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❖ How did you feel on winning the prestigious award of Partner of the Year this year?
It was a great honour to receive such a special award
❖ What has your legal career path been to becoming a Partner?
I became a partner in 1990 only a year after I qualified as a solicitor - as we were a small firm back then it was a logical succession plan for the then current partners to bring on two newly qualified lawyers. In a smaller firm it can be easier to become a partner but similarly in a smaller firm you can face a wider variety of problems and worries as a partner so be careful what you wish for!
❖ What changes would you like to see in the profession?
I think there should be more emphasis on the skills needed to run your own business. We turn out lawyers that know all about the law but haven't the first clue in how to set up or run a business. They are then allowed to start up on their own. The skills required to set up and run a business are nothing to do with the skills required to become a lawyer. At the very least there should be a separate module that would be compulsory if you wanted to set up a business yourself or if you were to become a partner or director. The module should focus on practical aspects of running a business and the consequences of not doing it properly
❖ Do you think there are barriers to entry in the profession?
I think the barriers that are there are an extension of the barriers to going to university - I accept that this is a sweeping generalisation but I believe that students from poorer families will often have a reluctance to take on large debt (maybe because they have no safety net) which in turn puts them off going to university. I think that choosing the law as a profession is an extension of those concerns as it would involve taking on even more debt. In this respect the old university grant regime was much fairer. I can see that student loans make sense in that people in better jobs pay for the qualifications that got them there but this reluctance to taking on large debt has the unfortunate side-effect of creating barriers to entering the legal profession.
Fortunately there are now other ways of entering the profession via the apprenticeship schemes - I feel that is important as it will appeal to people who haven't chosen the traditional university route of qualification and make the law more inclusive (without lowering standards of qualification). The side effect of this is that you get people who are aware of what they are getting into - most 18 years olds have no idea of what it means to be a lawyer
❖ What do you see as your biggest achievement, either in or outside of your legal career?
Within work that would be when we took the decision in 2017 to change from being a generalist law firm into a specialist one - allowing us to specialise in Conveyancing and Wills, Trust & Probate work. As part of that specialisation we were then able to build a volume remortgage department from scratch - which now employs 40 people, and seen the company as a whole grow from 48 staff to 170.
Outside of work I cycled through France with my wife Suzanne in September - From Caen to Nice in 14 days taking in Mont Ventoux along the way. Suzanne raised over £3500 for Harmless and the tomorrow project which helps families affected by suicide. The ride was something I would never have chosen to do (I'm more of a mountain biker) but Suzanne wanted to do it and eventually I realised how much I would miss out if I didn't join her. Surprisingly I ended up enjoying the whole thing. OK perhaps 'enjoy' is a bit of a strong word.
❖ If you can give some useful tips to aspiring lawyers, what would they be?
Look carefully at what areas of law you enjoy and take steps to make sure you work in that area (which could mean moving firm) - there is a real danger that you just end up doing something because it needs doing and then become pigeonholed into that 'specialism'. This is great if you also enjoy that, but not if you don't
❖ What else do you enjoy outside of the law and is it easy to have a work/life balance?
Outside of work I like working with my hands - whether that is working on old cars, or building or repairing things on our house. It's very calming and satisfying to be able to step back and look at something physical that you have made yourself, and the problems that come with making something keep challenging me mentally.
With regard to the work/life balance I believe this is a choice. Your home life has to be a priority. I never look at emails outside of work hours. If there is an emergency I can always be contacted on my mobile but that has probably happened 3 times in the last 10 years. I think it's important to set these boundaries early in your career as it will stand you in good stead as you get older and set habits that will keep you sane. Not being able to catch up on work stuff late at night will incentivise you to be more productive in the office (or home office) and encourage you to evaluate whether you are working as efficiently as you can. Having home time for home life is so important for your mental health - as has been said many times before, no-one lies on their deathbed and wishes they had spent more time at work.
❖ What is the funniest thing you have seen working in law?
The only stuff I've seen that is funny on it's own can't really be repeated in print; That's not to say I haven't had fun throughout the years - I enjoy the craic at work - making it a great place to work has always been a cornerstone of what we stand for and that involves having a laugh and not taking yourself too seriously. I can't think of anything that stands out as comedy gold though - maybe one or two incidents at the office party but again I can't commit them to print!
This award was kindly sponsored by Browne Jacobson
