In-house lawyers it is your crisis, you must sort it out.
In my recent report on a crisis of well-being for in-house lawyers (see: http://www.lbcwisecounsel.com/downloads/LBC-Well-Being-Report-web.pdf) I am scathing of the efforts some General Counsel have made to look after the mental health of a great many in-house lawyers. In this article I won’t repeat those concerns, but instead I will identify the root causes of the… More
Let’s not walk on by
There is an apocryphal story of a father walking along a shoreline hand-in-hand with his 4 year-old daughter. He is walking briskly to get back to where the rest of the family are waiting for them. His daughter however is tugging him back pointing at hundreds and hundreds of baby starfish washed-up on the beach… More
Can we trust the GC?
“What’s your ambition son?” “Well dad, I’d like to be a plausible advisor” “Good boy. And then one day you might even be a trusted advisor too.” Please excuse my language, but WTF is a “trusted advisor”? And how the hell did it ever become something to strive for? I have an old fashioned view… More
Leadership lessons from a hopeless candidate
On 24 January 2015 I was selected by members of the Cheltenham Labour Party to be their candidate in the General Election. It was not what I expected to happen. I expected to lose. Part of me hoped to lose, but the following 104 days of campaigning up to election night on 7 May have… More
What are you looking for?
Lawyer recruitment, like probably too many other professions, has been bent out of shape by the language and practices of the recruitment industry. We have allowed the recruitment consultancies to dictate the rules of the game. Conformity replaces imagination and sameness is safe. It is as if “relevant sector experience” was a holy grail, when… More
Vote for you
What difference does one vote make? A solitary cross among tens of millions; a tiny pebble on a long beach; the smallest ripple on a pond? Surely the difference one vote makes is but nothing? A singular irrelevance. A waste of time, of ink and of paper. Please let me explain why it matters, why… More
So the saying goes “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”
No it doesn’t. Most lawyers I speak to are not made stronger by thoughtless feedback, low level bullying, long-hours cultures, poor management practices and inefficient processes. Mostly these things undermine confidence, cause frustration and result in less resilient people. In other words these things do not make any of us stronger. A lawyer’s career is… More
One month to #GE2015, a message to supporters from their hopeless candidate
…A month to go to the 2015 General Election. As I have always been I want to be completely honest with you. Before looking ahead I would like to look back. In December 2014 I put my name forward to be a candidate in our local Party’s candidate selection process. I did not expect to… More
Behaving like an arse is a short term play
“Taking advantage” is a phrase I hear a lot when lawyers discuss their work. I think it is linked to the idea of lawyers as business people concerned with competitiveness and commerciality, but in any event it manifests itself in the restless and energetic pursuit of getting the best possible deal/outcome for each client on… More
Paul Gilbert election notes
“I am so proud to be Cheltenham’s prospective Labour Party candidate. I am told by lots of people that I am a no-hope 100/1 chance, but then there was Norton’s Coin. So until Election night itself I will do all I can to make a difference and to honour the responsibility placed in me as… More