The key word for a good working environment is correctness

Introduce yourself in a few words..

My name is Irena Georgieva and I am a lawyer and founder of PPG Lawyers – a boutique law firm specializing in consulting on complex regulatory issues in the fields of personal data, cybersecurity, AI, competition, consumer protection, cryptocurrencies, and more. For over 15 years, I have specialized in the areas of personal data protection and public procurement. I am a certified privacy information management manager. My PhD defense at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands is in the field of public procurement.

Tell us what are the philosophy and values of the company you currently represent?

PPG Lawyers is a law firm that was born from my observations of the modern needs of business. Besides large corporate transactions, mergers, and acquisitions, clients often look for not a huge firm, but a personal trusted partner they can rely on for more specific cases requiring particular expertise. Regulations are becoming increasingly complex, and entrepreneurs' ideas are becoming more innovative, which requires good specialists. Thus, I gathered a small team of people with long-standing experience and high expert knowledge in specific areas of law. Our goal is not to consult on all issues at any cost, but to be maximally familiar with the client's business model and to assist them in compliance with the complex legal requirements at national and European levels.

Over the years, we have also created a sustainable partner network of consultants almost worldwide, which allows us to exchange experiences and take on multinational cases together.

How long have you been developing your current company? What are the most valuable lessons that the events of this period have taught you?

The firm was established 8 years ago and with each passing day continues to teach me new lessons. I have over 20 years of experience as a lawyer in large Bulgarian and international firms, but since I started my own business, I realized how many and different other activities I can take on, and with pleasure and ease – to develop the firm's brand, to have the courage to choose our clients, as well as they choose us, to uphold our values and to follow our ideas to the end.

This year we also started a completely new challenge that we have been preparing for a long time – we created a legal 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). Again, however, we did not rely on what "is done" and do not expect our podcast to demonstrate only our professional knowledge. We took a completely different direction. We are advocates of the Legal Design concept, which represents a modern multidisciplinary approach that combines law, design (design thinking), and user focus to make legal information, services, and processes more understandable, accessible, and effective for people outside this field. The idea for the podcast came quite naturally due to the numerous demands on business and the complexity of legal texts, which are becoming more and more comprehensive. Thus, with visuals, original music, digestible language, and very often humor, we manage to convey the messages of the law to non-lawyers and highlight the risks for businesses.

If you personally had to write a job advertisement, how would you attract the attention of a future employee?

I would emphasize exactly the values of our firm – we work almost in a family environment, everyone relies on the other colleagues, we work for our clients as if the problem is personal, and we constantly change approaches and concepts with new challenges. We rely on people who flee from boredom and are ready to constantly step out of their comfort zone.

What does your company do to organize a constructive and beneficial working environment for everyone? Should people in the team be friends?

There is no rule whether people in a workplace should or should not be friends, but with us it happens that we easily become friends. Perhaps because we are a small team, but it is a fact that we maintain wonderful and warm relationships even with our external consultants. In my opinion, the key word for a good working environment is correctness. When there is a correct attitude among us, it is not even necessary to waste resources to deliberately organize a constructive working environment. Everything happens naturally.

What makes you look forward to going to work? How do you cope with difficult and stressful moments?

I am a constant generator of ideas and continuously "radiate" my colleagues with new thoughts. Then we discuss them together, sift out the unnecessary, and continue forward together. My work energizes and tires me at the same time.

Over the years, I learn to wait for a stressful moment to pass and then immediately allow myself a break – even if it is in the middle of the work week. With us, there are no working hours and days, and I try to create moments of calm for myself, even if they are short.

What work model does your company adhere to – office or remote? What do you think about the possibility of offering options for flexible working hours, within which employees have greater freedom to balance their personal and work commitments?

The nature of our work allows for work from any point on the globe. Long ago, even before the pandemic, we assessed that everyone has the freedom to work from wherever and whenever they want. When necessary, we gather together, but we are more inclined to the attitude that it is important for the work to be done on time and with maximum quality, regardless of where.

How do continuous technological changes worldwide affect your business?

Our work is closely related to technological changes because it is the IT sector that most often turns to us due to our narrow specialization in regulations related to information, data, technology, competition, tokens. For this reason, we ourselves continuously train, monitor trends, listen to podcasts, ask our clients, and adapt to their new searches.

As for the use of technological solutions in our own work – we still approach it with caution. We have not yet discovered a market offering in the field of law that truly makes our work significantly easier and can be relied upon to a sufficient degree.

How important is the hierarchy and what does it mean to you? What kind of communication do you advocate in your company?

Our profession is not related to hierarchy, but to experience and knowledge. Everyone constantly learns from each other. We have a clear view of our weaknesses and strengths and in this way we distribute our work. Our communication is primarily human, and then professional – both among ourselves and with our clients. This year, this was evident in our clients' opinions regarding the fact that we were ranked in some of the most recognizable and prestigious international rankings of lawyers. One client mentioned in their interview for us that our partner is "a very good person and lawyer". This touched me deeply because it showed that we managed to convey our values to our clients in such a way that they could feel them.

What is your career advice for all people who are building a strategy for their professional development?

Have patience, be brave, and follow your inner voice more than the "trends" in the market.