When I was 11-years old a teacher asked us to write down what we were going to do when we left school. I said ‘solicitor’. Half the class didn’t know what that was. My uncle was a solicitor and it seemed interesting. He used to do quite a bit of criminal law so I got it in my head I would do that.
Coming out of university I didn’t feel ready to go straight to law school. I wanted to experience the world. Two options: go travelling (but I had no money and a huge overdraft) and the other one was to do something different, so I joined the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
The greatest advantage being in the police force was spending time with real people. I had quite a comfortable life before that – grammar school, university – so seeing what other people’s lives were like hit me in a big way. I gained the ability to talk to people. You couldn’t go into a pub or a bar where there had been an incident and just rely on your uniform. That gave me a big bonus when I became a lawyer in dealing with clients in stressful situations.
I arrested 77 people during the Bristol riots, which I always remind the partners of if a meeting is getting difficult! Some of it was hairy, but also exciting. I got petrol-bombed in riot training. There were situations where we went into live, violent events. It gives you a much wider perspective on what makes people tick. I recommend it.
I nearly stayed in the force because I enjoyed it so much. Even though I had a place in law school, I was very tempted to stay.
Ultimately, the law isn’t about what the law says but about dealing with a situation and moving it to a better place. A lot of times clients don’t expect total victory – they want a situation where they can move on from and makes sense for their business. Lawyers revert too much to the black and white of the law, but that’s not life. Life is much greyer.
I joined Eversheds in 1990, have been with the firm for the whole of my career.
I always looked ahead at what I wanted to be doing in three to four years’ time. That meant that six years into my career I moved from London to Manchester. That was important, I got to see another aspect of the business at a time when Eversheds was merging. It also introduced me to people who then took up senior roles within the combined firm.
Brexit – for me, that’s the ebb and flow of life and you have to deal with those things. I had returned home to Manchester to vote on Thursday 23 June. I was always looking at my phone, went to sleep with a Remain vote, and woke up again at 2am it had completely changed. I got the first train to London, came into the office walked the floors and spoke to people who were in shock. Like the death of Princess Diana – groups of people in total disbelief all around the office.
As a business, we have had a busy year and have not been that affected. On a personal level, do I think Brexit is good for the UK economy? No I don’t. If you look at the UK’s economic performance post Second World War to 1973 we were one of the worst-performing in Europe. Post-1973 we were one of the best. Coincidence? We’ll see.
Trump – if you take history on a wider sweep, lots of bad things happen from time to time which play out differently to what people anticipate. The human race is always too optimistic when times are good, and too pessimistic when they’re bad. Some of the things that have happened since Trump’s election suggest it’s a muddled agenda. Let’s try to be optimistic, the US is a strong, well-regulated economy. That won’t change overnight.
I arrested 77 people during the Bristol riots, which I remind the partners of if a meeting is getting difficult! I recommend it.
Human nature is fascinating. The favourite part of my job is to get the extra 10-15% out of people that they don’t have to give. There always is an extra bit which they can and will give and if you can get them to, your business flies. But you have to earn that.
As a leader you have to be honest and not try to make up a persona or people won’t trust you. Corporate speak is a big danger, in particular in law firms.
While we can never go back to the time when every partner voted on every matter, we do need to take on board our partners’ and staff’s views. If they understand them, they’ll do their best to make it happen. If you take them down a blind alley, performance dips.
The unpredictability of the day gets me out of bed every morning. Whatever day I think I have ahead, it’s very rarely the one I end up having.
I did boxing at university and continued into my early 30s. Took it up again a few years ago and I train two to three days a week on weekday mornings. You can’t think of anything else when you’re boxing, or you’ll get hit. It’s an immediate feedback if you’re not paying attention and a brilliant escape to be 100% focused.
There’s a discipline to boxing I’ve always liked. When people say ‘I’m too busy’ I say there are the same number of hours in everyone’s day, it’s about how you prioritise. Having a disciplined structure like that helps in your work life too.
I’m not the sort of person who can sit in the lounge and watch boxsets. Can’t sit still. Been like that since I was a child.
I have met Kevin Spacey a couple of times. A really interesting person and a great actor. He told me a great story about how he was spotted and mentored by Jack Lemmon as a 15-year old in a school play. They met on Broadway years later and when asked why he bothered with him back in the day, Lemmon said: ‘You reach a stage in your career where it’s time to send the elevator down and spend time bringing the next generation up.’ I told this story to the partners and it inspired us to push forward a developmental culture within the firm. Our partners have so much experience to pass on. We now have over 200 coaching relationships in the firm.
I went to the Olympics both in London and Rio. I remember we watched Andy Murray in Rio in the tennis final against del Potro on a Sunday night. It was one of the most iconic moments, how he fought back… there were only 40-50 Brits in the crowd and 5,000 Argentinians baying for Murray’s blood – amazing! The Olympics are always something special. Tokyo 2020, I’m there.
A lot of people in the law were great figures for me. A guy called Michael Parker, who was my first principal, his approach to client needs and commerciality were engrained very early on in my career. Also David Gray, the previous chief executive of Eversheds. He is definitely a person who sent the elevator down.
Lemmon told Spacey: ‘You reach a stage in your career where it’s time to send the elevator down and spend time bringing the next generation up.’
I’ve always tried to build things. When I moved to Manchester I went to an empty desk. Within four or five years we were recognised as one of the strongest real estate litigation teams in the North West. Building things always gave me most enjoyment. My current role is the ultimate embodiment of that.
Clients are less tolerant. The expectation now is that you will be aware of their business, sector and commercial concerns and your advice will reflect that in a way they will be able to implement quickly. People are more prepared to push back and challenge expertise.
Years ahead – there is a lot still to do with the firm in a sector which is rapidly changing and technology is having an ever-bigger impact. Making sure that this is a better firm with better people and brand. My test to myself is to say that’s been achieved at the end of my term as CEO.
You have to be brave about your career. Sometimes things seem difficult or there is risk involved – but those can be the best experiences and can fast-track your career when people recognise you are prepared to take on challenges. You can’t just map a straight career line.
With careers, be prepared to learn and ask for a lot of feedback. It’s one of the hardest things to ask ‘how did I do?’ but it’s also one of the most important ones you can ask. A yearly appraisal is never going to engage people properly. Two-minute nuggets of spontaneous feedback is so much more useful. Be proactive in how your career develops. Grab hold of it.
When I finish in law, I’d like to teach history. I’ve always had that at the back of my mind. I read a lot of history. Plus dealing with kids, it will be back to the police force [laughs].
There are so many lessons for us to learn from history. People and governments forget too quickly the painful lessons. You should never come fresh to anything, a lot of these things which hit our screens these days, albeit differently, have happened before.
Lee Ranson is co-chief executive of Eversheds Sutherland
georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk