Richard Wiseman is well on his way to becoming an institution as far as inhouse lawyers are concerned. After all, very few corporate counsel have been in the job as long as the straight-talking Royal Dutch Shell lawyer.

Wiseman has spent 33 years in-house with the energy giant, dating back to a point when, in Europe, the concept of a career for a lawyer within a company had barely evolved. But while the world around him has changed, his enthusiasm for the role has not.