Talk To My Lawyer (Adrian Johnson)

Fortnightly interviews with interesting people in the legal profession with great stories to tell. 

For the first episode of the Talk To My Lawyer podcast, I have a conversation with the brilliant Heledd Wyn. We talk about ageing and money, having tricky discussions with family members and more, but not before hearing about her fascinating journey into the law, including: 

• The influence of a strong-willed grandma; 
• Getting thrown in the deep end and thrown out of court...5 times; 
• The challenge of moving to a new city for university.

 Stay tuned till the end for a few curve-ball questions that lead to some great career advice from Heledd!

For this week's episode of Talk To My Lawyer, I spoke to Private Client lawyer James Badcock about the challenges and opportunities presented by working as an Independent Solicitor.  We discuss James’ fascinating career and how he came to the decision to move away from his role in a traditional firm and work as a Private Client Lawyer attached to a number firms. 

In this conversation, we also touch on:

·        The benefits and difficulties of working abroad;

·        Tax lawyers and tax accountants – do they step on each others toes?; 

·        The UK law conversion system and how it opens the pathway into the world of law to many more individuals. 

And stay tuned till the end for some intriguing insight from James about how AI will change the way we practice law, but not decrease the number of lawyers needed in the world!

For this week’s episode of Talk To My Lawyer, I speak to a fellow Melburnian, the brilliant Lewis Grimm, about using his online presence to nurture and build relationships as a lawyer. He discusses the importance of showing one’s personality through portraying interests outside the world of law, building a transpersonal online presence and taking time to write about topics you care deeply about.

In this conversation, we also discuss: 

·        The challenges and differences of practicing law in three different continents; 

·        Finding an area of practice that suits your personality; 

·        Building trust with clients through finding common interests outside of work.

And stay tuned till the end to hear about Lewis’ Sunday Karaoke sessions and how meeting different people and not talking law have helped his career!

In this episode, I invite Charles Anderson into the studio, Legal Director at MET Group and author, to discuss practicing law across the globe. Charles’ fascinating journey through the world of law has taken him from Melbourne to Moscow via London and Paris, finally ending up in Switzerland where he practices today. 

Along this journey, we discuss:

• Balancing risk and reward when choosing to work abroad;
• The appeal of London in the late 90s;
• The challenges of working with different languages;
• How Charles has managed working in a host of different jurisdictions, each with a distinct approach to practicing law. 

And stay tuned till the end to hear how Charles found himself being deported from Russia immediately after landing in Moscow airport.

In this episode, I invite Charlie Davidson, Property Solicitor at Bishop & Sewell, into the studio to discuss creating a personal brand as a lawyer. Charlie has built quite a following on LinkedIn through his persona as the ‘Hound of Holborn’, regularly posting about all things property law and life in general. 

His journey leading to ‘The Hound’, into and within property law is a fascinating one that opens up all sorts of conversations, including:

·        Finding your feet in the world of law;

·        Challenges and opportunities presented by Covid on property law, particularly through remote working;

·        How to stand out on LinkedIn and the impact this can have on your work as a lawyer;

·        The future of law: AI will not replace lawyers, but those who don’t use it to assist them will fall behind those that do.

And stay tuned to hear how our shared love for WWE links to Charlie’s creation the ‘Hound of Holborn’ persona, using the three piece suits to build a character that delivers confidence and builds trust with clients. 

This week I am very excited to welcome Sharmila Mehta, UK immigration lawyer and Partner at Keystone Law, into the studio to discuss how ‘Partner’ can mean different things at different law firms. A self-proclaimed ‘lawyer through and through’, Sharmila helped me obtain my British passport several decades ago and has worked in several different large UK law firms throughout her career. 
 
In this episode, Sharmila outlines her fascinating journey into law having moved to the UK from Kenya at the age of 5, growing a curious and fearless attitude towards how the world and the UK in particular works, and working at several different UK firms before becoming a Partner at Keystone law today.

