The Hot 100 career quiz: Charles Russell Speechlys managing partner Simon Ridpath

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

The managing partner of the firm I trained with was also a shareholder in the Sunday Newspaper group that delivered free newspapers to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.  He offered me the opportunity to be the libel adviser to the paper which required me to go to the editorial office on a Friday night and Saturday morning to review the stories and photographs that were to be run in the various papers that week and also to review the editorial opinion pieces.

It was an intimidating experience as I was essentially there to tell the various editors to change or redact their stories.  Not a popular role to hold as you can imagine and many of them had been in the industry for decades and had worked on Fleet Street, so had plenty of experience and were used to dealing with senior lawyers.  It gave me great insight into how the media work and it was the very definition of being able to give advice and argue the case there and then, they rarely backed down and it meant I needed to be able to back my own judgement knowing that if they really disagreed my managing partner would have his weekend disturbed to come and adjudicate!

To earn their respect (begrudgingly) and to ensure I could be consistent over the 18 months in the role helped me to develop my confidence but also see my advice in action.

The biggest story that ran during this time concerned an investigation that uncovered the fact that Bedford Hospital was using its chapel as a mortuary as it lacked the funding to fix its refrigeration units in the morgue. The story was sold as an exclusive to News International and was the front page of the now defunct News of the World but I negotiated the sale of the story and had the unpleasant job of pixelating some of the photographic evidence to preserve the identity of the deceased.  A truly fascinating role and fantastic experience for me.

What is the thing in your professional career that has terrified you or taken you out of your comfort zone the most?

Although this may sound like a bit of a cheat’s answer to the question, I have been fortunate throughout my career to have had exposure to a wide range of clients and circumstances and have had support and supervision that has meant that I have felt able to be challenged and tackle something new without fear.  I am a firm believer that our job always requires perspective and that it is very rare that we are doing something for which there is not a solution that can be found or for which there is a precedent.

Perhaps the one exception to that has been the past 18 months in managing the firm through the pandemic. There were occasions, particularly early on, where we were making decisions on where we work and what precautions to take which I was aware, if we got them wrong, could lead to our people or clients becoming seriously unwell.  Although we all take ourselves seriously, that was probably the only time where I was taking decisions that had those kind of consequences and that was very sobering.  However, I was brilliantly supported by our business services team and the partnership but nonetheless that was the most difficult period in my career.

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

Simon Ridpath: The Lawyer Hot 100″

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

You need to care about what you do and who you act for.  That care needs to be demonstrable and genuine.  To listen, think and advise at the pace required in an ever-quickening world requires energy and enthusiasm.  If you do not genuinely care, then it will be very difficult to maintain the energy levels required to keep improving and to keep pace with client demands.  In my current role that philosophy still applies, and it requires constant adjustment between listening to clients, markets, partners and people and providing leadership, direction and reassurance.  There are times when that balance is not correct but it is critical that you retain an element of self belief and the ability to be self critical and aware so you can continue to benefit from the phenomenal experience of those around you who invariably help provide solutions to every problem.

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

We are married and she spends her time raising our three sons and is the foundation for our family life which is the central reference point for me in how I approach my role and gives me balance outside of my time in the firm.”