Paul Roberts,
Managing Partner,
Forsters LLP
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What was your main deciding factor when joining your firm?

Ten partners set up Forsters ten and a half years ago, and I was one of them. The deciding factor was to establish a firm that was focused principally on property and private client -I'm a property lawyer.

We had a number of opportunities, largely to join much bigger firms, and we chose not to, but rather to set up a new firm that was smaller, more focused on those areas, which we thought was closer to our clients and something that we wanted to do as a group.

What do you like and dislike about your job?

There's nothing I dislike about it.

What I love and enjoy about it is the challenge of managing a law firm, managing intelligent, interesting and sometimes difficult, but always unpredictable, people; managing a business that has been very successful over a period of time, seeing that develop, and looking at and taking opportunities.

Actually, developing people is probably the bit I enjoy the most, in terms of recruiting, being part of development programmes, seeing people grow through their careers into partner and become successful.

What are the main qualities that you look for in a person when you are interviewing them for a position at your firm?

The first quality, which I would take as a given, but would certainly look for, is intelligence. But it is more than that, it is more an ability to take the type of problems that lawyers are faced with and solve those problems by the application of intellect. Does a person appear to have a problem-solving mentality?

The next, and probably the key, thing is personality. Is this person on two levels? Is this person likely to be able to sell themselves to clients as a trusted advisor, someone who will really add value to that client's business affairs as their legal advisor? Secondly, is it someone who is going to engage in the firm, to develop the firm in terms of working with other partners, developing young lawyers, and if they are a young lawyer, becoming someone who will work well in part of a team?

It obviously depends on who you are looking at but someone who will fit in well. I think we have quite a diverse group of people, but there is a sort of a subconscious similarity. There are a number of degrees of behaviours that I think are pretty key to how we work, and how that person fits into that. I think a degree of personality, but not too strong an ego, a degree of mutual respect, someone who will get on, so again not all shrinking violets, but equally not people who have to have their own way all the time. Someone who understands the concept of a firm being successful, rather than just them being successful.

What hours do you generally work?

My average working day is about 8.00am to 7.00pm. That's not including doing things in the evening, which I probably do a couple of nights a week.

If you weren't a lawyer, what would you be?

I would love to be running a major sports organisation, combining my love of sports with the ability to run and develop a business. I like rugby, football and golf. I mean, you can put me down as Chief Executive of Aston Villa football club, the best football club in the world.

If you didn't have to go to work tomorrow and you could choose anything else to do, what would it be?

I think it would be travel - to a place probably you don't get to do when you are working 8.00am to 7.00pm, 48 weeks a year.

When I stop doing this, whenever I stop doing it, travel is one thing that I will be keen to do, and the first place I would probably go to is Australia, and work my way back.