Reflections on a Legal Career

Reflections on a legal career Simon Howell, who has recently stepped down from the CSCC’s Executive Committee, takes a personal look at the way the legal profession and charity law have changed over the last 50 years. It all started in the autumn of 1966, when I passed through the except it was pretty noisy. It soon became clear that I was not doors of Witham Weld at the beginning of my legal career. As I his ideal articled clerk, and I subsequently spent the rest of my had no relations in the law, I asked around and found out that articles with an experienced managing clerk and another the father of one of my school friends was a barrister. I went to partner doing mostly conveyancing, and I have managed to see him, and his wife told me to become a solicitor as “all our spend most of my legal career doing property-related work. solicitor friends are much better off than we are”. The years passed slowly but eventually, after another year at the At my interview with the Senior Partner he mentioned something College of Law in Guildford, I passed the Law Society Finals about doing a lot of work for the Church, which did not mean and qualified in November 1971. At the same time my interest very much to me at the time, as I was more interested in in Catholicism had progressed to the stage where at Easter whether I was going to be offered a job or not. Since leaving 1971 I was received into the Church in Woking, having spent school with 3 A levels I had had various temporary jobs, nearly a year with one-to-one instruction from the curate, a including working in a Wimpy Bar in Guildford which was former oil executive and much travelled businessman who had frequented by students of what became the College of Law. I studied at the Beda. His fondness in moderation for whisky and did not like cooking burgers all day, and the students seemed a cigars impressed me, and we had very jolly chats in the nice bunch, so I investigated how one became a lawyer, and in evenings in his presbytery. particular a solicitor. The other two priests in the parish were both Irish, and viewed my interest in the Church with some curiosity. In those days Articles there was still a large preponderance of Irish clergy in most In those days, the Law Society still accepted prospective articled parishes, which contrasted with the typical Oxbridge-educated clerks with A levels, but one had to pass the Part 1 exams Anglican clergy I had come across in my school days. which were regarded as a substitute for a Law degree. The year I spent at the newly-opened Braboeuf Manor in Guildford for The partners of Witham Weld were on the whole very friendly my Part 1 studies was the most interesting and pleasant part of to me when I qualified, and indicated that in due course I my articles. However I soon had to return to London to might aspire to partnership. Unlike Henry lV of France, though, continue with my five years of articles in the office. I did not feel that I should use my newly-acquired Catholicism to secure promotion in a Catholic firm, and decided to look In those days there was no formal system of seats or rotation of elsewhere. I received an offer from Arnold Fooks Chadwick learning in articles. You just took pot luck as to where and with who were expressly looking for someone to do Catholic work, whom you sat. In my case I spent the first week sitting in the so I thought this was clearly meant to be. Senior Partner’s room doing some filing and sorting out share certificates, after which he very politely suggested that I might like to go and sit with one of his junior partners. This was in an A Catholic perspective even older building a few doors down the road, with limited I learned a lot in my five years with Witham Weld, both as to heating but an abundance of brown linoleum. how a solicitor practised and also how the Catholic Church was constituted in this country under civil as opposed to canon I still had little idea that the reference to ‘church work’ in fact law. I do remember Mr Kelleher trying to explain to me about meant the Roman Catholic Church, that many of the staff and Voluntary Schools, their status and land ownership, which was partners were Catholic, and that I was probably the token all new to me, but I was to come across them many times at Protestant among the articled clerks, although religion was not later stages. I was also introduced to the obscure workings of then uppermost in my mind. The offices were almost opposite settled land estates, as at least two large such estates were Westminster Cathedral, and virtually next door to the Catholic clients of the firm. Truth Society. As the months turned into years, I found myself exploring both establishments out of a mixture of curiosity and Indeed, one time I was asked as an articled clerk to act as a boredom, particularly at lunchtime. messenger for the firm and take an urgent document dealing with such an estate to the life tenant, a noble Duke, and obtain The partner I found myself working with was a particularly his signature. I duly caught a train to Surrey where he was volatile character whose main interest seemed to be the staying, and proudly announced at the front door that I had an relatively new use of computers in solicitors’ offices, and he appointment. Waiting patiently while His Grace looked at the was very active in a society formed for that purpose. Whether document, my heart sank when he asked me to explain in his enthusiasm was shared by all his partners I somewhat more detail what the document was all about. I replied that if doubt, bearing in mind that this was the late 1960s and His Grace would look at the beginning of the document he professional offices were still very traditional, consisting more of would see his name along with the settlement trustees, and if wire baskets and coat stands, and even letter books, than he looked further down he would see several clauses which microchips. In his room he had a very early punched card continued on page 9 computer, but what exactly it did all day I never found out, 8 ‘One important matter in the 1990s was the question of the Model Trust Deeds for Catholic Religious Orders. The Conference of Solicitors for Catholic Charities took the matter up with the Charity Commission, who agreed to make model schemes for those Orders who requested them.’ described the background to the transaction, and he would I spent the next 27 years at Ellis Wood, and while I progressed then come to the words; Now This Deed Witnesseth which was up the ladder, the firm shrank from about 20 partners in 1976 the really important part. If he would kindly turn to the end of to only three in 2003. During that time we moved from St the document he would see his name again, and if he would Andrew’s Hill in the City of London just south of St Paul’s to please sign there, I could witness his signature and catch the Hatton Garden, where we signed a 20 year lease. next train back to London, as I knew my principal was very Unfortunately, we were caught by the high rents of the early anxious to have the signed document as soon as possible. 80s and nearly wiped out in the following recession. What Whether I then left walking backwards out of the room I cannot saved us to some extent were the 1992 and 1993 Charities remember, except that I was very happy to be outside and Acts which encouraged charities and their lawyers to look walking back to the station. closely at how charities were run, and maybe make changes to their constitutions. Having left Witham Weld I spent the next four years in Bolton Street Piccadilly near Green Park, on the other side of Victoria from St George’s Square, and I learnt a lot from working Model Trust Deeds closely with the then senior partner Leonard Pardoe. He had One important matter in the 1990s was the question of the just lost his main Diocesan client, he informed me on my first Model Trust Deeds for Catholic Religious Orders, which in most morning and then asked me if I still wished to work for him. I cases restricted the work of such charities to England and replied that I thought it was a bit late to tell me, as I had no Wales. In practice, of course, such Orders were parts of other job and needed to work, so could we please keep to our international organisations, and needed to be able to transfer agreement. funds abroad. This particularly applied where such Orders ceased to have a solely English and Welsh province, but were either part of a larger province or governed direct from, say, Property Rome. The Conference of Solicitors for Catholic Charities took Mr Pardoe still had a lot of other Catholic clients, mainly the matter up with the Charity Commission, who agreed to convents, who were advised by Philip Jukes, a cousin of a make model schemes for those Orders who requested them, Bishop in Southwark.

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