This journey introduces a variety of other interesting points on law and life in the UK, including:

·        Living in the UK as a dual citizen and the challenges of moving to the UK at a young age;

·        Growing up as young woman in school in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s and being taught to be assertive, inquisitive and speak up.

·        Taking calculated risks during a career as a lawyer and a mother; 

·        What partner means these days vs what it used to mean and whether making partner is becoming a  business of running a law firm and not necessarily being a lawyer’?

·        Realising that as a lawyer you’re not just part of the wider brand of the firms you work for, you have your own brand that you build throughout your career.

And stay tuned to hear about the driving force behind Sharmila’s work as an immigration lawyer – how to make the UK better, through the energy, innovation and desire to succeed that migrants have always and continue to bring to this country. 

This week, I am excited to invite Richard Khaldi, Chambers Director of Maitland Chambers, into the studio to discuss career journeys, moving in and out of the law. Richard’s career path has been full of twists and turns, including working in government as a regulator 5 years into being a qualified lawyer, then moving to management consultancy, before coming full circle back to legal management. 
 
In this episode, we also discuss:

• Benefits of a business degree to working in law;
• How being a lawyer helped the transition to working in government;
• Nature vs nurture - Where does the training and the personality combine to go into lawyers' risk averse attitude?;
• The challenge of managing and delivering the best service when you don't always need to be there in person;
• Impact of AI on efficiency rather than instigating wholehearted change.

And stay tuned to hear about Richard's involvement in a high profile case involving Chris Evans and going up against a team 3/4 times the size of his.

This week, I am excited to invite Sarah Jackson, Commercial Litigation and Insolvency Partner at IBB Law, into the studio to discuss whether the Law is a good career to juggle with parenting.

Our conversation also leads to some fascinating discussions of:

·        What does insolvency actually mean / involve?;

·        The challenges of building a career and starting a family;

·        Covid's impact on working culture in law, particularly as a parent;

·        The issues with the unconscious bias of AI from who has programmed it; 

·        The importance of getting good life experience working in different industries, particularly customer facing, on building the resilience you need as a lawyer. 

Stay tuned for a hilarious story about a time that Sarah took a tumble down some stairs to fall at the feet of the Senior Partner at her firm.

Today, I am excited to be joined in the TTML studio by James Ford, Senior Associate at Mayer Brown, to discuss two seemingly rather different topics but ones that James himself has brought together throughout his life: Global Law and Global Music.

This conversation also delves into a variety of topics, including:

·        Studying in America, exploring different fields through liberal arts and how this influenced James’ decision to go to law school and helped his work as a lawyer;

·        How James made the transition into a three pronged focus of sanctions, anti-corruption and human rights;  

·        Picking up music at a young age;

·        Business and pleasure overlapping whilst working around the globe;

·        Crime, corruption and human rights – what sort of areas is James’ work trying to help companies get better at?;

·        The ability to travel to 6 different countries in one day via zoom – how Covid impacted the work of a global lawyer;

·        Why young lawyers should focus on the practice and type of law not the people working in the team when picking their chosen area.  

And stay tuned to hear how James was long-listed for a Grammy whilst working as a lawyer!

Amy Cousineau Massey joins Adrian in the TTML studio this week to give some really personal and insightful thoughts on ‘Adversity and the human lawyer’. Amy talks about dealing with adversity and personal challenges having lost her baby boy when 6 months pregnant. We discuss how LinkedIn can and should be used to talk openly and in detail about experiences and tragedies like Amy’s.

In this podcast, we also discuss:

·        How law degrees differ across the globe and the ways this impacts the journey into law firms;

·        The benefits of a good memory on studying law and how this is not a core skill when it comes to practicing law, rather being able to find the law quickly and relay it to the client in a way they can understand;

·        The sales aspect of being a lawyer and bringing in new business not being taught enough when studying law;

·        Employment law as an emotional practice – dealing with people’s livelihoods whilst managing your own emotions and making sure you are proceeding with the law behind you;

·        Deciding to leave private practice after dealing with the challenges that come with returning to work after having a child, embracing consultancy and the freedom and power that comes with this career change. 

