HOW I WORK / Sonia Pasquali (Italy): “The tip is love. Love for your profession, love towards your clients’ problems”

Q: What is your current working position?

A: I am an independent lawyer. I run my own business, so I am not working with other lawyers or for another lawyer, at least not anymore. I have had this opportunity, due to this pandemic. In the last years I was collaborating with a Law Firm, then the pandemic changed our needs so I started working from home and I think I will go on this way.

Q: What about your current working devices – what do you use?

A: It's half notebook, half cell phone for me. It depends on what I have to do. If I have to write a lot, maybe a deed or a long agreement, or a contract, obviously I prefer working on a notebook. But sometimes it's just a matter of writing some short e-mails, and in that case I think a mobile phone is more than enough and it's handy!

Obviously, the tech landscape in which we lawyers operate is very different from the one I started in. When I was apprentice, I'm not even sure we had smartphones! My phone back then had a physical keyboard and not a touchscreen. So it changed a lot, also in terms of communication, trials... Because in Italy the first examples of telematic online trials began in 2011 probably. I started my practice in 2009. So the world changed a lot, just like business did, and also the profession and the relationship between lawyers and clients.

Q: How would you describe your working style, in a few words?

A: My style is about talking a lot with clients, and making them talk a lot, because trust between clients and lawyers is essential. I think that sometimes clients just need to talk, and the more they talk, the more they feel comfortable with the lawyer, and the more we can build trust since the very beginning. This is true especially if we consider I'm mostly working with people who are dealing with some personal issues, like a divorce, or children custody, or a sick relative. After we talk a lot, I usually send them an email, with a list of documents I may need, and only afterwards do I schedule an appointment to meet in person. Because meeting in person is important as well, obviously. Not always, because if there is something this pandemic has taught us, it's that sometimes you don't need to waste time meeting to receive a document or something like that, when we can save time with an email.

Q: Do you have any websites or legal software that you use on a daily basis in your activity?

A: Since I'm running my own business, I don't use a particular legal software. I use Dropbox, I use Google Drive. But previously I've used EasyLex, and Wolters Kluwer Suite. I was using that when I was working with other lawyers. The Google tools I use are really what I need, as they offer a very secure platform, and they also provide encryption, which keeps my clients' documents protected.

Q: What gadgets do you use most?

A: I was not born with a phone in my hands, but I'm not that far! I think that currently, with your smartphone, you can do maybe 8 or 9 out of 10 work-related tasks. So I think, right now, the phone is a part of my body! (laughs)

Q: Do you have a favourite to-do planner?

A: In this respect, I'm still a little bit “old style”, so I still have a paper agenda. I tried to use Trello or other kinds of tools, but I returned to the classical way.

Q: How does your desk / workspace look like? Please describe it in a few short sentences.

A: Since I started working from home, my working space is very tidy, and my work station is less chaotic than previously. I don't know why, exactly! I love working from home. What I noticed is that my clients prefer coming here, in a home, than to an office. Maybe, I won't schedule an appointment with a CEO at my home, even if that eventually happened past year. Luckily, I have a garden, so for most of my clients that worked great, especially during the "hard lockdown" we experienced here in Italy. It made them feel comfortable and open up. That is a big lesson of the pandemic: that we all have a human side that we should voluntarily show from time to time. Like my mentor used to tell us, "Remember, girls, we lawyers have to be very good psychologists!". She was right. It's something you learn on the job.

Q: What changed in your daily working routine compared to your first days starting out as a lawyer? Do you manage time better now?

A: I think it changed in a better way. Because, when you are apprentice, or when you are a very young lawyer, at least in Italy, you can't run your own business unless you are very, very lucky or someone helps you do it. So now, I have much more free time than I had before, because in the first years I was working with, and for other lawyers, so I dealt with the tasks they assigned to us and with their appointments. I had a very busy agenda, and it was not always of my own making. Since I'm a very organized person, and I love having everything organized, I can deal better with my time now. This is the best part.

On the other hand, there are many responsibilities more that you didn't have when you were part of a law office.

Q: Sleep deprivation is famously one of the professional “traits” of lawyers. How much sleep do you get?

A: I had some sleep issues along the way. So I worked on myself, on changing my mindset. Even if sometimes you can't avoid being anxious - because it happens - I try to remember that I did the best that I could. At least lately, I sleep 8 hours a day. It wasn't the same during lockdown, last year - not necessarily work-related, though!

Q: How do you think WOLEP will change your working habits going forward?

A: First of all, I hope it will. I believe this is the future. I'm not sure if in Italy we work that easily, nor fast. It's undeniable that this pandemic forced many of us to improve their technological skills. Previously, in Italy we had an "old" mentality that this pandemic has rejuvenated. So to me, what WOLEP represents is change, the future of work - and we'll surely adopt it in Italy too. Hopefully, Italian clients will discover this new network and will use it. I think WOLEP will bring anyone of us new clients and also new possibilities to work together. Collaborating with a foreign colleague is a great opportunity to improve and to learn something new that maybe you didn't know before.

Q: Any working tips for young lawyers trying to make a name for themselves?

A: I think all of us would like to have their present experience, but to be as young as 10 years ago! But I think the only true secret of being a good lawyer is love for this profession, doing it with passion. Because it's pretty hard, it's pretty challenging, irrespective of the branch of law you work in. So I may be a romantic lawyer, but I think love is the answer, and love is the tip. If you don't love it, you won't even be able to effectively talk to a client!

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