Q & A
Progressive - Peter Robinson .
Proactive - Tony Wentworth .
Tony Wentworth , outgoing head of corporate and commercial and incoming managing partner
You became a trainee at Jacksons Law in 1988 and a partner six years later . What will it mean when you step up on July 1 ? “ We have known for some time that Jane would be stepping back from her current role and so we ’ ve had plenty of time to plan and prepare for it . Continuity has been the biggest factor in our decision making . I have worked more closely with Jane over the past years than anyone else in the firm and I have learned a lot from her ( and I would like to think that she ’ s learned a little bit from me !) and so it makes sense for me to pick up from where Jane leaves off .
“ The development process under Jane ’ s leadership was one of evolution , not revolution .
“ We have identified areas in which we could do better and then worked on addressing them , and that will very much remain the theme .
“ What I ’ m most excited about is working with the next generation . When Jane became managing partner back in 2014 we were a partnership which was entirely of the same generation and was becoming a little bit long in the tooth . I will now be the last partner of that generation .
“ We have completely restructured our business leadership , firstly to create a younger partnership with energy and ambition , and secondly to expand its field of expertise . We are no longer the traditional partnership comprised only of lawyers . We have partners from finance and marketing backgrounds who have brought an entirely different perspective to what we do . These are the people who will take this firm forward for years and years to come and I ’ m looking forward enormously to working with them .”
What do you hope you can bring to the role and achieve in the future ? “ I ’ ve been with Jacksons for over 30 years and so the first thing that I can bring is a huge amount of knowledge of the firm . I ’ ve learned an enormous amount over that time , not only from the things that we , as a firm , have done well but also from the things we ’ ve got wrong . I can bring all that experience with me .
“ Another thing I bring – and this is key to our ideal of continuity – is my relationship with the people here . We are a very inclusive organisation in terms of our management structures and decision making . I know all of the people here incredibly well and they know me and I know that , together , we will be a very , very strong team .
“ As mentioned above , my theme will continue to be evolution not revolution . I will not look to reinvent the wheel from day one . I have learned a lot from Jane and I am not going to throw that away . We ’ ll continue to take things one step at a time in a proactive and imaginative way and without ducking difficult issues . It is like the old Liverpool FC boot room – you take the best bits of what you have – don ’ t throw it away – and develop . I will also be keeping my eye on the clientfacing work and doing a certain amount of fee earning .
“ The handover from Jane to me has been in progress for some time now , so the transition will be almost seamless . It will be business as usual from a client perspective and that is important .
“ I ’ m looking forward to the challenge . Hopefully , as Jane has been able to do , I ’ ll be able to look back in a few years and see the full picture of what I ’ ve helped to achieve .”
Peter Robinson , incoming head of corporate and commercial
Why have you decided to join Jacksons ? “ Jacksons is a different firm and has become quite dynamic and progressive . What attracted me is the openness and willingness to listen to new ideas and the fact that there are different people , from different backgrounds , on board as partners . The firm has worked hard on developing that culture in the last few years and in doing so has built a great team for the future . I ’ m really excited to be joining that team and helping them develop .”
What will you focus on ? “ I ’ m looking forward to taking over as head of the corporate and commercial team , getting to know the team , getting to know the business community on Teesside and developing existing relationships alongside my own . Our main focus will be continuing the business development and growing our corporate service offering , supporting the team and developing them and through that helping the overall business .
“ Altogether , the team can bring a huge amount of business experience and technical know-how to help clients , and we aim always to become trusted advisers to our clients – part of their internal board if you like . I ’ m looking forward to being part of that and helping that grow .”
For more information on Jacksons Law Firm , visit jacksons-law . com .
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