And stay tuned till the end for our discussion on the importance of putting the idea of widespread gender diversified boards into practice.

This week we are having a brief mid-season break, but Adrian wanted to record a short episode recapping the first 10 episodes and reflecting on the themes that we have covered and countries we have travelled to. 

We also wanted to thank the brilliant team at Talk To My Lawyer, Frank Page our producer and Fiona Lynch our editor, as well as our wonderful guests who have brough life to the podcast. 

And last but not least, thank you to our listeners who have been patient with the teething problems, and we are excited to bring you more content on the world of law, with 3 brilliant guests lined up for the upcoming podcasts. 

Arvinder Mangat joins Adrian in the TTML studio this week for a fascinating conversation on working as a General Counsel in a variety of different start-ups and technology firms. Arvi gives detailed insights into his winding career as a lawyer, trying several different paths before settling on the one he is in now. 

This conversation also leads to the discussion of:

·        Arvi's initial attraction to law stemming from watching TV shows like LA Law and Rumpole of the Bailey;

·        The importance of connecting with people in other areas of law to widen your expertise and approach to your own field; 

·        The increasing need for there to be a wider understanding of the extent of the hard work that comes with being a junior lawyer, despite getting paid good money at such a young age;

·        Characterizing the work of General Counsel - do you still get your hands dirty and have a say in building a team?;

·        What Arvi would say to someone having just attained their law degree, in terms of their options and whether it is too soon to go into the business side of things or do you need some experience ‘in the trenches’ so to speak?

And stay tuned till the end to hear what Arvi has been thinking about our question to all the TTML guests - whether the world needs more lawyers. A slightly different take than the answers we have had before!

This week Adrian welcome’s Jon Gregson, employment lawyer and Partner at Weightmans, into the TTML studio to discuss his journey from day 1 to day 5,719 of making Partner. If you are part of the lawyer community on LinkedIn, you will almost certainly have seen Jon’s witty and insightful content appearing on your feed, from quips about his ginger hair to life as a Partner in a top UK law firm, Jon’s voice has pierced through and grabbed the attention of a growing audience.  

In this episode, we also discuss:

·         How Weightmans has provided Jon with the opportunities to stay at the firm, establish his position through hard work and progress both his career and the culture of the company;

·         Employment law as a practice that you can find yourself in rather accidentally depending on the seat you have during your training contract;

·         Working with the product and innovation team and the importance of having the right people in the room at the right time on solving client problems in different ways, particularly using new technologies;

·         Visualizing data to help lawyers solve problems pragmatically with clients;

·         Finding your voice on LinkedIn and the benefits on Jon's work as a lawyer - If you need something from Jon you already know what you are going to get as you have an insight into who he is as a person from his LinkedIn presence. 

And stay tuned till the end to hear about a case Jon worked on that ended up in a Netflix Documentary!

Adrian welcomes Will Marshall, Head of Legal & Risk Management at Altea Insurance and previous Partner at DWF and Capsticks Solicitors, into the studio to discuss the question: Is there a good time to step out of the Law profession and into industry?

In this episode, Will also delves into:

• Studying alternatives to Law before venturing into a career as a lawyer, ie. History;
• The challenges of looking objectively at cases in criminal law;
• Increasing pressures on young lawyers to specialise early - keeping doors open could be a better option for many;
• AI and whether it will enable us to help move both law and healthcare forwards;
• The importance of complaints - gives you a chance to get your house in order.

And stay tuned for some wonderful advice for young lawyers on the importance of developing a client following when progressing through your career in the law. 

This week, Adrian invites Chris Daw KC into the studio to discuss his journey from comprehensive school to KC. Chris provides a fascinating insight into the world of criminal defence. He combines his extensive experience across a variety of high profile cases and strong views on the flaws of the prison system in the UK at the moment, alongside the strengths of our jury system, for a really engaging conversation.

