Don't be afraid to be yourself

Introduce yourself in a few sentences..

My name is Irena Georgieva and I try to be what I believe in and what I find meaningful – a loyal partner and friend, a present mother, and by profession - a lawyer.

I created PPG Lawyers (ppglawyers.eu) 8 years ago and I often define the firm as my third child. It is growing, walking on its own, and has more and more demands from me. I have always strived for our work to stand out by offering our clients a personal approach and for them to feel that we recognize their problems as our own. For this reason, PGG Lawyers is the different firm and this is already known in the market – our team easily becomes a trusted ally for our clients. All of us are highly specialized in consulting on various and complex regulatory issues in the fields of personal data, cybersecurity, AI, competition, consumer protection, cryptocurrencies, and more.

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood?

Without any mockery - a street cleaner. In my childhood, street cleaning was mainly done by hand. I idealized the image of the woman walking the streets, collecting leaves on the Sofia sidewalks with those huge brooms and strange shovels that no longer exist (wooden, "L"-shaped and with a huge opening). In my childhood eyes, these ladies were something like Mary Poppins from "Slaveykov" square.

At what age did you earn your first money? Tell us an interesting story?

Towards the end of high school, I worked in the archive department of the newspaper "Trud" during the summer vacation – I translated articles from foreign press and made summaries for the journalists. I didn't expect to get paid, as the idea was more to get used to the duties and responsibilities of being on a full-time job. However, at the end of my stay, I was rewarded, and it was quite a satisfying feeling.

I also gave German language lessons during my student years. I still remember that I received 6 BGN per lesson. The interesting thing was that I got a child who had serious gaps in Bulgarian as well, so we had to teach him first before moving on to German.

What are the main factors and examples that shape us as individuals at an early age and form our interests? What is your recipe for curiosity, sources of information, and inspiration at this stage of our human development?

First and foremost, it is the environment in which we grow up and what it presents to us as interesting, new, and significant. Besides my parents, a major factor in my early life that made me love learning to this day, to be a lecturer, and to "self-challenge" in every possible way was my maternal grandfather. He was a polyglot (fluent in 7 languages), had various interests and knowledge of global culture and history, and had traveled the world. As a representative of UNESCO, he created cultural-educational programs for many African countries that are still used today. Moreover, by profession, he was actually an engineer and a professor of plastic deformation of metals. A person who could do everything and do it with a lot of soul and heart. He worked almost until his last breath. He has been my example and muse in my childhood years, and even to this day. When you watch such a person from a young age, buried daily among his books, records, and artifacts from every corner of this Earth, you cannot grow up without immense curiosity about the world and its endless possibilities.

Has there been any significant change in your perceptions in more mature age regarding what motivates you to do or not do something?

I wouldn't say so. Perhaps only the fact that before I needed to be motivated by someone or something, and now I have enough clarity about my possibilities and it seems I have discovered my own perpetual motion machine.

Whose decision was it where to pursue higher education and what to study? Was that decision correct, looking at it from today's perspective?

I graduated from the Classical High School (NGDEK). In my class, there were a few girls who imagined throughout the 12th grade how we would study law at "Sofia University", enroll in a group, and then meet in court wearing elegant tweed suits. This childhood game was realized almost exactly in every detail, except for the suits, which we probably brought more from the series.

Seriously speaking, I consider my choice quite adequate for that time. In later years, I also did a doctorate at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and this gave me even greater desire and strength to focus on specific areas of law and to start my practice.

Share more about your interests, knowledge, skills, and hobbies?

Outside of law, my interests are in the field of literature, art, music, or in other words – everything that makes today's world more beautiful and cozy. I have nostalgia for the past times and for this reason, I adore antique items.

Recently, however, my hobby is our new podcast PPG – Law on the Go, which can be found on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@PPG-LAWONTHEGO) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1p2rOBMjpHLgpAipxDEXuB). The idea for it came quite naturally due to the numerous regulations that suffocate business and the increasingly pressing conclusion that law is distancing itself from life and becoming more incomprehensible and unnecessarily complicated. In our podcast, we share the ideas of legal design and with the power of words, video, and even laughter, we manage to "translate law into the language of business".

Would you change your profession today and which areas of activity capture your interest?

No. I love my profession. It is very different from what it represented even just one generation ago, but today's challenges energize me. Of course, I allow myself to openly criticize a serious part of some legislative decisions or practices when I am with other colleagues, but I still believe that we are helpful to the corporate world, which is constantly wandering in its choice of which rules to follow and how.

For over 15 years now, my interest has mainly been in the field of personal data and public procurement, and I strive to maintain expert knowledge in both areas. However, I do not hide that personal data and digital business provide much more room for thought at the moment.

They say that your personal brand is everything that people say about you when you are not in the same room with them. What would you like to hear today?

That I am responsible, efficient, and helpful.

Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and flexibility, as well as our soft skills, are key conditions for success in recent years. How do you cope with the daily challenges of life to stay in good shape and mood?

I think it would be a manifestation of serious self-confidence and even pride if I said that I always cope and am in a great mood. This is impossible and not necessary to achieve. However, life shows that if you don't set your own boundaries and find "your time", no one will do it for you. And if I want to be helpful and care for the people around me, I need to take care of myself as well. I am still learning this.

What are the most important conclusions you have made so far about maintaining proper communication considering the different characters of the people you meet daily – colleagues, friends, close ones?

Everyone needs to be listened to, to receive advice, or just to be silent in the presence of a close person. My profession has taught me to be patient and to tune into people's tone. Clients have different needs – some are more expressive, others too reserved in their speech and actions. I find that part of our profession is to be able to consider the character of the person in front of you because it gives them confidence that a solution will be found for their problem.

What do you think about money? What is their influence on your life? What is your advice to people who often ask themselves questions related to money and how sufficient they are?

It is meaningless to say how everything is easy and wonderful without money because it is clear that this is not and cannot be true. Everyone strives to feel financially stable and independent because this gives freedom and, to some extent, peace.

These resources are sufficient to meet the needs of each family member, to develop new ideas, and for someone else who might need support at the moment. For everyone, this is a different dimension, but my understanding is such.

However, when money becomes an end in itself, the only incentive, and the only measure of success, it changes people and the communication between them to the point of unrecognizability, and it is quite sad. And it shows a lot.

What is the most valuable career advice you would give to people?

Don't be afraid to be yourself. Those "10 rules on how to..." are not for you – create your own, the 11th, and follow it unwaveringly.