NLJ PROFILE: Alex Kelham

Alex Kelham is partner and head of the sports business group at Lewis Silkin.

What was your route into the profession?

I actually fell into law almost by chance. I was a sportswoman in a former life, swimming at an elite level and winning gold and silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, and began studying marine geography at the University of Cardiff. While at Cardiff I decided to take an introduction to law class and was immediately gripped so decided to reapply to study law. Needless to say with my background, as soon as I became aware of sports law I didn’t want to practice anything else!

What has been your biggest career challenge so far?

Being an in-house lawyer at London 2012 came with almost unlimited challenges. From an IP and brand protection perspective, dealing with everyone from one-man-band and well-intentioned retailers wanting to use the Olympic rings, to global brands with sophisticated marketing strategies and the budgets to match presented plenty of pitfalls. It was an intense environment, made more so by the immovable event date, but a brilliant place to work and an incredible experience. My subsequent transition into private practice has presented a different set of challenges, not least building up the profile of a practice group and developing my own sales and business development skills.

Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?

Terry Miller, my former boss at LOCOG, the London 2012 Organising Committee. She led a team of more than 25 lawyers to set up the legal framework for the London Games and was pretty formidable. She gave us a lot of autonomy, but also a lot of support when the tough issues arose. She also led by example, working with the rest of the organisation to provide far more than  legal advice and ensuring we made a big contribution to a remarkable Games.

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

It would be hard to deny the innate competitiveness that comes from being an athlete. I’m an avid Moto GP fan and having learnt to ride a motorbike fairly recently, I am in awe at the riders’ skills, athleticism and sheer balls! If I could live life over (and was born with the necessary talent) I’d love to have been the first top female MotoGP rider. Seeing the world, the thrill of competing at speed – what could be better? Of course, athletes have relatively short career spans so if I’d gone down that route I’d probably be retired by now, or worse given the risks! On the other hand, I’ve always enjoyed mentoring, both in sport and law, so coaching of some form may have been a slightly more realistic alternative.

Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?

Tom Cruise’s characters in The Firm (Mitch McDeere) and A Few Good Men (Daniel Kaffee). This is less about Tom Cruise – I’m not a big fan of his other movies – but rather that both those characters represent a young, driven but relatively inexperienced lawyer doing incredible work. Of course, it’s a pretty unrealistic model for young lawyers to aspire to, but their moral solidity, determination and energy is admirable.

What change would you make to the profession?

I’d very much like to see a more holistic approach taken to developing young talent. Very often the recruitment focus starts with the notion of 4 A*s but, while academic merit is of course important, we should also be cultivating people with a more rounded skill set – relationship building, sales etc. This isn’t just something for firms to think about when it comes to direct recruitment; the profession, the wider industry and the education system can all do more to encourage success through diversity, including socio-economic background, gender and academia.

How do you relax?

Truthfully, I’m an expert napper! There’s nothing quite like a power nap to reset the system and prepare to wade into the fray again. On the other hand, in terms of ‘down time’ rather than relaxing as such, exercise has a similar effect for me. I’m a great believer in exercise being a core part of the daily routine, with the endorphins boosting energy (and productivity) and the focus providing a much-needed mental break. It helps with sleep patterns too!