Over Christmas I finished Roger Lane-Smith’s autobiography “A Fork in the Road”, definitely the first biography I have read about a lawyer. How fascinating can a corporate lawyers life possibly be? Well I have to say it was actually a really interesting insight into modern law firms.

If you look at the modern day mid to large sized law firm, this book plays through a history of how we got to where we are. The “good times” of too much work for too few lawyers and the opportunities that were there to make good money and grow firms. There was clearly an ambition in a number of the partners across Alsops and Dibb Lupton to be a trailblazer to what is the norm now in law firms, I mean take a look at Dentons’ news this month!

In the book, there are also some stories of corporate politics thrown in, a surprising number of celebrities and the world’s greatest football team to keep you turning the pages (or clicking the next page button if like me you’re on a Kindle!). One story I found particularly interesting was that of Stafford Pemberton Publishing, Starsky and Hutch, Aaron Spelling and a meeting with Muhammad Ali! To think a law firm from the North West could mix in deals like this back in the 70’s shows what opportunities were there for the law firm willing to push the boundaries and aim high.

It is definitely worth a read if you work in a law firm, there are so many aspects of lawyers and the way law firms work that come across in the book. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. But there are plenty that will raise a wry smile. If you don’t work in a law firm, but have an interest in business biographies I’d say it’s probably still worth a read.

Overall though I came away with two observations:

1. This journey for law firms seems to me a big first act that is almost complete. Most corporate law firms have followed suit and there is now becoming too little work for too many lawyers. The market has definitely changed and thus the book felt like a fitting epitaph to part one of “The Law Firm” and we seem on the cusp of a totally different second act.
2. There was no mention of support staff in the various law firms at all. For the most part that’s understandable, it’s a book on Roger’s life as a lawyer. But there is also a lot about how the largest legal practice in the world was built. It’s telling that in act one of “The Law Firm” it was all about the lawyers, you can’t imagine for one minute that part two won’t have a large non-lawyer part to it!