Retired Partner stories

A century of Wades: Legacy, leadership and lasting bonds

Four generations, one firm, and nearly a hundred years of service, Robert Wade reflects on a family legacy woven into the fabric of AG, the evolution of the legal profession and the timeless value of relationships.

1. Background/history:

Where to start? 1894 perhaps…that was the year my Grandfather started his Articles with Mr Booth. Since that time my Grandfather, my Father, my Uncle, my Cousin and myself have been Partners in the Firm. When I became a Partner in 1970 there were 4 Wades in a partnership of 9 and when I left the Firm in 1993 a Wade had been associated with the Firm for almost 100 years!

In my last few years with the Firm I was Senior Partner, a position of which I was rightly proud. However I really missed the cut and thrust of legal work and when I had the opportunity to join Eddy Healey, one of my historic clients, to help coordinate the legal work on a significant shopping development in Germany, along the lines of Meadowhall in Sheffield which I had dealt with, I decided to leave the Firm…a decision with which not all my Partners were pleased…but the Firm was perfectly capable of progressing without me!

Long associations has been a significant feature of the Firm over the years…with clients and many members of staff. For instance, the Firm’s association with Yorkshire Bank started in 1874 and for many years my Grandfather and my Uncle Roland Wade were involved in working for the Bank.

Roland made a daily visit to the Bank’s Head Office for many years, a roll which I took over in the early 1970s and continued to undertake for nearly 20 years. I still meet up with several of the Bank’s Executives from that time

From time to time and for many years I was a honorary member of their Golfing Society, with members of which I still meet up for lunch twice a year, though our golfing days are over!

Another long association was with Yorkshire Congregational Union, starting with my Grandfather in 1921 and continuing with my Father and myself. I am still on their Investments Committee following in the footsteps of my Father.

One little anecdote from the past…in an exchange of letters from my Grandfather to the Senior Partner, my Grandfather asked if he could have a half day off as he was getting married…the reply was “I fear thou art of a roving disposition”! I have no note of whether he got his request, but I hope he did.

2. How has the Firm changed over the decades?

Massively! When I joined the Firm 1970 the total staff numbered 70 or so. By the end of the 1980s it was well over 500. Also in 1970, 80% of the Firm’s turnover was for Yorkshire Bank and by the mid 1980s was down to 20%…still a significant number but a clear indication of the way the Firm was growing and diversifying.

It was in the 1980s when things really took off. We were recruiting expertise from London in particular and we were developing our Commercial Property department, which was becoming a dominant force in the area, and our practice in Financial Services particularly with Building Societies…a area of practice Adam Bennett made his own! By the end of the 1980s we were becoming a significant business which needed to be managed as such. We were also very aware of the way the legal profession was heading and the threat from the Accountancy profession which was eyeing legal work as their next area for expansion. We joined the M5 Group and subsequently sought a London member of the Group. I was very closely involved with M5 and the link up with Norton Rose and I still meet up with the representatives from the other Group members twice a year! Next week we will be meeting up for the 55th time!

Since my time the Firm has gone from strength to strength and grown massively and I am delighted to hear all the good news about the progress it has made and is continuing to make, nationally and internationally.

3. What do you value most about your time at the firm?

I value most is the friendships I made whilst at the Firm. Some of us from my time with the Firm meet up regularly. We have a walking group that meets monthly and we meet up for dinner from time to time.

4. Do you have a message to trainees joining the firm today?

What is my message to those starting their careers in the Law and with the Firm? I gave many talks to younger members of the Firm over the years. My message to those starting out was the three As…Active, Available, Approachable and my message to more senior members was Lawyer/Manager/Leader.

Active meant getting the job done quickly, efficiently and error free and in line with the Client’s requirements and expectations and always remember to speak to Client before he speaks to you! Available meant being available to the Client 24/7 and to the greatest extent possible becoming viewed as part of his team. Approachable…perhaps the least understood quality…meant dealing with all colleagues, Clients and the other side on any transaction with respect and curtesy. The other side’s client is always of potential client for you! And as a general message…put yourself about with those involved in your field of practice…to develop a practice you need to make and develop relevant contacts.

For the more senior members Lawyer means getting yourself known and respected in the marketplace and with colleagues as a very competent and effective lawyer who gets things done and is a pleasure to deal with. Manager means being an effective manager of time and resources both yours and your Clients and Leader means being able to lead and motivate a team to deliver the best possible service and outcomes.

