Messenger December 2017

Interview 13
My Other Life
In this edition Andrew Twambley of Amelans Solicitors
and Chair of A2J talks to Julia Baskerville about his
passion for music and photography...
Andrew Twambley is a
well-known figure in the
Manchester legal community,
through his work
with the injurylawyers4u
and Access 2 Justice (A2J),
which leads the campaign
against government reforms,
which could limit
access to justice for those
who have suffered injuries.
Yet away from the
law, Andrew has more
rock n’roll lifestyle.
Andrew has always enjoyed
music and his first job as a
teenager was working at
Cobweb Records in Cleveleys
on the Fylde Coast. One
of his co-workers was Jeff
Smith who went on to become
controller of Radio 2
and BBC 6 Music.
Whilst at still at Fleetwood
Grammar School, Andrew
and other pupils assisted in
arranging an end of term
party at the Winter Gardens
in Blackpool and were given
the princely sum of £26 to
book some entertainment.
£4 was spent booking the
support act “Bob Kerr’s
Whoopie Band“ and with
the remaining £22 booked
an up and coming band.
Ironically, the week before
the party, they appeared on
Top of the Pops and Andrew
says they really didn’t think
that they would show up for
a school party. But true to
their word, Queen arrived in
a battered old van and put
on a great show.
Andrew says that until the
mid 1970s his music tastes
were limited to Slade, Bowie
and other glam rockers, and
even David Essex, but the
advent of Punk opened a
whole new world.
In 1976 Andrew went to Liverpool
Polytechnic and
found “Eric’s” - the iconic
music venue on Matthew
Street, where Andrew says,
“I was reborn”. All of the
great punk bands performed
at Eric’s, including
the Clash, The Jam, Buzzcocks,
The Slits, The Ramones,
and Joy Division to
name but a few.
After graduating from Liverpool
Poly, Andrew followed
the Clash to the States, taking
photographs, which
meandered across the
country ending in Monterey,
near San Francisco
with a gig which also included
Robert Fripp, Brian
Eno and Peter Tosh.
Once back in the UK, Andrew
trained as a solicitor in
Manchester at an old established
firm on John Dalton
Street. He joined Amelans in
1989 and is now the managing
partner.
In 2000 Andrew reignited
his interest in photography.
He met Martin Kemp of
Spandau Ballet who invited
him to come and take some
photographs of the band.
Andrew now spends a couple
of evenings a week at
some of Manchester’s greatest
music venues where he
photographs both well established
bands and up and
coming musicians. He says
“My music tastes have
widened over the years, but
I still have that punk mentality.”
Andrew is official photographer
for the 02 Ritz Manchester,
but also covers The
Apollo, Manchester Arena
and smaller venues such as
Gorilla and The Deaf Institute.
He shoots for “Counterfeit”
magazine and will
shortly be shooting the
“Louder than Words” festival,
organised by John
Robb, a former customer at
Cobweb Records
Andrew is also a keen poultry
keeper and currently
owns 50 chickens, the majority
of whom have names.
All of the males or “cocks”
are called “Martin”, ,…..and
NO he does not eat “his
girls”
Vintage Trouble
John Cooper Clarke
The Bay City Rollers
The changing nature of the legal professional
There’s little doubt that the nature of work is shifting at an unprecedented
rate, and the legal profession is no exception. With
artificial intelligence arriving on the scene offering firms the
ability to automise many process driven roles, coupled with intense
competition for jobs, legal professionals can no longer
rely on academic achievements alone. They need to able to
demonstrate that they have the abilities to achieve long term
success in an ever evolving workplace and help increase the
profitability of their firm. So what are Manchester employers
looking for in 2018?
Outstanding interpersonal skills: Strong communication skills have
always been required to support professionals’ legal knowledge,
however having exceptional interpersonal skills is crucial for those
looking to further their career. In an increasingly competitive employment
market, individuals need to be able to demonstrate that
they have the ability to cultivate and maintain strong professional
relationships with peers, and establish a strong sense of rapport with
clients.
Negotiation and management skills: As in house teams continue to
strengthen their legal departments, private practitioners will increasingly
find themselves working with clients who are legal professionals
themselves, who will expect their external counsel to not only
show effective management skills but also a willingness to negotiate
on alternative fee arrangements. Management and leadership
qualities are vital for professionals who are looking to progress up
the ladder as corporate counsel need to be able to manage a panel
of external legal service providers.
complex, legal professionals will find themselves working in more
interdisciplinary teams, and having to collaborate with a wider range
of external specialists, so the ability to work effectively with a diverse
team is perhaps more crucial than ever. Collaboration is a skill rarely
taught in legal degrees and while the ability to work autonomously
and act as a sole advisor is still incredibly important, candidates need
to be able to show that they can also work well in complex teams.
The ability to be both generalist and specialist: Recent shifts within
the profession have led to a somewhat paradoxical expectation of
legal professionals. Increasingly employers are looking for individuals
to have both specialist knowledge and a wide generalist skillset.
In order to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market
place, professionals need to adopt this dual role. Firms are now
looking for individuals with both experience working in incredibly
specialist practice areas, as well as having a broad sense of commercial
awareness. Law firms are placing a greater value on commercial
acumen tests during the recruitment process, so professionals need
to ensure that they are able to demonstrate a thorough understanding
of the ‘business of law’ and can combine a sense of commercial
awareness with sound legal reasoning.
Lynn Sedgwick is Managing
Director of specialist
recruiter, Clayton Legal.
For more information visit
www.clayton-legal.co.uk
or call 01772 259 121
The ability to work collaboratively: Workplaces are being ever more
collaborative, and the legal profession is adopting increasingly cooperative
working practices. As cases become progressively more