James Miller

RPC

Plenty of lawyers begin their working lives in other professions, but few start out as an osteopath. James Miller’s hands-on diagnostic training has stood him in good stead, first as a casualty insurance lawyer and since 2017 as managing partner at RPC. In his four-and-a-half years as the firm’s leader, Miller has presided over a quiet revolution.

Now half-way through his second term, the major reform in his tenure has borne fruit – having been an all-equity firm for years, the introduction of salaried partners three years ago has stopped bottlenecks and allowed fresh talent to develop. Miller has doubled down on RPC’s distinctive focus on insurance, commercial disputes and tech. Always fiercely independent and likely to remain so, the firm’s revenue soared by 23 per cent over the past financial year, while profits rose by nearly 50 per cent.

Miller’s non-ideological, pragmatic and highly effective approach to business growth will see the firm expanding into new directions – notably arbitration, regulatory work and a high-net worth client base.