Booth & Co was a significant part of my life and of other members of the Wade family. Long may it prosper…in whatever form, shape or size it takes!

Friendship, tradition and the voyage of a career

From £2-a-week work experience to partnership and beyond, John Pike reflects on 50 years of friendship, stewardship and what it means to be part of a firm that treats its people as custodians of its legacy.

1. What is your fondest memory of AG? 

The lifetime of friendships I and my wife Rosemary made at the firm. Those friendships are still a big part of our social life today, especially for me the monthly walking group and the quarterly car group.

2. What was AG like when you joined? 

My first introduction to Booth & Co. was six months work experience prior to University in 1966, on £2 a week. The firm was then one of the three biggest in Leeds (at a time when no law firm could have more than 20 partners) with 8 partners and around 60 staff. I went for an interview first and the 7 partners in the office that day all saw me! The office opened on Saturday morning and staff were on a rota, once every 4 weeks. All the men wore a formal suit with plain shirt and tie. Trousers for women had not come in yet. Similarly, clients got themselves formally dressed when coming to the office. After 6 months I left with a cheque for £50 and I was offered a training contract after University.

3. What was the best advice you were ever given? 

Your career is a bit like sailing across the Atlantic. There are many times when you are racing along with a favourable wind, and everything is great. At other times you may encounter choppy waters and struggle to make progress. At others you may be becalmed and may even seem to be going backwards. Yet the vast majority get there in the end so keep at it and enjoy it.

4. What does it mean to you to see the firm celebrating 250 years in Leeds? 

A massive amount. Tradition and values are extremely important. A successful firm is one where the partners regard themselves as custodians of the business and aim to leave a firm which is even more successful. 250 years is testament to that. Clients like to be associated with that. My Rosemary and I attended the 200th anniversary celebration. It was a big deal, and we still remember it. I am pleased and proud to be invited 50 years later.

5. What’s changed most about the firm? 

When I retired in 2011, we had 3 offices, all in England. It is hard to believe we were still just Booth& Co. in Leeds until 1997. At the last count I believe there are now 20 offices?  AG has grown into a large international law firm in a very short time. However, it is still recognising the importance of celebrating 250 years, and it has a brilliant alumni programme. It really is the case that when you're out you're in. I know from speaking to my contemporaries in other Leeds firms that they are envious and applaud what AG does.

6. Do you have a message to trainees joining the firm today?

First, don't arrive with preconceived ideas about where you want to specialise as a solicitor. Academic study and legal practice are very different. Think about what is going to suit you temperamentally. Second, don't work from home. You will learn a massive amount from being in the office, seeing how to handle meetings and difficult phone calls for example. it is also important to make friendships inside the office and start to develop some contacts of your ownutside the office.

From typewriters to technology: A life in law

From £10-a-week clerk to guiding the firm’s first computer installation, Lennox Towers shares memories of transformation, mentorship and the enduring spirit that’s defined AG for generations.

1. What is your fondest memory of AG? 

The brilliant colleagues and friends I was fortunate enough to meet and work with during my time here.

2. What was AG like when you joined?

Quite Different!  A small but respected six partner firm with one office above Yorkshire Bank’s head office in Leeds. In January 1965, I had a university place to study law but wanted to gain some work experience in a legal firm to see if this was how I wanted to spend my career. The firm took me on as a litigation clerk and to help with their forthcoming office move. In the summer, they offered me a training contract when I completed my degree. I came back, met my wife here, and never left. 

3. What was the best advice you were ever given?

Before you send off a contentious letter, pause, and imagine how it will sound being read out in court before a High Court Judge.

4. What does it mean to you to see the firm celebrating 250 years in Leeds?

It brings to mind happy memories of so many people in all areas of the firm who have all, in their own individual way, helped to bring this about.

5. What’s changed most about the firm?

The way law is practiced has changed out of all recognition in the last 60 years. Before then, the way law was practised would have been recognisable to lawyers over the previous 200 years. But since then, we have seen electric typewriters, photocopying, telexes and faxes, mobile phones and, of course, computers coming into use.  

