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‘I’m present, irrespective of my work obligations’
Balancing a new boutique injury law firm and a young family is no easy feat – but one of the most important lessons you can learn, according to this principal lawyer.
Lauren Croft
Sach Fernando is the principal and founder of Maxiom Injury Lawyers, which he founded off the back of starting a family.
Mr Fernando has two daughters: four-year-old Giselle and two-year-old Arielle. Six months after Giselle was born, he founded Maxiom.
“Giselle from early days has put me into situations where I’ve really had to juggle and balance. When I started Maxiom, my wife was still on maternity leave,” he said.
“I didn’t know what to expect because I hadn’t done business before. I’d never been involved in a business, in the start-up of a business. I didn’t know what balance would look like. I just knew that I needed to work hard.”
Six months after getting his new firm off the ground, Mr Fernando’s wife announced the news that she was pregnant with their second child, Arielle.
“I think a father plays an instrumental role in the child’s life,” he said.
“There’s so many challenges that come along. But one thing that I did know, and one thing I was committed to was giving the kids the most amount of time that I had.
“And sometimes that might be very little, particularly during the week. But if I’m spending time with them, I just want to give them quality time.”
Whilst Maxiom “fared reasonably well” throughout the height of COVID-19, Mr Fernando said that the pandemic also allowed him to spend valuable time with his family.
“During COVID one right thing that’s happened is that it’s forced us to spend a lot more time together and we’ve had more time to spend with the kids,” he said.
“What that means is we’re doing activities like baking and painting and things like that. So that’s worked out well on that front.”
Outside of the pandemic, Mr Fernando said the firm’s clients have been more than understanding when it comes to spending time with his kids.
“We are dealing with individuals who have families and they’re very understanding of kids. And we’ve got some fantastic clients who are very considerate of that, who will send gifts for my kids,” he said.
“[During] a time that I’ve allocated for my kids, typically I won’t attend to any work matters. But I certainly will still respond to the client.
“And I acknowledge that they’ve got a concern that they need to raise with me. And I will create that time whenever I have that time. Whether it’s in half an hour or the next day.”
Mr Fernando will spend time with his kids each evening, putting the youngest to bed and getting up with them each morning, which he said was valuable quality time.
“For me, being a father is about being present with my kids and making sure that I’m there for them,” he said.
“And I’ve struggled with this because when you’re running a practice, when you’re managing staff, when you’re trying to do business development, time is the most important thing you can give your kids, but time is also what you don’t have to a large extent. And so, you’ve really got to create time.”
Mr Fernando added that whilst owning your own firm offers you a broad range of flexibility, the responsibility that accompanies it can often mean hard work, particularly in the beginnings of a firm.
“I know I don’t have to report to anyone, but I also haven’t worked, ever in my entire career have worked as hard as I do,” he said.
“And that is because we are still building this practice and to build a practice and manage staff requires a hell of a lot of time and effort. But again, you do the best that you can.”
But, irrespective of his workload, Mr Fernando maintained that the most important thing was being there as his girls grow up.
“I think as dads, we play such an instrumental role and also particularly in these early days, and they are early days. These are also some of the best days. The kids grow up so quickly,” he said.
“It’s so important that I’m present, irrespective of my work obligations. I always want to be present for my girls, and hopefully they will grow up into strong women themselves.”
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Sach Fernando, click below:
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
