The head of family law at MLP Law talks about his life in law
Theo Hoppen is associate solicitor and head of family and dispute resolution at leading commercial and private client law firm, MLP Law. He has over nine years’ of family law experience, advising and representing professionals, business people and celebrities on a wide range of issues including cohabitation disputes, pre-nuptial agreements and children matters.
What was your route into the profession?
I originally studied for an English Literature Degree. Having had enough of talking about books I hadn’t read and falling asleep during lectures on literary theory, I decided in my final year at university that I wanted to do a job that was intellectually challenging whilst also offering the opportunity to influence and shape peoples’ lives (hopefully for the better!).
It was then that I decided to go into law. Having done the law conversion course and LPC, I trained at Pannone & Partners and qualified in 2005. I worked in the North West for a few years and then worked at a niche West End London firm after that. I then decided to come back up North and work in the North West again.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
Probably having to constantly adapt to the changing face of legal services and learning to be more business-minded. Law school teaches you nothing about “the business of law” and how to be a profitable lawyer. This has to be learnt through experience.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?
I always rather fancied doing something which involves making things with my own hands, such as being a carpenter. I imagine it must be very satisfying to see the results of your labours so tangibly. Doing something based outdoors also appeals to me—in another life I'd love to have been a Ranger at one of the UK’s National Parks.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
Daniel Kaffee from the film A Few Good Men—Tom Cruise in his pomp with a top-notch supporting cast and great courtroom finale.
What change would you make to the profession?
I'd ensure that access to justice isn’t based upon access to money. There is a strong case to be made for legal aid which is often not presented forcefully enough.
In addition, one of the big problems at the moment is that law schools are churning out too many potential lawyers who cannot obtain training contracts or pupillages at the bar. They are then saddled with a huge amount of debt without the means to repay it. I think there should be some intervention to ensure there is some sort of correlation between the number of students being trained at law schools and the number of jobs available in the profession.
How do you relax?
I like running (most recently, the Greater Manchester Marathon) and watching Air Crash Investigation on the National Geographic channel.
