We reel in Norton Rose's Richard Sheen to discuss fishing, explosive near-misses and grumpy old men

Why did you become a lawyer? Standing by the riverside, rod in hand, wouldn't pay the bills. It's probably the case that I really wanted a job based on the humanities but I was either too square or too cautious to go into journalism, media or the arts.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career? A combination of Simon FT Cox and Tim Marsden (both senior corporate partners at Norton Rose) – Simon instilled in me a work ethic and a determination to solve problems, and at least some of Tim's commercial acumen and sense of fun have hopefully rubbed off.

What's your proudest professional moment? It's more moments in the plural: when associates who I have worked closely with over a long period have been promoted to partnership.

…and worst day on the job? Probably returning to my office immediately after the first IRA bomb that almost destroyed our old Kempson House offices and seeing a foot-long shard of glass embedded in my chair – makes you think.

Aside from your own firm, which lawyer do you most admire and why? It's got to be my wife Hilary! On a daily basis she out-negotiates me and has the ability to always sound plausible and reasonable – I know when I'm outgunned.

What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait? Determination to get the job done and hopefully keeping (relatively) cheerful throughout. Probably impatience.

What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out? Nothing that hasn't been said before, but one of the key things is to always try to understand the deal and the commercial objectives of your client before you start firing off.

What's the best part of your job? Working in a team with some great people – and taking that first call on a new deal – that puts a spring in your step.

What's the toughest ethical/moral dilemma your job has ever presented you with? Whether to sit through another session at an investment funds conference or disappear to the pub.

What most annoys you about the legal profession? As opposed to life in general? (I suppose I'm now firmly in Grumpy Old Man territory.)

What's your strongest card – technical wizardry or smooth client skills (you can only pick one)? Of the two, client skills – although opinion will no doubt be divided on my smoothness.

Most memorable deal you have ever worked on and why? A series of deals for a particular client in the hotel and leisure sector, starting with its flotation and ending, sadly, with its takeover eight years later – I learnt an awful lot and had the pleasure of working with one of the most amusing and idiosynchratic chief executives in British industry.

What is the daftest bit of corporate jargon you've heard (and did you smirk)? Apart from the growing tendency to turn nouns into verbs, one that makes me laugh is the dropping of the term 'quantitative easing' into every other sentence and the struggles people have to pronounce it.

Do you see yourself having a career outside law? Not in the near future – the mortgage and children will see to that. In the longer term, who knows – perhaps I see myself running an old-fashioned fishing hotel somewhere in the middle of nowhere and shooting the breeze with a load of old buffers, lamenting the one that got away.

What's your favourite item of clothing? Perhaps a pair of (surprisingly fashionable) jeans I recently acquired and which I can only intermittently fit into.

What's your favourite cheese? Something like a nice piece of Caerphilly accompanied by some delicious home-made chutney from by our very own 'Delia', multi-talented corporate finance partner Cathy Pitt.

Visit Legal Week's Dealmaker archive to read more profiles.