The Lawyer Inquiry: Peter Keith-Lucas

Peter Keith-Lucas was born in Oxford in 1950. He works for Wragge & Co as local government partner.

What was your first job?

Bus conductor with the East Kent Road Car Co, where I learnt about customer care.



What was your first ever salary as a lawyer?

£3,333 as an articled clerk with Berkshire County Council.



What would you have done if you hadn't become a lawyer?

I applied for the post of House of Commons clerk, but there were two vacancies and 3,000 applicants that year, and anyway, I was away on a football tour for the induction visit.



Which law could you live without?

The PFI certification process in the Local Government (Contracts) Act 1998.



What was your most embarrassing professional moment?

Being caught towing Berkshire gypsies (with their consent) to an unofficial site in Hampshire.



What car do you drive?

VW Corrado VR6 - its main function is to get me to the beach at Swansea for the weekend.



Which famous person would you like to go out with?

I would love to ask Garibaldi how, after uniting Italy in the Risorgimento, he could retire to Sardinia to grow tomatoes and decline every invitation to return to public life.



Where would you go to eat?

A barbecue picnic on a Gower beach with my family.



What's the best thing on TV?

Alexei Sayle's manic humour and the remote control.



Which movie do you wish you'd appeared in?

As Good As It Gets - in Jack Nicholson's role.



What's your most often-worn piece of clothing?

This sad suit. Is it not time that M&S redesigned the inside pockets of their suits not to be torn apart by carrying a mobile phone?



What book(s) are you reading at the moment?

Runciman's Crusades and Rose Tremain's The Way I Found Her.



What is your all-time favourite record?

CBSO playing Mahler's 5th, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.



What piece of advice would you give to anyone entering the profession now?

Don't dismiss local government. It can offer a fascinating area of law, breadth of legal experience, and a real sense of attainment.



What do you like about yourself?

My eternal optimism that my top-spin backhand return of service can become a winner.



What do you hate about yourself?

My frustration with this useless tennis racket.



Where would you most like to be right now?

Back in the bar at the Priory Tennis Club in Edgbaston after a convincing win. Dream on!