When did you first to move into the business arena?
The mid-1980s, when non-executive directors on boards took off. I was a corporate lawyer and gave my clients robust advice. One or two of them said, “If you think you are so smart, why don’t you try it?”.
How do you retain independence while remaining a partner at Macfarlanes?
In most cases, the companies are not clients of the firm and if they are, it is on the basis that I do not work for them. If I chose the firm to do client work it would not be as a result of my intervention.
