Addleshaw Goddard partner Graeme Warburton discusses the outfit’s international expansion, the need to follow your true passion for work, and his advice for aspiring lawyers
“The work I’ve done over the past 20 years has been the sort of work that construction litigators anywhere in the world would die to be involved in,” says Graeme Warburton, construction and engineering disputes partner at Addleshaw Goddard. “It’s been amazing.” Warburton explains that much of this work has come in as a result of the firm’s international growth, allowing Addleshaws’ lawyers to get involved in large, lucrative construction projects around the globe. “The international side is something that I’ve always been passionate about. Addleshaw Goddard has grown from a firm based in the northern heartlands and London into one with six offices across England and Scotland and thirteen offices outside the UK.”
For Warburton, based primarily in the firm’s Leeds office, the combination of global work and regional base has been important. “I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to do market leading international work from my Yorkshire base where my family are,” he explains.
Warburton studied law and politics at university and worked at two other UK law firms before moving to Addleshaw Goddard in 2005. He emphasises the importance of following your interests and passions early on in your career. “I am really glad I studied politics as part of my degree. It’s something I loved and I’m still very interested in today,” he tells me. “If I could go back, I probably would not have studied law for my first degree. I would have loved to have done history before moving onto the law.” Acknowledging the pressure many young people feel to “get a move on” with their careers, Warburton advises aspiring solicitors not to rush: “Take your time. If you have the opportunity to study something you’re really interested in, pursue that.”
Following your passion is equally important once you land your training contract. “You’re doing this for a long time. You’ve got to do what you enjoy,” Warburton stresses. “Construction was what I enjoyed most during my training, so I have been doing it since the get-go. I liked the clients as well. Construction people are my kind of people and I like the way that they operate,” he explains. This is the key to sustaining an enjoyable career in commercial law. “You have to be comfortable around the people you work with and the people you work for if you plan to stay in this career for the long run,” Warburton says.
It is this genuine interest in the industry which makes Addleshaw Goddard’s international growth so exciting for construction lawyers like Warburton. “A lot of construction lawyers are frustrated engineers,” he jokes. “We want to be able to understand the engineering side of things, get involved in it and learn about it.” Moving into markets in the Middle East and Asia has given Warburton the opportunity to work on larger, more complex projects. “The size of projects internationally makes them more interesting. Building a power station in Singapore is very different to building a car park in Leeds,” he says. “It’s the complex stuff that you want to be involved in because it’s the most challenging.”
A disputes lawyer, Warburton finds that larger construction projects breed more complex legal work. “The size of the project goes hand in hand with the size of the dispute. I’d rather be involved in an international arbitration that goes on for three years than an adjudication that lasts 28 days.” Admitting that this big-ticket work isn’t for everyone, he says, “That’s just what floats my boat but I have plenty of colleagues who can’t understand that and feel the opposite way!”
Reflecting on Addleshaw Goddard’s expansion, Warburton explains, “In Leeds and Manchester, we’ve been market leaders for a sustained period. We needed to seek out opportunities from other parts of the world in order to grow to the next level. Twenty years ago, there were untapped, lucrative markets elsewhere that we hadn’t yet explored.” One such market was the Middle East. “We saw Dubai boom in 2005 and we weren’t at the table,” Warburton tells me. “We got there late, but the fact that we got there was important.” Addleshaws opened its offices in Dubai, Qatar and Oman in 2012, adding Saudi Arabia to its Middle Eastern presence earlier this year. “The market in the Gulf is lucrative and it’s one that we are making great strides in. We’ve got great people out there that are doing extremely well,” Warburton says. He goes on to explain how a broad international footprint allows firms like Addleshaw Goddard to attract top clients: “Large global conglomerates want to work with firms who can support them across their own markets. These clients aren’t just in the UK, they’re in Asia, they’re in the Middle East, and they’re in Europe. If we want to get their best work, we need to be in those markets alongside them.”
So, what are the current issues affecting these types of clients? “They’re all primarily concerned about the global economic picture. The availability of money and the health of the global economy is important because it affects their ability to take part in large projects and be paid for the work they have carried out. In simple terms, if the money is there, stuff gets built and more often than not people get paid,” he says. Busy periods for the industry translate into busy periods for Warburton’s disputes team. “When there are lots of projects happening, invariably things will go wrong and disputes arise which we can get involved in,” he says.
I am curious to know what drew Warburton to disputes work. “I’m not the sort of person who particularly likes arguing,” he responds quickly, “but I like nothing more than seeing my clients prevail against adverse parties. Helping them succeed is always satisfying.” He elaborates:
“There are often two sides to a story but you are instructed and trusted to ensure that your client has the best possible chance of prevailing. Presenting your clients’ position in the best possible light and ensuring their side is the more compelling is very rewarding.”
Warburton discovered his aptitude for contentious work during his training contract and would advise law students to get hands-on experience before worrying about specialisation. I go on to ask Warburton for his perspective on what makes a good trainee solicitor. “Above all else you’ve got to be prepared to work hard,” he responds. He also stresses the importance of thinking commercially and strategically. “This job is primarily about problem solving — and that’s something you don’t really learn at law school. This quality is something some trainees have from day one, others have to work at it. It’s important to be alive to this early on.”
Confidence is also key. “You’ve got to be able to back yourself and trust in your abilities,” Warburton says. “It is a very competitive environment but also one in which you receive a lot of support. Remember that you haven’t got a training contract by accident. You are where you are because you are a very able and intelligent individual. Securing a training contract is so competitive, getting through the door on day one means you’ve got a very strong ability and you’ve got to believe in yourself for that reason,” he concludes.
Graeme Warburton will be speaking at ‘Understanding global law firms — with Addleshaw Goddard‘, an in-person event taking place tomorrow (Friday 11 October). This event is fully booked, but you can check out our upcoming events.
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