Who? Richard Goss, partner at Hogan Lovells, London.
Why is he in the news? The firm provided pro bono legal support to London’s Air Ambulance on the acquisition of the charity’s two new helicopters, which entered into service last week.
Thoughts on the case: ‘I have been involved in the project for over three years, from the early days of procurement, through to negotiating the contracts and related support agreements, and seeing the helicopters arrive on schedule and on budget. Aviation-related transactions, including emergency service helicopters, are a mainstay of my practice. But through supporting LAA with this work, I also sat on the charity’s project board, which oversaw the whole project. This gave me a fascinating insight into the clinical, aviation and fundraising aspects of the charity’s work and how this all ties back to the legal work. The amount of clinical expertise and cutting-edge trauma technology that the helicopters can deliver to patients at the roadside is incredible.’
Dealing with the media: ‘While my work has been behind the scenes, I had the opportunity to understand how critical it is to increase public awareness of the charity’s work. Not just for major fundraising campaigns like this one, but also the need for ongoing public support to enable the charity to continue providing its life-saving service to Londoners. Many people don’t even realise that the charity entirely relies on public donations.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘At university, I thought a legal career would offer the opportunity to channel the intellectual rigour and satisfaction of my degree (history) into a similarly academic occupation. In practice, I have found that as a transactional lawyer, it is the deal-doing and problem-solving that is much more interesting.’
Career high: ‘During 20 years at Hogan Lovells, I have worked on far too many great transactions to mention. What I tend to remember most are the experiences that are a little bit different. Like having a sunset ride across London in one of LAA’s helicopters as a “thank you” for helping the charity on a previous acquisition of one of their old helicopters in 2015.’
Career low: ‘A few too many sleepless nights, including an all-nighter on my birthday, many years ago. But I think the six months spent working from home during the Covid lockdowns, having commandeered one of my kids’ bedrooms as a makeshift office, must be right up there!’
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