M&S PROFILE: Joseph Holder

Real estate expert Joseph Holder has recently been appointed as senior partner at Hamlins.

What was your route into the profession? 

There were no lawyers in my family and indeed neither of my parents went to Univrsity. However. the fact that my father arrived in the UK as a 13 year old refugee from Nazism in 1938  and my political leanings meant that I envisaged myself as a young crusading civil libertarian and equality lawyer and so the option choices I took at Manchester University reflected that. My best subject though was land law and I found myself training at a High Street firm that focused  on  commercial real estate and so that’s what I have specialised in  for the last 30 years.

What has been your biggest career challenge so far?

It would have to be one of the largest real estate transactions I have been involved in, being the purchase of St Katherine’s Dock for over £300m. As part of that transaction I was also required to sell a seven storey office block in the course of construction. The tight timetable, value and complexity of the documents and the imminent withdrawal, at that time, of disadvantaged area stamp duty relief meant that we were really up against it.

Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?

It would be my late senior partner Harry Kanter of Kanter Jules—a man of immense integrity and a lawyer’s lawyer who taught me that law was both simply a tool to assist in achieving the clients objectives but also something that should provoke intellectual stimulus. He embraced complexities and difficulties in the law rather than being daunted by them. Hamlins LLP is s a firm where these views are at the very core of our practice.

If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?

Archaeologist or politician—I have a twinge of regret that I studied law as an undergraduate rather than history or politics. I enjoyed a number of years as a director of Tribune magazine which gave me an entree and insight into the world of politics. I am firmly in the camp of those who consider that politics in this country would be much improved if MPs had a greater depth of knowledge and experience outside politics.

Who is your favourite fictional lawyer? 

Rumpole of the Bailey—beneath his Columbo-style approach and the surface humour beats a crusading heart searching for justice. I also subscribe to Rumpoles mantra—"Never ask a question, the answer to which you do not know”.

What change would you make to the profession?

I would reduce reliance on e-mails. The speed of delivery required threatens to remove the precious thinking time that lawyers need to bring real added value to transactions. More parochially, I would simplify the stamp duty land tax and its forms. From a simple tax and a one-page return, successive governments have turned it into a complex and arcane tax. I welcome the improvement in diversity in the profession but consider there is still some way to go. At Hamlins we pride ourselves on encouraging diversity but like the profession itself there is always room for improvement.

How do you relax?

Mostly by being the subject of banter by my five children! As an orthodox Jew by keeping the Sabbath I am fortunate in having one day a week when phones, e-mails, PCs, Ipads etc are out of bounds and one can simply have quality time with one’s family, read or have quiet contemplation. I would encourage anyone to adopt one day of their weekend to detox totally from technology and similarly spend time with their family and friends or engaging in their favourite pursuits.