James Lewindon

Quite a few of you have asked me about careers in law that don’t involve becoming a lawyer…

James is Head of UK & Ireland Flexible Services at Pinsent Masons Vario. He’s been working in the alternative legal services space since 2011, helping to launch the UK’s first fully integrated law firm resourcing platform, working at Flex Legal developing career routes for junior professionals and now, helping clients and legal professionals at all stages of their careers at Vario.

He has no formal legal training, having started his career as a secondary school history teacher but has benefitted from, and is vocal about, how people can have successful careers in law without necessarily going down the traditional routes or being from a traditional background.

I hope you enjoy his day in the life!

Early morning

I’m normally at the gym for around 6-6:30am. There is something I love about the simplicity of picking something heavy up and then putting it down again. Life as a parent and working in a global law firm can be chaotic, complex and challenging. The gym is a place I go to wherever I work (I am a member of a national chain) so I get the same routine, order and start to the day whatever may happen after it!

I live in Cardiff but work across our UK offices so commute and stay over in different cities each week. The days I work from home I get back from the gym in time to do the school run with my youngest and hear all about how much aura he’s been farming (whatever that means). If I’m working away, it’s usually a client breakfast event or team meeting to start what are often very packed days.

Every day usually resounds to the sound of a can of Monster (sugar free, I’m being healthy) opening as my source of caffeine hit.

Mid Morning

I always set aside time to check a news and LinkedIn summary. Clients want someone who knows what’s happening in the news, in the market, in the legal sector but also in sectors that are similar (e.g. accounting, consulting). I registered for different news feed daily updates, sorted them into folders and created an AI Agent that gives me a daily summary of what’s happening and why it may be useful to clients in that sector/industry depending on who I am seeing that day.

I see my role as making connections. That can be people, ideas or processes. To do that, you always need to have a ‘big picture view’. The only way to get that is be informed by as many sources as possible. Thanks to AI, that is now easier than ever. My career is the very definition of ‘squiggly’. Traditionally that could be seen as a weakness. For me, it’s a strength because being squiggly means being curious and willing to learn something new. It’s an attitude that has served me well, and one I encourage for anyone seeking a career in law.

Lunchtime

If at home, I’ll try to find time for at least 30 mins of getting outside for a walk in the daylight (living in Wales means daylight is often torrential rain and/or varying shades of grey cloud). It’s when I get to think, assess what’s happened in the morning and what’s happening in the afternoon. I’ll also catch up with my wife who predominantly works from home.

If I’m working in one of our offices, it could be a client lunch, a conference lunch, a team lunch or Tesco Meal Deal at desk. Growing up, I never dreamed I’d be one of those people who get to sit in nice restaurants in the middle of the day, or go to conferences let alone speak at them. I only saw people like that on adverts or sometimes the TV (when we could afford one). I never take for granted the time clients or the team give up spending with me. It’s always a privilege and I ensure those I meet come away with something that they think is useful, insightful or helpful. So, while ‘lunch in the city’ is something I only dreamed of as a kid, it’s a responsibility I take very seriously.

Usually a can of Pepsi Max is consumed.

Mid Afternoon

Much of my working week is spent listening to clients on calls, in meetings or at conferences. One of the best pieces of advice I ever had was atone of my primary schools (I went to quite a few as family moved around quite a bit). I was not behaving in the best light, and teacher screamed at me “Lewindon, if you shut your mouth and open those thick ears you might actually amount to something”. I laughed it off then, but it sowed a seed. Translating that into now, clients are so often talked to rather than asked about. There is a huge tendency to spend time with clients talking at them, rather than talking with them. If I have come away from a meeting having spent the entire time asking questions and speaking for 20% of the time, that’s a massively successful meeting. I go into each meeting prepped with a framework called Macro/Micro/Me…

Macro - What is the market the company is operating in? What’s happening in it?

Micro - How does the Macro affect the company or team?

Me – How does the Macro and Micro affect the person I’m talking to, how does it make them feel?

If I’m working from home, my family often tell me all they can hear is me on calls and laughing. It’s part of the joy of working in this role. We deal with such serious subject matter that is technical, complex, challenging and sometimes can be overwhelming. If I can be myself and bring some human interaction to how I work with people (and a large part of that is humour for me) then that’s a coping mechanism for me and whoever I’m working with.

I often have internal meetings around client strategy, finances, risk reviews, growth ideas, better ways of working that require lots of reading or creating presentations. Whether at home or in the office, I whack on some headphones and go to my happy place music wise which is deep, dark and minimalist techno and house music. I listen to hours of it each week. At the gym, on the commute, and at work. Some of my best work has had the accompanying soundtrack of a DJ somewhere in a Berlin club at 4am. I also run a whatsapp community with friends, work colleagues and clients who all share the love of that music. We all share and paste mixes we have found. Some of them actually still DJ while also holding very senior positions in law firms or companies. It’s also another way to share with people something that isn’t just work related.

Another can of Pepsi Max usually consumed

Early evening

If working away, it’s usually a client event or just working later in the office or hotel. At home, I love watching reruns of Malcolm in the Middle with the family, or playing on the Switch (MarioKart provides the most stress I ever experience in the day especially when that blue shell appears).

There may well be another can of Pepsi Max consumed.

Thank you so much to James for sharing his day in the life (and love of Pepsi Max) with us. You can find out more about James and his career to date on his LinkedIn.