June and about which you will be hearing
more elsewhere.
More widely, the role of the Chairman
is to act as the firm’s “leading
representative which will involve the
presentation of the [firm’s] aims and
policies to the outside world” – at least
according to the Institute of Directors’
summary of the role.
In practice this will mean me attending
various events and evangelising about
the firm whenever I get the chance. The
great thing about that for me is that I
genuinely find it very easy to sing the
firm’s praises. I joined Wynne Baxter
Godfree in 1987 and have stayed with
the firm through various incarnations ever
since. It does not look as if I can quite
repeat that period of time again (although
the retirement age does seem to be
creeping up and up, so who knows?),
but I am still very much enjoying being
here, so hope I can manage a few more
years yet.
Part of the current attraction is the
variety in each day. As a solicitor my
professional work involves work relating
to contracts – disputes and drafting –
and intellectual property. These are everchanging areas of law that touch upon all
sorts of business arrangements and so
the variety of matters to be dealt with is
never-ending.
Added to the legal work and the internal
role, the representative element comes
not only at events but also indirectly
through contributions to the business
community.
Mayo Wynne Baxter has always
taken the long view in terms of its
commitments to business and local
communities. Our philosophy is that we
have a legacy of hundreds of years, and
to extend our own success it is important
that the economies of “our” towns (and
city) thrive on a long term basis - so that
we can too.
We also accept that whilst it is one thing
to hope for this, that is not really enough
and so we should commit to being
involved in trying to make that happen.
As a consequence a number of partners
and directors, me included, participate in
various economic and business groups
and initiatives.
I should add that this is in addition to
the many charitable and educational
organisations to which many partners
and staff devote time and effort either as
trustees, governors or fundraisers. {Note
to the Editor – perhaps a feature in itself
in due course?}.
To my mind this is all evidence of the
commitment that Mayo Wynne Baxter
has to its role as a good “corporate
citizen”. I am not particularly keen on
these sorts of labels and terms which
can become mired in fashionable
jargon, and generally come with a few
acronyms thrown in for good measure.
However, I am keen – and am happy
that the partnership as a whole shares
this enthusiasm – on the sentiments
and actions (especially the latter) that
these terms attempt to describe. As a
significant business in all of the local
communities in which we are based,
we are in a position to contribute to the
debates and initiatives which will shape
those economies for years to come.
Happily I know that we are not alone in
those sentiments. I meet many other
business people around the county,
putting in hours and days of valuable
contribution to similar bodies and
initiatives, without whom our economies
would undoubtedly be the poorer. If you
have ever pondered on volunteering for
such a role, or have been approached
but have not been sure whether to
accept, F