Lawyer Work-Life Balance
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A good working relationship
By Mark Goddard | March 25, 2009
With long working hours and stressful jobs, many lawyers turn to colleagues or people in the same profession for a sympathetic ear. And so when it comes to affairs of the heart, it is not surprising that the profession has a little more in-breeding than most.But with the number of lawyers dating or married to other lawyers reaching almost endemic levels at some firms, what is the right way to handle an office romance? And how do you make it work in practice?
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Full of beans
By Mark Goddard | March 18, 2009
My firm is drowning in twin tsunamis: the hit our business is taking - and a tidal wave of Starbucks we're guzzling to energise our relief efforts and keep those of us left here alert. Any tips for getting more out of a workaholic lawyer's favourite fix du jour?A What a long way we've come since Sufi priests first boiled coffee bean husks in Arabia, drank the resulting elixir, and got dubbed "whirling dervishes" by Europeans witnessing the all-night religious ceremonies the drink fuelled. From such origins, caffeine has burgeoned into the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world, with Americans alone consuming 350 million cups of coffee daily - not to mention tea, Red Bull and countless other products - from cold remedies to weight loss pills - that contain caffeine.
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The lost generation
By Mark Goddard | March 12, 2009
"Do not curse your fortune, but rather thank your lucky stars. You have been saved!" is Giles Coren's message to graduates concerned about a City recruitment freeze. Writing last month in The Times, the journalist and occasional TV personality continues: "If the banks have closed their doors and the law firms don't want you, all you need is... our congratulations." Coren says that back when he graduated in 1991 it was only the "Hooray Henrys with an expensive lifestyle but very little brain who sold out to Linklaters and McKinsey and Deutsche Bank".
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Partners with partners
By Mark Goddard | March 4, 2009
Take it from someone who knows; if you are contemplating a move abroad, remember: you are not alone.More often than not if you are married or in a relationship and one of you takes a post overseas to join an existing business, the other is often 'slipstreaming'. It is important to remember that your spouse or partner may not have the same support network and exciting new things that you will have to occupy their time. You will have the familiarity of the organisation that you work for, the type of work you are doing and very often the people you are to be working with. Your spouse or partner, in contrast, is very often plucked out of their existing comfortable environment and thrown into an unfamiliar and stressful world. So remember to think about what's in it for your partner and how can you ease their transition; failure to do so may mean the move is only 50% successful. A year after my family's move and I am pleased to report it has achieved a 100% success rating, due to attention paid in the following areas.
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Movers and sheikers
By Mark Goddard | March 4, 2009
We are all living and working through exceptional times. Law firms and partners must respond to the increasing pace of change in the markets and with clients, and so partner flexibility and mobility have never been more important.My personal reaction to this new world was to move with my wife and three children (aged 11, 10 and seven) from London to Dubai to jointly run Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's corporate practice in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The motivations and challenges for the move were many, and I and the firm have learned practical lessons from my transfer to the Middle East.
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Diverse City
By Mark Goddard | February 25, 2009
One of the most enjoyable aspects of what I do at the Black Lawyers Directory (BLD) is interviewing lawyers (and indeed non-lawyers), particularly for our Lawyers of the Month feature. What has struck me is that a significant number of those that I had interviewed were given what will now be shocking advice when they were starting out. One Chief Crown Prosecutor was told that they were aiming too high and should instead look at secretarial work. One partner at a top 100 law firm was told to forget becoming a lawyer and join the army instead because colour does not matter then. An amusing story, as told to me by John Roberts QC, was when he had just finished his pupillage and was looking for a tenancy. He recalled: "A clerk said to me: 'Sorry, sir, with you being black, solicitors won't brief you. If they do, I will eat my hat!'"
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The art of flexibility
By Mark Goddard | February 11, 2009
After years of law firms bragging about career breaks and flexible working opportunities, you would be forgiven for thinking that juggling a career in law with having children must be the easiest thing in the world.But even in this age of the BlackBerry and the trusty laptop, many women in the profession maintain that having children presents a choice: focus on being a mother or on being a career woman because you cannot do both.For those who go down the route of motherhood, two things can make all the difference: flexible childcare and a flexible partner. Slaughter and May's head of corporate, Frances Murphy, is no exception - she has a live-in nanny and a flexible husband. And she is far from alone in asserting that without these, working life would be extraordinarily difficult to manage. Even with nursery care, the idea of being able to leave the office at 5.30pm - even if the firm allows it - is simply not a realistic option for most senior lawyers.
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Wake up to women power
By Mark Goddard | February 10, 2009
I was filled with trepidation when first asked to write an article outlining my views around the subject of women forging a successful career in legal services while also raising a family.I have, when pressed in the past, resisted any personal visibility on this topic. I have a deeply held belief that each person does what is right for them and that those choices are no one else's business. Why am I sensitive to the issue? Well, I have five children, I am a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and have, over the past years both in social and work circumstances, been on the receiving end of a number of judgemental comments relating to my career priorities.
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Styled to succeed
By Mark Goddard | February 4, 2009
The first day of any new job is a daunting prospect. When first impressions count for everything, looking the part matters. And while competition to stand out from the crowd is fierce, attracting attention for your sartorial sense may not be the best first step.So, what is the difference between 'smart business' and 'traditional business' - and just how do you tackle 'dress down Fridays'?General consensus among City firms is that dressing successfully boils down to creating a professional impression, of which your wardrobe is just one aspect. As Deborah Dalgleish, head of trainee recruitment at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, says, this means it is not just what you wear, but how you wear it: "From the clients' point of view, they can't always make a judgement on the legal advice you are giving them, so they judge you on how you come across in the office and your overall appearance."
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Strength in numbers
By Mark Goddard | January 28, 2009
There are some people in this world who live life to the full and others who do not know when to say 'no'. I am trying to decide if I fall into the former or the latter. As a US securities partner at Simmons & Simmons, one would think that my day job keeps me occupied enough. In truth, it does, and then some. However, I think when you have a passion for something, that energy can be channelled to accomplish even more. Over the past few years I have been involved in two exciting projects, one rooted in the familiarity of US securities law and the other involving a journey into the realm of equality and diversity which has been unexpected, demanding and very rewarding.
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