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Lawyers don't stray too far from the path of their fathers
Lord Denning has topped the tables as the most inspiring lawyer of all time, according to xxx of today’s top lawyers. His commitment to justice and his refusal to follow precedent caused more than one in ten top City lawyers to vote for him in the poll carried out by specialist legal executive search firm GRS. He was closely followed by Ghandi, who had limited success in legal practice but is famed for his unerring ‘pursuit of truth’.
Lord Diplock also scraped into the top ten for chairing the controversial commission set up to consider legal measures against terrorism in Northern Ireland. Lucinda Brown, head of GRS legal, said: ‘Overwhelmingly, lawyers aspire to figures who have campaigned vociferously for justice. A strong sense of purpose and conviction is an essential quality in top lawyers.’
And it seems that lawyers have taken their top idol’s words to heart. Denning famously wrote: "We have already strayed too far from the path of our fathers. Let us return to it, for it is the only thing that can save us." And many lawyers seem determined to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. ‘My father’ came fourth in the poll, with 5% of the vote.
In seventh, eighth and ninth place were fictional lawyers Horace Rumpole, Perry Mason and Portia from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice; each with 2% of the vote.
Lucinda Brown says that childhood memories are a prime influencing factor in career choice: ‘Nurture can have a huge impact upon people’s career path. 11% of lawyers have been inspired into their profession by either their father or a fictional lawyer who is ingrained in their psyche from their youth.’ ‘But character is also important. Lawyers tend to possess an incredible self belief and this is reflected in the fact that 3% of lawyers voted themselves as the most inspirational lawyer.’
Completing the list of most inspirational lawyers, in third and fifth position, were Cherie Blair and Hilary Clinton respectively. Lucinda concluded: ‘Both women in the top ten were first ladies, whose legal career has been somewhat overshadowed by their husband’s positions. Nevertheless, both have had hugely successful legal careers and held very powerful positions in the public eye. If this is what female lawyers today aspire to, ambition levels in the City are very high and they will be breaking through any glass ceilings with force!’
