Clifford Chance head of commercial litigation Simon Davis on padlock combinations and dark museums

Why did you become a litigator? I realised as a trainee that my natural talent was for finding flaws in contracts, rather than drafting them from scratch.

What's the closest you have come to doing something other than law? At university I considered joining the diplomatic service.

Why work in a law firm rather than become a barrister? What I really like is spending time with clients and sorting out their problems.

Which judge or barrister do you most admire and why? Elizabeth Gloster. Her combination of hard work and zest for life is hard to beat.

What's been your proudest professional moment? When I represented a solicitor falsely accused of deceiving a number of senior citizens into selling some of their shares. The claim was dropped and his reputation remained untarnished.

…and your worst day on the job? Underestimating the distance from my New York hotel to a meeting with a client's chief executive. It resulted in me sprinting almost half a mile in my suit, in boiling hot sunshine, carrying a document case.

What advice would you give to young litigators starting out? Put yourself in the shoes of the client and the opposition.

What's the best/worst thing about being a litigator? The best is taking a problem off a client's shoulders. The worst is taking it onto my own.

What's the funniest thing you've witnessed in court? Me jumping up and down on a document case trying to extract my client's affidavit evidence. I was unable to recall the combination number.

How do litigators differ from deal lawyers? Deal lawyers do not approach a blank piece of paper with trepidation.

Do you conform to the spiky litigator stereotype? A legal directory once described me as being called a "nice man to deal with". It almost killed my litigation career stone dead.

What's the toughest ethical/moral dilemma your job has ever presented you with?
Having to decline to act for clients on grounds of conflict.

What most annoys you about the legal profession? We sometimes forget our job is to provide solutions to clients' problems.

What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait? Being able to see both sides of an argument (for both).

What's the worst corporate event you've ever attended? A museum event where the lighting was so dark I could not see what I was eating, or who I was talking to.

Most memorable case you ever have worked on and why? Representing the band Pink Floyd – purely because of the personalities and music involved.

How much impact will the Jackson review have on your work over the
next few years? I do not see the volume of high-quality work being affected materially.

Do you see yourself having a career outside law? At school I completed a questionnaire aimed at determining a pupil's career choice. The results pointed towards me becoming a social worker and warned against pursuing a career involving working with machines. I will continue to heed this advice.

What's your favourite television depiction of a litigator? A blend of various characters in LA Law.

What's your favourite item of clothing? A pair of purple trousers from Hartwood in Paris.

What's your favourite cheese? Strong English cheddar.

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