A badminton racket and a friend with a badminton racket.
What was your first-ever job?
Double-glazing salesman.
What was your worst experience as a trainee?
Being the passenger in my principal’s car in rush hour traffic, when he decided that it would be quicker if he stopped the car and walked back to the office, leaving me to get out and run round to the driver’s side and drive back alone (the first thing I knew about it was when I was sitting alone in the car).
Where is the best place to go if you want to find out what’s really going on in the office?
My secretary.
What time do you usually leave the office?
7pm.
What do you do at weekends?
Try to keep fit by playing badminton, tennis or going to the gym, and try to convince my kids that I can multi-task and I’m not just a chauffeur.
What’s your favourite restaurant?
Royal Al’Faisal Balti Restaurant, Birmingham.
If you weren’t a lawyer what would you have been?
A very argumentative accountant.
Who’s your hero and why?
Winston Churchill – in a career that had ups and downs, cometh the hour cometh the man. He was the greatest leader this country has ever known.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Poking my nose into other people’s businesses. The variety in the type of clients we deal with makes the job really interesting
What’s the toughest thing about your job?
Making sure that all the wheels are on the wagon at the same time.
What’s your biggest work/career mistake and what did you learn from it?
Starting as a generalist litigation lawyer focusing on housing repossessions. It taught me that you should never do anything you don’t enjoy on a day-to-day basis.
What car do you drive?
BMW 3 series Cabriolet.
What book are you currently reading?
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.
What’s on your iPod at the moment?
Razorlight, Black Eyed Peas, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye.
What’s your favourite children’s book?
Stig of the Dump by Clive King.
What’s the most exciting deal/case you’ve worked on and why?
Acting for the team buying MG Rover in 2000 as it safeguarded many jobs (albeit temporarily) in my home area.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what two luxury items would you take?
A badminton racket and a friend with a badminton racket.
What’s the worst partner conference location you’ve attended and why?
A hotel on the outskirts of Daventry – the place was soulless.
What’s the longest you’ve worked without sleep?
48 hours.
If a movie was being made about your life, which actor would play you and why?
George Clooney, because you may as well aim high.
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
A hungry cannibal.
Name: David Beswick
Firm: Hammonds
Title: Head of human capital, Birmingham
Lives:Bromsgrove
Education: John Wilmott School; University of Newcastle; Chester Law School
Work history:
1985-87: Trainee, Eversheds
1987-96: Associate, Eversheds
1996-2001: Partner, Eversheds
2001-06: Partner and head of employment, Hammonds Birmingham 2006-present: Head of human capital, Hammonds Birmingham
