In this section we have collated all the previously published articles and blogs written by Paul Gilbert, Jonathan Smith and guests.
This is a resource for you to browse and is free to view. The first articles were published in the early 2000’s, but retain a relevance that is still valid and informative today. The later pieces reflect the changing face of the legal profession and the threat/opportunity for the role of lawyers in business and in our society.
We hope you will find that their opinions add to the debates of the day and inform, challenge and occasionally provoke. Please also join them in that debate on Twitter and follow Jonathan @jdsofislip and Paul @LBCWiseCounsel.
Learn to influence without power and be empowered
I would like to write about influence. I guess it is something we would all like to have more of, because to be more influential is a good thing, right? However I want to write about a specific aspect of influence, less generic, less “of course”. I want to suggest that being influential without power… More
I am so bloody furious and it is my fault.
I have made so many mistakes. When elderly relatives have shared thoughts on “those Germans” or on “why should they get any benefits” or “why does no-one speak English”, I have shuffled uncomfortably and tried to change the subject. When England football fans have chanted “Two World Wars and one world cup” or shouted down… More
I have my vote and I will use it to vote “Remain”
I will vote purposefully, but uninspired by the debate (such as it is) which feels unconnected to my needs and miserably narrow. I suspect my grumpy middle-age has made me sceptical of nearly every opinion, but our adversarial political tradition is hopelessly unsuited to an electorate looking for insight and an issue that needed civilised… More
Put the stick down
I have come to the view that the tone of everything is wrong. The noise is too much, the analysis is too shallow and the conclusions are too easy. However, before I go on (and I will), I need to put a disclaimer around my remarks. I am a middle-aged male with a Nokia 6230.… More
Are you busy missing opportunity?
Barclays, Volkswagen, Tesco are three massive businesses in three significant, sophisticated and important business sectors. Each one of these highly successful and long-lived businesses has access to significant in-house legal expertise, each is capable of paying for the best legal advice money can buy, each has invested heavily in risk management. And all of them… More