Name: Matt Newman
Firm: Starling Bank Limited
Role: General Counsel (and CAO and Co Sec)
Trained at: (what is now) Reed Smith
Year qualified: 1997
What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee?
My memories are still vivid about so many things. I still remember my first day and walking through the courtyard at Southwark Cathedral and there was a smartly dressed woman in a green dress and I wondered if she was a co-trainee and she was.
I remember it being a much more intense experience than I had ever envisaged, even though it was relatively relaxed culturally to other firms I have been at. It was also very different going seat to seat and almost like joining a new company every time, which was a challenge culturally.
I also remember in my two-year training contract that many of the partners were turning 40 years old because many of them were giving each other gifts. It seemed ancient and yet I am now 50 years old.
What is the wisest thing anyone ever said to you (and who said it)?
I still quote my English teacher from school, the late Brian Mitchell, in many work scenarios and particularly when I am helping explain things (e.g. to junior lawyers). It was not him that said it first but “How do I know what I think ’til I see what I say?” is a useful thing to bear in mind when approaching a problem as a lawyer. As soon as you start to write things down, you clarify in your mind the issue at hand.
Who (for better or worse) has been the most influential person in your career? Why?
I was really lucky to have worked at many different firms with many different colleagues. No one person has been that influential but all of them have in a little way.
I always say to my team members they will want to create who they are as a lawyer and the best way to do is not to follow one person but to try and pick good things up from each person you work with (or do NOT pick up bad things from certain people!). Some people are better at negotiation, some management, some technical law and so on. I have tried to use the best bits to influence how I behave in shaping my career.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?
Work hard, differentiate yourself and be a little bit lucky! Not every law firm or company is looking for the same kind of lawyer or person. You have to do the ground work to build your knowledge base and network in your career. However, after that it’s up to you to try and find something or somewhere that really suits you and that you want to do. It may not be immediately obvious or available but stick at.
What’s your best friend from law school doing now?
David Ferris – he’s a lawyer still. He is a partner at Osborne Clarke, having trained there and stayed there throughout his career. We are still good mates and see each other for a coffee/drink when we have time in London. He’s a great lawyer and a great bloke.
