Irwin Mitchell’s outgoing chief executive John Pickering on change in the sector and why it was time to hang up his boots

Announcing his retirement last month, Irwin Mitchell’s longstanding head and current group chief executive John Pickering pointed to ‘the changing legal sector’ and his desire for the firm to have settled long-term senior management.

Speaking to Legal Business, Pickering, who joined the firm as an articled clerk in 1977 and now plans to pursue non-executive director positions elsewhere, explains his reasoning behind the decision.