Citywealth Leaders List, 60 second interview – Julian Hawkhead, Stowe Family Law
This week’s 60 seconds Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Julian Hawkhead, Senior Partner at Stowe Family Law.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.
My role as Senior Partner of Stowe Family Law is to be the executive lead for the quality of the work we deliver at Stowe and to ensure that we effectively manage risk and compliance. We are an ambitious and innovative firm, so part of my role is to ensure that we adhere to the regulatory framework that we operate in. I have been a family lawyer for over a quarter of a century. I’ve seen hundreds of clients over my 26 years, heard many stories and had the privilege of seeing many people rebuild following the ending of one chapter of their lives.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Stowe Family Law is a large and complex operation these days. When I joined Stowe at the turn of the century, working for its founder Marilyn Stowe, we were a small office in Leeds with 5 lawyers. These days we have about 220 lawyers covering over 90 locations in England and Wales plus a partnership with Kee Solicitors in Glasgow and with Unified Lawyers in Australia. Aligning how we deliver services and how we maintain high standards of quality service in a business of our size and dispersed as we are geographically takes up a lot of my role. Day-to-day, my team and I explore how we develop our legal teams, equipping them with relevant skills and knowledge and engage with the technology that is available to us and will become an increasing part of how we deliver services. How we manage the legal operations of the business in an ever-changing regulatory landscape definitely keeps me busy! Needless to say, we have an amazing team here at Stowe that enables us to achieve our goals.
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
Every client case is interesting, because family dynamics are always unique. Over the last few years, I’ve seen an increasing number of cases involving multiple jurisdictions, where there are multiple residences and different nationalities. This adds greater complexity to already highly emotional circumstances, for example in cases involving relocation of one party and applications to move children. Operating across multiple jurisdictions through our partner relationships will increase the instances of these circumstances arising.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
Because every family is different, every case is different. Most people are new to whatever family law matter they approach myself or one of my colleagues with. The unpredictable blend of legal and emotional upheaval requires not only legal expertise but the ability to support a client with empathy over a journey that can often take them over a year to undertake. Even at the end of the legal process, the journey is often not over for the client who has to step into that next chapter of their lives and try to look forwards whilst taking the lessons of their past.
To that end, we can often best help our clients by showing them humanity, care and compassion. My colleagues and I provide that all important as well as providing them with that objective voice when everybody around them is often taking sides to help them to make the right decisions for themselves. Whilst it is difficult for clients to be able to take that “helicopter view” of their situation, this is where we as family lawyers can make the most of our experience. The more we encounter clients, the more we start to see the patterns, the behaviours, the likely outcomes, so the greatest skill we can possess is to help clients to understand this in a way that works for them.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
The last 26 years feels like a bit of a blur but stepping into the shoes of Marilyn Stowe as senior partner is right up there. It has been a huge part of my career to have played an active part in the transformation of Stowe Family Law into the UK’s largest family law firm. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some truly great people and their experience and their dynamism is really inspiring. I’ve also had the great fortune to work alongside some of the greatest family law silks of their time where they demanded excellence and I hope a little of their magic stardust rubbed off on me.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
The phrase “leaders eat last” can sound a bit crass, but I’d start firstly with humility and the willingness to serve. Focusing on the things that you do which will serve the business, its colleagues and its customers ultimately drives success. Clarity of thought, an ability to solve problems and maintain an air of confidence and calmness when things may not be going quite as you would want are all vitally important too.
Who do you most admire and why?
In a world where we increasingly see the flaws in our world leaders and how power can corrupt, it’s easier to identify the people you don’t want to be than the people you do. I listened to Barack Obama speak the other day on a podcast, following the recent and scandalous way he had been treated on social media. His dignity in the face of such abuse, his ability to rise above the noise and be able to focus on what change is required and to speak with grace was inspiring.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
My colleagues will highlight how much I like to travel. I had the privilege of travelling to Australia last year ahead of our partnership with Unified Lawyers and had the time to mix work, meeting the great people in that business, with some time to explore Sydney and Melbourne. A great country full of great people and I hope it won’t be the last time I get to visit. Last year was a milestone birthday year for me so I may have gone slightly overboard with travel, but one highlight was the trip to South Africa. Another stunning country with beautiful people and culture.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
Travelling?! It’s hard to say as family law has been my lifelong career, latterly in the business of law. It has given me the opportunity to meet interesting people, hear their stories, learn from them and to also be a part of the amazing story around Stowe Family Law has been a genuine honour and privilege.
How do you relax after a long day?
Family law can be enormously draining. The daily absorption of client stresses is often unseen but we all have a limit. Creating that protection around oneself from these pressures is something I am keen for all our lawyers to develop, but it isn’t easy. So I do value the benefits of downtime. I’m generally not happy unless I have some sort of hobby on the go whether it’s in music, trying a new sport or learning something new. But I’m also a fan of a good boxset (Drops of God series 2) or a good book. I am probably also having a think about the next trip!
Julian Hawkhead’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
Stowe Family Law’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
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