Work Life Quiz: Catherine Gannon, Gannons Solicitors
What time do you usually leave the office? As soon as I can.
Catherine Gannon
What was your first-ever job?
Chambermaid.
What was your worst experience as a trainee?
Managed to skip being a trainee as I had other qualifications before I entered law.
Where’s the best place to go if you want to find out what’s really going on in the office?
Don’t have time for office politics.
What do you do at weekends?
The hard work starts as I have two precocious girls.
What’s your favourite restaurant?
Taman Gang in Park Lane, London W1.
If you weren’t a lawyer what would you have been?
Journalist writing hilarious tabloid headlines.
What’s your favourite film?
All films by Pedro Almodóvar.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Something by The Bay City Rollers.
Who’s your hero and why?
Simon Cowell because he’s mega-successful and tells it as it is.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Invoices paid on time, happy clients referring business and watching Gannons go from strength to strength.
What’s the toughest thing about your job?
Managing many different but important aspects of a business that are all interdependent – being all things to all men all of the time.
What’s your biggest work/career mistake and what did you learn from it?
I used to think people said what they thought but I now realise life isn’t that simple.
What car do you drive?
Audi A3 convertible.
What book are you currently reading?
Various books on business and marketing.
What’s your favourite children’s book?
Matilda by Roald Dahl.
What’s the most exciting deal/case you’ve worked on and why?
There really have been so many I couldn’t pick any one. Closing is always a great moment, knowing you’ve done your best for the client.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what two luxury items would you take?
All recordings of Desert Island Discs and photos of my children.
What’s the worst partner conference location you’ve attended and why?
We don’t do partner conferences at Gannons as information is conveyed as it breaks.
What’s the longest you’ve worked without sleep?
Twelve hours, but rarely.
If a movie was being made about your life, which actor would play you and why?
That’s in my dreams so it would be Penelope Cruz because she’s smart and sophisticated.
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?
Anyone snooty.
Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself (in any order)
I lose patience quickly; I speak my mind; I’m not straightforward.
CV
Name: Catherine Gannon
Firm: Gannons Solicitors
Title: Managing director
Lives: North London
Education:
1983-86: LLB (Hons), University of Westminster
1989: Chartered tax adviser
1995: Called to the bar, Lincoln’s Inn
2000: Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test
Work history:
1987-95: Tax adviser, Littlejohn
1995-2000: Associate, Baker & McKenzie
2000-02: Associate, Osborne Clarke
2002-present: Managing director, Gannons
