In memory of Stephen J Doggett

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In memory of Stephen J Doggett

It is with tremendous sadness that we learned that our former colleague and friend, Stephen J Doggett, passed away on 8 August after a two-year battle with a rare form of cancer (synovial sarcoma). He was just 40.

Like many legal journalists and law firm consultants of his generation, Stephen (or SJD as he affectionately became known) cut his teeth researching The Legal 500 in the regions. But it soon became clear that he was an exceptional talent, combining a razor-sharp, analytical mind with a gentle, unflappable and unquestionably generous nature – bringing all these qualities together to make him a highly respected legal commentator and, more importantly, a unique and much-loved human being. Continue reading “In memory of Stephen J Doggett”

Life During Law: Adam Plainer

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Life During Law: Adam Plainer

I didn’t want to be a lawyer. My father wouldn’t let me go to RADA. Acting is what I wanted to do but people from Leeds in 1984 didn’t go to acting school. My favourite uncle said: ‘You’re going to be a lawyer’. So I jumped on a conveyor belt and ended up becoming one.

My father was a taxi driver and mum was a housewife. All our holidays were in Blackpool, St Anne’s and Scarborough. Now everyone’s only allowed to go to those places. Continue reading “Life During Law: Adam Plainer”

The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless

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The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless

Ahmed Badr did not want to be a lawyer. A self-professed ‘huge geek’ at school, he was never happier than when sat a computer doing some programming or web design. ‘You would never find me playing football,’ he reflects.

Initially, Badr studied medicine, which he admits ‘was more of a family thing than a me thing’. His dad was a doctor, his mum was a nurse, which led a young Badr to feel compelled to the same fate. But he soon he realised he had no interest in it, and opted to do a business degree instead. Continue reading “The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless”

The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP

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The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP

Legal Business (LB): Describe your career before your current role with TP ICAP and the company today.

Philip Price (PP): I qualified as a solicitor back in 1990 and then held a series of roles in investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds. I joined Tullett Prebon in 2015, which merged with ICAP to form TP ICAP in 2017. The most significant M&A milestone since then has been our acquisition of Liquidnet, an electronic trading platform for asset management institutions which was acquired in October last year. Continue reading “The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP”

Life During Law: Simon Beswick

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Life During Law: Simon Beswick

I’m one of three brothers. My middle brother David has just retired as partner of Eversheds. Ever since we were young lads he wanted to be a lawyer, so I had that echo going on.

I chose economics, accountancy, politics and law at A-Level. I really enjoyed the politics but also found the law a lot more interesting than the accountancy. I decided off the back of that to do law at uni and that carried on into a career. I believed I’d be a lawyer for no more than two or three years, and use it as a stepping stone to go into business. Continue reading “Life During Law: Simon Beswick”

Life During Law: David Patient

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Life During Law: David Patient

My father was a consultant obstetrician, his brother was an accountant, but I was rubbish at science and didn’t like maths. I was pushed down this corridor – ‘why don’t you do law?’ I knew absolutely nothing about it and no-one in our family had been a lawyer.

Some of my best friends still are people I met at university. A lot of them have gone off to do other things but one of them who has remained a close friend from the very first evening we met is a senior corporate partner at Allen & Overy, Richard Hough. Really lovely guy. Continue reading “Life During Law: David Patient”

The Client Profile: Lindsay Beardsell, Tate & Lyle

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The Client Profile: Lindsay Beardsell, Tate & Lyle

Lindsay Beardsell is never one to rest on her laurels. She trained and qualified at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer but, as is the case for so many established general counsel (GCs), private practice failed to satisfy the need to be closer to a business.

She recalls: ‘My parents had their own businesses and that always interested me – the cut and thrust. I wanted to be close to the commercial aspects of the business. So I left Freshfields two years post-qualification, which was a bit of a shock to people, and went to British Gas for my first in-house role.’ Continue reading “The Client Profile: Lindsay Beardsell, Tate & Lyle”

Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian

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Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian

I come from a family of lawyers. My father was a lawyer and a judge, and my brother followed in his footsteps and became a lawyer. So there was a lack of original thought on my part. I just went with the flow and followed them into the profession.

I was born and brought up in India. I went to school there and did my first degree there, in history. When I was at university, law was rarely done as an undergraduate degree and that programme has only just been introduced. When I finished my first degree, I followed in my brother’s footsteps and came to the UK to read law. Continue reading “Life During Law: Anu Balasubramanian”

Life During Law: Samantha Mobley

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Life During Law: Samantha Mobley

My family story is not one of generations of lawyers. My great grandfather was a coal miner in Wales.

I went to school in South Africa and grew up in the apartheid era. My parents moved there when I was a small child and I had always wanted to move back to the UK. I applied to read law at Bristol University and I’ve never regretted it. I worked at the Albion pub in Clifton to pay some of my way through university. Continue reading “Life During Law: Samantha Mobley”

Life During Law: Andrew Ballheimer

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Life During Law: Andrew Ballheimer

I’m the son of immigrants and they were intent that I had an education, so I had to become a professional. To be honest, I was only going to practise law for two years and then do something else.

The first thing I ever did as an associate was spend all night perfecting a document, checking every page. Two-months qualified at the signing, I handed over the execution page. I’d misspelt the client’s name. You spend all this time getting it right and everything’s perfect except for the most important word in the document. His bloody name! Continue reading “Life During Law: Andrew Ballheimer”