In 1979 I was put in charge of installing the firm’s first computer, and supervising the devising of its software, which had to be purpose written. The computer itself was a large machine which had its own air-conditioned room and a Halon Gas fire suppression system. 

I hope what hasn’t changed is that the firm has managed to retain some of the particular spirit and ethos that bound us together for all those years.

6. Do you have a message to trainees joining the firm today?

As a trainee here, you have made a good start to your legal career. From now on, you will have some good fortune, and some less good fortune - we all do. But what you make of your career is largely down to you. All experience you will have is good experience and helps to form you as a lawyer.

Lessons from a Legal Director: Honesty, humility and humanity

A Legal Director who helped shape the firm’s culture, Mike Elliker recalls a time of carbon paper, camaraderie and counsel, and the timeless principles that still guide good lawyers today.

I need to make one thing clear. I was never a partner in the firm but for many years was a Legal Director and have always been included in the list for the annual Booth and Co. partners' lunches.

1. What is your fondest memory of AG?

My fondest memory of the firm is that as an articled clerk the 4 partners in the Litigation Department of Booth and Co decided that the firm should sponsor me to do the old Law society Part 2 course at the College of Law in Chester in 1974. If it had not been for their typical generosity I could not have gone there, and my career would probably have taken a very different course. The firm has always looked after its staff.

2. What was AG like when you joined?

I joined Booth and Co as an articled clerk in 1972. The word trainee was unknown. The firm consisted of 12 partners, and the total number of staff was about 70. My salary was £10 per week rising to £12.50 in my second year of articles. The secretaries, with one exception, used noisy heavy manual typewriters and copies of letters were made using carbon paper. The exception was the senior partner's secretary who used an IBM electric Golf ball machine. Time recording was unheard of and all the firm's bills were calculated, prepared and issued by one man who headed the Accounts Department. (I can supply more reminiscences but the more I do, the more the firm sounds Dickensian to its present members. I think I could still locate my original Articles of Clerkship in which I promised to serve my Principal dutifully and not make off with any stamps, if a museum wanted to see the document).

3. What was the best advice you were ever given?

The best advice given to all the articled clerks was at all times to be open and honest with all our colleagues and that no-one would be punished for making a mistake, only for concealing it.

4. What does it mean to you to see the firm celebrating 250 years in Leeds?

Celebrating 250 years in Leeds obviously brings a keen sense of history and an awareness of just how the legal profession has now changed beyond recognition, particularly in the last 50 years where the changes taken together have arguably been greater than in the preceding 200 years. The firm's values, concerns and ambitions, obviously changing with the times, have clearly been well-founded for it to continue and to be outstandingly successful throughout those years.

5. What’s changed most about the firm?

The changing technologies over the last 50 years were literally unimaginable in 1972. Pointing out that computers, mobile phones, emails, the internet, video calls and instant world-wide communications were words unheard of at that time proves my point. It may also be worth noting that every man in the office was required to wear a suit and ties were rarely removed

6. Do you have a message to trainees joining the firm today?

If faced with trainees, my advice would be:

• never be overawed. The more noise your opponent makes, the weaker her/his case is likely to be.
• no matter what the provocation, always be courteous.
• never put in a letter or email anything you would not be happy to have read out in the Court of Appeal.
• remember that your client is placing complete trust in you and your skills and always remember that you are a professional adviser and not a hired gun.

Roots, growth and the spirit of togetherness

From articled clerk to seasoned partner, Philip Way recalls the pride of joining a “large professional family” with limitless ambition, the thrill of a career unfolding before him and the enduring culture that still defines AG today.

1. What is your fondest memory of AG?

The pride and excitement that I felt to be an articled clerk in such a great firm with a whole career stretching out before me.

2. What was AG like when you joined?

A large professional family working together to provide the very best advice we could to our clients.  The focus at the time was largely regional, the ambition was limitless.

3. What was the best advice you were ever given?

Give the best of yourself that you can to every person you meet and your practice will build.

4. What does it mean to you to see the firm celebrating 250 years in Leeds?

I am very pleased to see a firm which began with Leeds roots flourishing internationally, but continuing to prosper in Yorkshire.

5. What’s changed most about the firm?

The scale; happily, as far as I can see, not the culture.

6. Do you have a message to trainees joining the firm today?

Enjoy yourselves.  A legal career is not a race.  Also, trite but true: "If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”