Iain Newman is the straight-talking, fleece-wearing head of corporate at Nabarro

Why did you become a lawyer?

It seemed like a good idea at the time – and who would want to be an accountant? (Apologies to my brother, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and friends and clients who are accountants.)

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

My first bosses, the late Andrew MacAdie and the still-very-much-alive Brook Land. I learnt to be persistent and professional, but enjoy it along the way.

What's your proudest professional moment?

Signing the Millennium Dome deal for what was then a small client, Quintain, after three days in Berwin Leighton's basement-level meeting rooms.

… and worst day on the job?

Attending the funeral of a colleague, which I have done more than once – I keep the orders of service on my office wall as a reminder that there are more important things than work. If I reach a certain number on the wall, I will retire.

Aside from your own firm, which lawyer do you most admire and why?

There are lots of admirable lawyers but I would single out Andrew Gillen at Travers and Geoff Simpson at Clayton Utz – all-round great lawyers and good guys.

What's the best part of your job?

People showing they care, be that commitment from those you work with or client appreciation, and people making the most of their situations – be that juniors who blossom in their career to contemporaries going from strength to strength, such as Duncan Weston at CMS Cameron McKenna.

What most annoys you about the legal profession?

People who (a) don't know what matters; (b) take themselves too seriously; or (c) worst of all, both.

What's the worst corporate event you've ever attended?

The various industry dinners held at the Grosvenor House Hotel are hard to beat in this category.

What is the daftest bit of corporate jargon you've heard (and did you smirk)?

Anything that would appear in bullshit bingo such as "Let's take that offline" (translation: let's try to agree it without the rest of these people interfering).

What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait?

Knowing what matters and, the other side of that coin, impatience.

Most memorable deal you ever have worked on and why?

A high-profile and complicated private equity-backed buy-out in the early 1990s, with the usual ludicrous hours at the end to get it finished. For tax reasons, the transaction had to have completion split over two days, so someone dreamt up the idea of completing the first element by 7pm, going out for a completion dinner and coming back just after midnight for the second part. Unfortunately, the plan-maker had not taken into account the drinking capacity of the management so we ended up with the management team being conducted in singing their financial assistance statutory declarations by the chief executive, who was standing on one of our boardroom tables.

What will be the most significant market trend in terms of your practice area over the next 12 months?

The Alternative Investment Market coming back to life for flotations (or not).

Who is Nabarro's funniest partner?

Richard Beavan for his impressions and Rob Raimes for his mickey-taking.

As head of corporate, where do you see the firm's M&A practice going over the next three years?

We have made great progress and I would like to see us get greater recognition for that and move up another notch into more frequent, bigger international deals using our hugely-talented international alliance.

What's your best Nabarro-related anecdote?

The best story involves my partner, Gareth Jones (aka The Genius), turning up to completion with some Americans in his black tie, making his excuses for an hour or so to go and give a recital at the Royal Albert Hall (he used to be a concert violinist in his very limited spare time) and coming back to finish the deal. The Americans were dumbstruck and thought this was just another quaint English custom.

After the rebrand, do you feel under pressure to be more straight-talking? How much does 'Clarity Matter'?

I can't get more straight-talking as any of my partners will testify. 'Clarity Matters' is important to clients because too many lawyers are unintelligible.

What's your favourite item of clothing?

A fleece bought from Ocean Blue in Swanage, Dorset – the finest clothes shop in the UK.

What's your favourite cheese?

Epoisse.