Blog - Personal Narrative
Getting into the law
Having stumbled into a law degree at Leicester University when other courses I vaguely preferred were not at universities in cities with First Division football teams, I stumbled into the College of Law as the next obvious thing and then into a training contract at a large firm in my home town, Southampton. So no obvious sense of vocation in the law!
I then found I really enjoyed the work. On qualification, I did some crime, some civil litigation, some family and even some conveyancing for a while! I felt at home with advocacy and court work, although it was (and still is) nerve racking, competitive and hard work – both in court and in the prep. Losing was dreadful, but winning was really great! So I decided I would do more of the latter for clients and keep the former to a minimum – those were the cases to settle before court!
After a couple of most enjoyable years, in 1980 I moved up to Birmingham with the perverse feeling that one had to move firms to progress. But to Birmingham??!! It was to one of the best law firms around the country, Anthony Collins and Co. They were a terrific example to me of how a good law firm should be run, and especially on Christian principles. I have retained so many lessons from that period for the rest of my career.
London
But we did not settle in the city and we moved to London in 1981. After three incredibly unhappy and frustrating years at another firm and after 8 months as a locum (still one of the most enjoyable times of my career and something I would highly recommend), I was most fortunate in 1985 to join Theodore Goddard and especially to work with Mrs Blanche Lucas. She was one of the world’s top family lawyers of the second half of the twentieth century. It was doing very substantial asset work (that horrid term, “big money divorces”). Because of her immense personal and professional foreign connections, a lot of the work had international aspects. In due course I became a partner and Head of their Family Law Dept. I learned a huge amount, about law and practice, about people and about life during that time.
After six years, and as part of the fall out of private client work in the City, Theodore Goddard decided to stop doing family work so Mrs Lucas and I, our two assistants and our four secretaries and all our clients decamped to Frere Cholmeley Bischoff (now part of Eversheds), also a City firm but still doing a lot of private client work. Like TG, they did a lot of entertainment work which matched an area of my expertise. Sadly in 1994 Mrs Lucas died. Working with her was the best period of my career, a real privilege.
In 1995, I left to set up The Family Law Consortium, England’s first practice (probably the world’s first practice) to combine family lawyers, mediators and counsellors, and later arbitrators. We had 3 equity partners, 2 other professionals and 3 secretaries; small beginnings. But we hit a wave of public and professional acclaim. It was at the time of the (subsequently ill fated) Family Law Act. The governments (Tory and later Labour) publicly came to our offices and encouraged us as an example to the profession. We were immensely successful. Over eight years we grew to over 30 people. It was in many ways a super place to work; relaxed, innovative, fresh, young and enthusiastic and right in the centre of Covent Garden! My own practice grew hugely and very successfully. I had an excellent team of three top quality assistants, Miranda Green, Punam Denley and Nadine de Souza, working with me, and a very supportive PA, Sarah Phillips. Alas, in late 2002, the three younger of the five equity partners decided they wanted it to go in a different direction – although I am still not sure which – and they effectively ended the practice I had helped create and make highly successful.
Accordingly, in mid 2003, I moved some of my team with most of my clients to another top London practice.
Australia
But at the same time and alongside my London based work, I was invited to join one of the top Australian family law firms to help them for 12 – 18 months. So in July 2003 I moved to Sydney where I qualified as an Australian solicitor and mediator and I worked for Meyer Pigdon, Sydney’s top international family law practice, also continuing with my English work. I stayed in Sydney for almost two years and had one of the most wonderful times of my life.
I loved the climate, the people, the approach to life, the outdoor living, the sports especially scuba diving, sailing (which I learned in the Harbour, an idyllic place to learn) and bush walking, and I made some fantastic friends. I travelled a lot around Australia and New Zealand and I got involved in a number of aspects of Sydney community life. I learned a great deal from working in family law in Sydney, although it was much more American combative and non conciliatory than practice in England. It was right to come back home when I did. However I miss hugely my living in Sydney and my friends there, remember my time there with much fondness and suspect (hope!) I will return one day to Australia.
Whilst I was away, I continued to be involved in my English cases and clients, working remotely alongside my team in London. I kept in touch with developments in English family law and twice returned to sit at court.
