I always wanted to be a criminal barrister. I grew up watching Rumpole.
At university I read classics, did the conversion and worked out I didn’t want to be a barrister at all. They’re a different breed to me – I enjoy people and interaction. It was obvious to me it suited me better to be a solicitor.
I grew up in Bexley, Kent. I was the first person in my family to go to university. My dad was my role model – he ran his own business and always looked on the bright side. He became terminally ill when I was in my 20s but even then he never let it get him down. He’s my inspiration.
I was three years’ qualified at Herbert Smith when I found myself working on two very big cases. That was back in the day when associates did all of the disclosure. I was in a room, ten hours a day, clicking ‘relevant’ or ‘irrelevant’. I wanted more responsibility and dealings with clients. I was on the brink of joining another firm when Addleshaws’ head of litigation at the time, Simon Twigden, asked to meet.
Addleshaws was completely different. I got exactly what I wanted: a big case acting for a billionaire playboy based in Florida who was at the wrong end of a freezing injunction. That was where my love of fraud began. I found myself sitting round a big table in his mansion on Star Island in Miami with the president of Greenberg Traurig, its head of global litigation, a very senior partner at Hogan & Hartson, and the head of litigation at Homburger… and then there was me… three years’ PQE, wet behind the ears, an associate leading a case on my own for the first time.
During my partnership year, I was doing a case for a key client of the firm. I was being looked at very carefully. This client had acquired a business from the senior partner of a West End law firm, who had all his employees and partners working for him on the litigation at no cost. They hired a very aggressive team and we were bombarded, and in and out of court.
‘I got exactly what I wanted: a big case acting for a billionaire playboy based in Florida who was at the wrong end of a freezing injunction. That was where my love of fraud began.’
The Berezovsky litigation was extraordinary. It came through a referral from a leading set of chambers. Boris was represented by Cadwalader, who were handling the Abramovich litigation. It was more than Cadwalader could handle at the time and Boris wanted another law firm. He instructed Stephenson Harwood too but it made sense for him to instruct us on the whole lot. He was an extraordinary client and man. The factual background of the case took in the collapse of communism, the rise of the oligarch, Putin’s ascension to power, and beyond that – it was all in there.
Another favourite involved King Abdullah of Jordan, who came to us with a case about the Jordanian embassy in London over allegations of a breach of trust. That was a great case which settled but it was a privilege to work for the royal family. I didn’t deal with him directly, but various members of his court.
When you see what people in other jurisdictions have to deal with day-to-day, you understand why litigants come to London. After dinner with a senior partner of a local firm in Ukraine, he gave us a lift back to our hotel. As he drove up the road, a policeman appeared with his arms folded blocking the way. When I asked the partner what the problem was, he muttered something about zero tolerance but added: ‘Don’t worry, Mark, he’s my policeman.’ He took out his wallet and gave the guy a couple of bank notes. The guy shook his head. He gave him a third bank note, and we got a police escort back to the hotel.
We went round various law firms on that trip and heard the same story each time: all the clients wanted their agreements governed by English law. Often they didn’t know what the effect of that was but they knew any dispute could be resolved by arbitration or the High Court rather than referring it to their local courts because they knew it was so corrupt.
I’ve never had an extreme experience with a corrupt court but I do remember one case in Miami where the assigned judge was ill. So for this $100m case, they parachuted in a guy in his 80s, who had only experience of cases at county court level. He was so out of his depth. At the end of the hearing, he asked both parties to prepare a draft judgment. He picked the one he liked and thanked both counsel. He didn’t even write the judgment. Before that, one of the counsel asked the judge if he would like him to sum up. He replied in this heavy accent: “No, no, no I get it. You want me to make the order, and the other side don’t.” Quite the legal mind.
To be a good litigator, it’s one thing being a good lawyer but you have to keep looking for opportunities to get people involved and try to make things happen. There’s a quote from an American comedian called Jonathan Winters who said: ‘If your ship doesn’t come in, go out to meet it.’
I’m not a fan of advocacy in-house. It’s no substitute for the independent Bar. There are always exceptions but on the whole, it doesn’t work.
‘A policeman appeared blocking the way. The partner said: ‘Don’t worry Mark, he’s my policeman.’ He took out his wallet and gave the guy a couple of bank notes.’
I admire John Quinn. He’s been tremendously successful. He hasn’t let anything stand in his way. He has a central vision. I read somewhere his first business failed but he didn’t let that stop him. I also admire David Foxton QC. I’ve been lucky enough to work with him, including on a big case. He’s somebody who isn’t afraid to tell a client how it is. That’s tremendously important. You’ve got to give your client – even when they’re difficult – straight advice. He’s a fantastic advocate and strategist.
The cutbacks are a big problem for the judiciary. They should pay judges more, that would be a good start. People such as David [Foxton QC] and Patricia [Robertson QC] being attracted is a very good thing but it’s becoming a massive problem attracting the right calibre.
If I could have given myself advice when I started out, it would have been: ‘Don’t be afraid to take more risks.’ The profession is immensely conservative and if you’re not careful, you can be very narrow in your thinking. Remember to look up.
Law firms try to complicate the process of becoming a partner. Associates are almost blinded by all the different competencies they set out. There’s no secret. You need to be technically very good, able to be collegiate and able to make the cake bigger. If you do those three things, you’ll be successful.
There’s no Magic Circle for litigation… not at the moment anyway. There will be in a few years’ time but the market is in a state of flux. Addleshaws punches above its weight in fraud work, therefore our associates are now being targeted by US firms. Our associates have worked on the biggest cases.
Mark Hastings is head of civil fraud and corporate crime at Addleshaw Goddard
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk