Kick starting our series of anniversary conversations to celebrate 10 years of Bydand Group, we met with Andrew Bishop, a Partner at Rothley Law’s Manchester office.
We love a good chit-chat here at Bydand, especially with people who are doing exciting things in the market.
We sat down with Andrew, one very (very!) hot afternoon, for a chinwag and though we probably caught the sun just a little too much, it was worth it!
We hope you enjoy the first article and here’s to many more enjoyable natters over the next few months.
Sunscreen & Strategy
Rothley Law is a relative newcomer to the UK legal market, although the faces of their lawyers are probably familiar to some. The firm is primarily made up of the private client offering which departed Shoosmiths in 2023. In little over 2 years, this highly regarded national team has established itself under a completely new name. Turnover of the private equity backed Alternative Business Structure stands at around £5.2m whilst total headcount is approximately 60. They provide a range of contentious and advisory services primarily relating to wills, trusts and probate. Six offices span the country (with presence also in Leeds, London and Newcastle) and the practice is already highly ranked in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. We sat down for a conversation with Andrew Bishop, one of their Manchester-based Partners, to find out more.
It’s a surprisingly warm Friday afternoon as Josh and I take a table outside Piccolino’s Caffe Grande in the bustling city centre. I sit squinting without sunglasses. Josh is sitting (rather smugly) in his. As the heat builds, I grow increasingly nervous that I ignored my wife’s suggestion to apply a dollop of sunscreen that morning.
We don’t have to wait long for our guest to appear. Andrew Bishop is polite, unassuming and discreet, but his humble demeanour belies a sense of urgency.
“I’m very impatient,” he admits with a smile as we discuss Rothley Law’s progress. The first two years have been great, he explains. “They’ll be lots of extra demands with any new business, but we’re making real progress to where we aim to be. We’re just keen to do more.”
Andrew specialises in contentious probate. The area of law around predatory marriages is something he is especially passionate about. This worrying trend, involving vulnerable (often elderly) people who are tricked into marriages in order to acquire their wealth, is as sinister as it sounds.
The story of Daphne Frank’s mother, Joan Blass, who is alleged to have fallen victim to a predatory marriage just before Joan’s death gained significant public interest. Indeed, it was widely reported by the press a few years ago. Andrew worked closely with Fabian Hamilton MP and Daphne on the issue and has been credited by her as being instrumental in working towards much needed changes in the law to afford victims and their families more protection. The Law Commission has also just provided their long-awaited report which backed the reform Andrew and Daphne have sought. The firm is further supporting him on a Power of Attorney campaign to help avoid similar exploitation. The work is as engaging and intricate as it is impactful and it’s not hard to understand why Andrew is so committed.
Andrew first developed an interest in contentious probate on his training contract and after a short time, he was hooked. Compared to what are often considered more ‘glitzy’ areas of law, private client is frequently overlooked by trainees. However, Andrew is convinced he could tempt most lawyers to this area of practice. “Give us any corporate focused trainees at any top firm” he wagers, “and I bet I could convert most of them within a fortnight!”
To his credit, this has certainly proven the case for a couple of recent additions who have joined Rothley Law from larger international firms with no previous experience of Andrew’s discipline. Caoimhe Turner is one such lawyer. When she had just one year of qualified experience as a solicitor, she appeared on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ to discuss Rothley Law’s latest legal victory in Langley v Qin. “It’s certainly not what most lawyers are doing at Caoimhe’s level,” Andrew observes. “I think there would be quite a few who would jump at a chance to be on national TV”.
So what does the firm look for in potential candidates? “We recruit on someone’s approach to work and potential rather than a set mould”, states Andrew simply. You need to be bright, but intelligence alone, even coupled with relevant experience is not necessarily enough to get you through the door. Character is key for Andrew, particularly in relation to client care. “We can teach you the law stuff,” he explains, “but we’d struggle to teach you how to treat clients professionally, but empathetically as it’s a hard balance”. Rothley Law is also focused on attracting those who display the right behaviours. “If somebody’s achieving their billables, but they’re stamping on people, we’ve got no interest in that,” says Andrew firmly.
But when probed deeper on the firm’s culture, we are not drawn into the more typical ‘Visions and Values’ speak. Instead, he talks more about authenticity and transparency guided by principles such as delivering ‘fair value’ to lawyers (and clients) depending on what and how the team members have contributed to the firm.
“Obviously we’re a business,” Andrew says, “but there is room for creating a more flexible way to work and we are putting in place great ways to reward people fairly. Once we speak to people,” he continues, “most are pretty excited by our proposition”.
Now that Rothley Law has two years under its belt, it’s probably easier to promote what they can offer. But what was it like in the beginning? Like the vast majority of his colleagues, Andrew went from the relative security of a big firm to embarking on something which was effectively a new business. However, far from being daunted by the proposition, Andrew saw there being more risk in staying where they were. Given the rate at which his workload was growing, Andrew sensed that if they didn’t take the opportunity with Rothley Law, they could well miss the boat.
But it was not plain sailing. A fair chunk of Andrew’s caseload is CFA (Conditional Fee Arrangement) which some firms see as too precarious. In Rothley’s first 15 months, Andrew’s team had four major trials and trials mean uncertainty. CFA work can backfire leaving firms with nothing to show for a great deal of work not-to-mention obvious cash flow problems, which are not so much of a danger when part of a larger operation.
Fortunately, Rothley Law is backed by an investment team who took time to understand the business and it paid off.
“They’ve always been very reasonable and supportive… they provide the investment and business support and allow us to get on with it”.
It’s fair to say that there are differing views when it comes to Private Equity investment in the legal sector. However, the Rothley Law project appears to have gone well so far and Andrew has no hesitation recommending his firm including to those from other Private Equity backed practices.
“If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d buy the firm!” He grins with words that could have almost emanated from Victor Kiam, though he doesn’t sound foolish or overly evangelical.
Andrew leaves as discreetly as he arrived and disappears among the hubbub of noise as Manchester readies itself for the bank holiday. I pay the bill and wince at the raw tightness across my forehead. Josh isn’t looking too clever either. A clear patch of red has emerged on the bridge of his nose. He does his best to style it out whilst I head off in the direction of Boots for a bottle of aloe vera.