Along this journey we also discuss:

• Diversification in Silks whose role as ‘leading counsel’ is to lead the team of people who have specialised legal experience and expertise in the matter. 
• The importance of growing social mobility in the law industry.
• The widening mismatch of public opinion and reality towards the criminal justice system in the UK and how Chris is challenging this using interactions with the media. 
• Celebrity clients and the difficulty in dealing with cases when everything that happens in court is publicised.
• Chris’ view that the world needs fewer lawyers and for lawyers to spend less time on cases.

And stay tuned till the end to hear Chris’ insights into the challenges of winning against the odds as a criminal defence lawyer and the importance of having to prove someone’s guilty to send them to prison. 

This week, Adrian invites Jay Sahota into the studio to discuss his journey from life in the City working at large firms to training and mentoring Law Firms and lawyers at Masala Mentor. Along the way, his initial decision to study at Cambridge and early choice to step away from the big city firms and move to smaller more nuanced practices, makes for a fascinating story that is well worth a listen.

Along this journey, they discuss:

·        The challenges of working in big city firms;

·        Jay’s magic square for successful lawyers; 

·        The importance of a great boss and mentor in a lawyer’s early career;

·        Two sides to the new generation of lawyers – from AI to phone aversion; 

·        Making the decision to sell a firm.

And stay tuned till the end to hear how Jay created the Masala Mentor brand using playful wording to set himself apart from him competitors and sift through his ideal clients.

This week, Adrian invites Alana Tart into the studio to discuss Mindfulness and the Modern Lawyer. Alana currently has three lines of employment, as General Counsel , Executive Coach and Mindfulness Teacher. In this episode, we get to the bottom of how and why she left a more traditional path to pursue a career with purpose that better honours ‘who I am and what I can best bring to this world’.

On this journey, they also discuss:
·        The challenges of a portfolio career – piecing together various strands and paths;

·        Moving in and out of practice to industry;

·        The importance of being open to pivoting during your career – you may think something is a good match but it might not be;

·        Having several different employments to stay motivated and energised as a lawyer;

·        Problems associated with the under-resourcing of people in their first role in management.

And stay tuned for Alana’s valuable message to younger lawyers and people in general – when you know yourself, build your tribe.

This week, Adrian invites Rafael Singer into the studio to discuss: Consulting to the Troika – Accountants, Lawyer and Financial Advisers. Having studied Politics and Journalism at University, Rafael went on to work at the London Mayor’s office in his 20s whilst playing drums in an indie punk band, before his Mum suggested he train as a solicitor under his Dad. A few years down the line, Raf now works as a self-employed Private Client Consultant Solicitor at Lionshead Law Ltd.

This conversation explores Raf's journey, opening up some interesting topics along the way:

• Building the confidence to be yourself as a young lawyer eg. developing your own unique writing style;
• The challenges and benefits of working with family members;
• How private client work is evolving with the continued desire for personal touch alongside the growth of AI;
• Challenging the idea of Consultants’ work as transactional vs financial advisers and accountants’ ability to build long lasting relationships with clients; and
• The importance for younger lawyers to think about their finances in the early stages of their career.

And finally, Raf gives some great advice for young lawyers on putting yourself out there, finding your voice and making connections when starting out a career in the law and beyond. 

NOTE: This podcast was recorded before the October Budget announcement. 

For our final episode before the new year, Adrian Johnson is joined by Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution at JMW Solicitors LLP, David Smith. With David’s expertise in property litigation, particularly residential property, this episode focuses on the issues surrounding landlord and tenant legislation in the UK today.

Adrian and David also discuss:

·        Entering the world of law from non-traditional paths;

·        The benefits of writing on LinkedIn for lawyers;

·        Aspects of a PHD that help a career in the law;

·        The challenges of governments pledging to build X number of houses; and

·        Landlord and tenant law – how the sins of the past are catching up.

And stay tuned for David’s fascinating insight into the role of a landlord rightfully moving into a profession and away from a form of ‘passive’ income.