Solicitor Anthony Edwards tells Catherine Baksi why, after 36 years in practice, he still enjoys going to work
Anthony Edwards is a solicitor-advocate and senior partner at East End of London crime and family firm TV Edwards, which recently merged with Finsbury firm Taylor Nichol. He sits on the Sentencing Guideline Council, the Council of Justice, the editorial board of the Criminal Law Review and the Law Commission advisory board. He is also a Gazette columnist, has written a couple of books, and lectures across the country on criminal law.
There is no typical day in my life; they are all varied, which is probably one of the reasons I still enjoy doing everything. You never know what new challenges, clients and developments the next day will bring.
Four months of the year I’m away from home, training people – solicitors and, increasingly, police officers. That produces a non-legal aid income, and I have a target to hit for the firm. It’s enjoyable because I have lots of wonderful solicitor contacts and get to hear what’s going on around the country. It could take over my life, but I don’t want it to.
Missing the magistratesWhat the day ought to be about is client work and the thing I’m missing out on these days is the court work. I really miss the magistrates’ court – I’m just not going as often as I’d like to, but that’s what I love. The remand lists are such fun.
Like most of the profession of my generation I’m moving into the Crown Court. I don’t like the dressing up and I don’t like the speed, which is terribly slow. The thing about the magistrates’ court is that it’s wonderfully fast. But these days we’re going into the Crown Court big time. I don’t do the casework, but we have a terrific team here.
The other big element of client work is police stations, which I do through the night twice a month – it’s terrific. It’s what I really enjoy, because you’re absolutely up front with the client.
A couple of weeks ago I had a child who’d borrowed her mother’s car and crashed it. She only had a provisional licence and was done for aggravated vehicle taking. She was such a nice kid, just doing her A-levels and with a university place – coming from where she does that’s wonderful, but if she gets a conviction her career plans will be ruined.
At the end of the day she was cautioned. After that, at three o’clock in the morning, at 58 years of age, I was bouncing down the Cambridge Heath Road. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but that’s where the real satisfaction is – where you’re doing something that affects people’s lives.
Then in the middle of this is the office day, which I hate. Luckily, I have a very good managing partner who does all the real work. I chair all the firm’s meetings, deal with complaints, and motivate and encourage the youngsters. It’s very satisfying to see them progress.
We’re now pushing them through their accreditation as a police station rep, duty solicitor and then higher court rights. We’re taking clients through from meeting someone at the police station to seeing the case through in the Crown Court with a single solicitor.
By and large, because of the funding cutbacks we can’t use solicitors to do most of the preparation work, but at least they’re seeing one person in court all the time and at the front of the service.
I’m very lucky here – they spoil me – I still have my own secretary. The rest of the firm (around 50 fee-earners) have five secretaries between them. Cathy was my father’s secretary and has been my secretary for 26 years. She knows what I think before I think it and she’s one of only three people in the world who can read my handwriting.
Putting the hours inI’m up at 6am and in the office between 8.15am and 8.30am. I work on the train and get home somewhere between 8pm and 10pm. It’s years since I’ve had an evening meal with my wife, but we make time to go to the theatre on Fridays, which is very important, and I take proper holidays without my mobile phone.
You do it for the results and for the clients. What I say to some of the youngsters who complain about their lousy pay – and it is dreadful – is that there’s one difference between this job and most others, and that’s after 36 years I still get up every morning wanting to go to work. I don’t know that there are that many jobs you can say that about. I hate the management and I hate the money – it’s very stressful, but you suffer that because the rest is just terrific.
Making legal aid work and keeping up with the changes is very stressful. Everything the Legal Services Commission is doing is destroying big firms, which is actually the right model for client-case handling. Everything they do means that people will want to be a one-man show because that is the cheapest way of running. In policy terms it is ludicrous and they’re destroying quality.
The really good days are when you know you have made a real difference to someone's life. Last week I was approached by a client I last acted for more than 20 years ago who wanted to talk about old times – and yes, I did remember his name. And that is why we teach the youngsters never to short-change a client, as you don’t know when you’ll meet them again.
I’m very fortunate because I also deal with policy and, occasionally, the odd section of a statute has quite a lot to do with papers I wrote – usually many years ago – most recently section 49 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
All that is what keeps me going – and the fact my wife won't have me at home and I don't know how to do anything else!
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