Name: Andrew Rowland

Firm: Capsticks Solicitors

Role: Head of NHS Healthcare

Trained at: Capsticks Solicitors

Year qualified: 1998

Read his Hot 100 profile

What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee?

In terms of work, being asked by a Claimant in a Tribunal case for a sample of my (and the partner’s) DNA – to prove that we hadn’t written the hate mail that our hand-writing expert said she had written (and for which she’d been dismissed).  More generally, Capsticks was a small firm at the time and had a real family feel, so it was a great place to train.

However, I’ll never forget, as an innocent Yorkshireman, being convinced by a couple of the PAs shortly after I started that, for the summer party, in London you wore a dance card on your wrist and had to dance with different people during the course of the evening!  Oh how we laughed…

What is the wisest thing anyone ever said to you (and who said it)?

I can’t remember who said it, but it really sticks in my mind.  They told me that you’ll go through periods when you lose cases and lose clients, and you’ll think you’re not cut out to be a lawyer. However, soon after there will come a period when you have a winning streak and gain new clients. It’s all about balance and generally the latter will outweigh the former.

Who (for better or worse) has been the most influential person in your career? Why?

Like many people, probably the lawyers I first worked for. I qualified into employment and was supervised at Capsticks by Peter Edwards (who went to become senior partner) and Trevor Mawer.  It was great to learn from two very different styles: one very pragmatic and solutions-driven, and one with a keen eye for detail and a love of the law!

As I’ve progressed at the firm, I like to think that I’ve picked up some of the best bits of a number of great supervisors and colleagues.  It’s always important to develop your own style though – you’ll never copy someone successfully.

I also used to do a lot of Employment Tribunal advocacy and learnt so much from Jennifer Eady QC (then at Old Square chambers, now Mrs Justice Eady).  She remains one of the best advocates I’ve seen in action and hugely intelligent.  However, she also always conducted her work with a dry sense of humour and a smile, and made everyone involved in the case feel very much part of a team.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?

It’s all about relationships.  Whether within your firm/chambers or with clients, how you interact with people is really important: the stronger the relationships you build, the easier it becomes to progress as a lawyer.  You never know when you might come across someone again or in what context, so be kind!

What’s your best friend from law school doing now?

My best friend at law school became the best woman at my wedding, and now works in legal education!