for ended up a High Court judge.
Sometimes your career direction is best based on the opportunities that show up – it’s best not to orchestrate too much.
Connection
Being able to relate to people is the core of everything in this environment – both within your team (junior and senior, where you need good relationships) and with your clients.
If you cannot relate to your clients, then you cannot understand where they are coming from. Understanding that is how you deliver great service. It’s not always in a social way. You don’t have to like people, but you do need to be able to talk to them and understand them.
Everyone has their own perspective, different angles on issues. That is the point of a diverse team.
I turned 30 in 2019 when DLA Piper opened up a new office in Dublin.
One of the two partners at A&L Goodbody I was working closely with moved across to be head of litigation. I was not planning to move, but I’d worked really well with her. We had a good working relationship of trust, and I knew it was something I should consider.
DLA Piper was carving out a place in the market. That was a strong pull. Today we have around 130 employees in Ireland – but when I joined in November 2019 I was the 39th.
Marcus Walsh at Croke Park supporting Kerry with his father, Mark
A day in the life
On a good day, I am up at 6.30am and head to the gym until 8am. I keep an eye on emails on my phone in case I’m needed. I head home for coffee, though I don’t eat breakfast.
I always schedule my calls with clients in the office. I usually arrive at work at 9.30am. I had a client in Sweden for a long time who loved to have calls at 8am their time, so that meant getting to the office at 6.30am. These days I prefer to arrive later and work until 8pm or 9pm.
We have an open-plan office which is good for chatting with each other. We call it doorstepping. We can answer queries on the hop, or give some input into a new project.
My days are varied. I might have client calls, or a delivery of papers to read for an upcoming meeting. I might walk down to the Four Courts if I have a court appearance mid-morning, where I will meet my barrister beforehand for a quick consultation. While waiting in the motions list, I keep an eye on email.
Back at work, I grab lunch in the canteen on the fifth floor. Everyone goes there, I meet people from other departments where we chat about our day.
I can really focus in the evening in those unbroken hours when the office gets quiet. Others prefer to come in early, but I like the evening shift. I might leave a bit earlier than 8pm or 9pm if I have had a really busy day, or have a client drink or dinner. That is rarer these days though.
As more and more meetings moved online, it’s harder to schedule meet-ups. The informal chats are important to get a hold on their concerns and the issues they are facing.
We have 92 offices globally and I often have meetings in London or sometimes Paris, Leeds or Frankfurt.
I had been apartment sharing with two others until recently, but I’ve just bought a house in Stoneybatter – an easy walk to the Four Courts and the office.
The perfect weekend is to head to Kerry on the train. I go to one of the local pubs with my father, Mark. We have a family dinner at home. My mother is a great cook – a roast leg of Kerry lamb, a bottle of wine. A friend encouraged me to take up sailing, so Sunday morning I would drive to Kinsale where I have been learning the ropes.
I cook for myself during the week. I don’t have much flair – steak or chicken. I have a sweet tooth and cut loose a bit on the weekend.
Marcus Walsh is learning the ropes in Kinsale
Living values
My mother did her degree at LSE by remote learning when I was born. My parents both work incredibly hard.
I have very strong values of social justice and community service that I think are rooted in my background. My sister is the same, she recently joined the guards.
When I was at A&L Goodbody I enjoyed being involved in pro bono work, so when they were looking in DLA Piper for someone to look after it alongside their regular role, it seemed a natural fit.
We are always looking at areas where there is unmet legal need – for example the Kids in Need of Defence (Kind) project.
It’s a programme run with the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Refugee Council, and we provide free legal advice to children who have fled their home countries. We represent them in their applications to be reunited with their families. We have teams working on eight of those cases at the moment.
We have been running our Know Your Rights programme in partnership with the Irish Refugee Council and Deloitte for four years. DLA Piper runs the programme in 25 offices around the world.
Pro bono is one of these value responses: you’re not just stating your values, you are living them.
Working 14 hours a day and this chump has a house in Stoneybatter at 40 years of age to show for it
