Why did you become a lawyer? My wife decided that I would make a good lawyer and should go back to university. It is something I’d always considered, but not put into action. I originally studied business and finance and had done a few legal topics along the way, which I found very interesting. I knew that I wanted to be an M&A lawyer.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career? There are many people who have influenced me along the way but the biggest influence has been someone outside of the law, Yoshio Iwanami, who is my kendo teacher in Japan. Kendo is a Japanese martial art, harking back to the time of the Samurai. He is very much a modern-day Samurai and talks a lot about the philosophy behind kendo and the discipline of the Samurai. The unwritten Samurai code of conduct, known as Bushido, held that the true warrior must hold loyalty, courage, veracity, compassion and honour as important, above all else. These are useful guiding principles that can be applied to everyday life as a lawyer.
