The new Ogier global head of DR describes the challenge of becoming a Guernsey advocate & relishes his quiz master role
Simon Davies has been appointed as the new global head of dispute resolution for Ogier.
What was your route into the profession?
I am a Guernsey advocate which requires first being qualified in another British jurisdiction so my route has been a bit of a journey. I thought when I was at school that the law seemed interesting and studying law at university would provide a wide range of career options, even if private practice didn't ultimately appeal to me.
I studied law at the University of Nottingham and as part of that excellent experience, I was invited to take part in a summer vacation placement scheme at Ashurst Morris Crisp (as it then was). It was a fantastic experience and I was hooked on becoming a solicitor.
I had considered qualifying at the bar but at the time I had to make a decision the Courts and Legal Services Bill had been announced and it looked possible for me to be able to address the higher courts as a solicitor without taking on the greater financial risks and uncertainties that being called to the Bar would have entailed.
As it turned out, I learned my advocacy not on the higher rights course but by sitting behind some of the most capable and impressive London counsel at the many trials that I took part in during the first ten years as a solicitor in London.
My family and I moved to Guernsey in 2001 to enjoy the rare combination of a wonderful commute-free lifestyle with fantastic work that it affords. In order to appear before the Royal Court of Guernsey it is necessary to requalify as a Guernsey advocate. At the time, this involved living on Guernsey for three years (now two), attending Caen University to obtain the Certificat d'Etudes Juridiques Francaises et Normandes (pretty tough if, like me, you have never studied French before arriving in the Channel Islands) and passing the very exacting Guernsey bar examinations (which was unquestionably the toughest set of exams I have ever taken).
All in all, the study and professional training necessary to become a Guernsey advocate has taken nine years.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
Being in partnership with other people can be challenging. As an advocate I am a member of a fused profession which gives me both a client facing and a court facing role. This is both satisfying and challenging—especially in the lead up to a big hearing when clients understandably want time with their lawyer, who in turn needs quality uninterrupted time to fully prepare for court. The trick is to manage the balance carefully—to get enough client time to make sure the client is comfortable and confident about the hearing whilst preparing a strong and compelling case to put in the courtroom battle to come.
Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?
Nelson Mandela—for sticking to his principles and making extraordinary regime change possible despite enormous personal sacrifice and punishment.
If you weren't a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternative career?
I am not adverse to getting behind the microphone and belting out a tune. However, while my confidence to do this remains undiminished I am also confident that I could never have been a successful recording artist. I should stick to the courtroom, which can also be regarded as a performance art sometimes.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
My Cousin Vinny—after we had successfully won a very significant trial a great client sent all of the members of the team a copy of the DVD with a message "If I can't have you as my advocate, I'd like my cousin Vinny". I'm still not quite sure how to take that!
What change would you make to the profession?
The reciprocation of courtesy and reasonableness in correspondence between lawyers would be a welcome improvement. Clarity and brevity should be used more often.
How do you relax?
One way I like to unwind is by playing the role of quiz master. At Ogier, we host a charity quiz night for local business teams in Guernsey each year to raise funds for local charitable causes. It is always well attended and (perhaps strangely) I enjoy preparing the various rounds of questions to get people guessing even if they don't know the answer for sure. The music round in the 2015 quiz carried 99 marks—so my challenge for 2016 is to buy some more music and learn to add up properly.
I also enjoy boxing and train three times per week. That can be very cathartic…
