Career building

In addition to his work for Springfield Properties, Andy Todd is a Journal contributor, author of three books, a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Property Law Reform sub-group and the In-house Lawyers’ Committee (“ILC”), and chaired the conveyancing reform update at the ILC’s conference in March 2016.

Where do you come from and what was the career path to your current position?

I’m from Stornoway in the Western Isles and studied LLB (Hons) at the University of Glasgow, the Diploma in Legal Practice at the Glasgow Graduate School of Law and an MBA at Strathclyde Business School. I worked at McGrigors and Dundas & Wilson and I’m now working for Springfield Properties plc, a builder and housing developer. I have packed in a varied career. I re-qualified in English law, became a professional support lawyer, and, after completing the MBA, worked in business development and PR. I’ve also taught Diploma students at the University of Glasgow on ethics, finance and professionalism, written articles on property law, and co-authored a book on the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. I like new challenges and I like keeping busy – which is good preparation for working in-house.

How is your in-house legal team structured? And what input do you have in business strategy and governance?

We don’t have a legal team; there’s just me. I’ll cover anything required by our chairman and managing director. This means that there are lots of different things I’ll get involved with, as we have a number of businesses. They can include conveyancing, planning, contracts, corporate, financing, litigation, and anything else that’s needed. As the only lawyer, I think working in-house is just like working as a GP. In-house lawyers are on hand to provide businesses with reassurance, help and a comforting word to prevent everyday issues becoming problems that need a specialist to get involved.

What is a typical working day?

No different to anyone else’s, I suspect: 50% planned, 50% reacting. As a new lawyer I always tried to plan my entire day – I like a good list to tick off. However, now that I’m older, I can see how futile that was. Very few lawyers are in control of their day. Clients call, things happen and you suddenly find its five o’clock and you’ve not even started on yesterday’s list, never mind today’s. I now accept that not everything can be planned.

What motivates you on a Monday morning?

Not knowing what the week will bring. Big or small, there’s always something happening – and I never know what it’ll be from week to week. We have projects creating new towns the size of Crieff; we’re always on the lookout for new sites; we have plots selling every week; and, as we run our own factoring company, we also deal with customer questions from older sites. I’d be very bored if I knew on a Monday how the rest of the week would go.

What was the biggest change for you when you moved in-house? And what do you really enjoy about working in-house?

I have a “big firm” background. As a trainee, you rotate though four seats and, once you qualify, you’re locked to one area and you start to know more and more about less and less. I’m not sure that specialisation is good preparation for working in-house (at least for a role like mine). Instead, I enjoy learning a little about a lot and covering many different areas of law. This makes me think that some of the smaller Scottish firms, who focus on a variety of work, could shout louder about how their wider knowledge and skills separate them from the larger firms.

Has your organisation experienced any major change recently?

Springfield started in Elgin and expanded into the central belt in 2011 when it purchased Redrow Homes’ Scottish business. This transformed the company and we now have sites from Aberdeenshire to Ayr. The central belt is expanding rapidly and we’re starting to see Springfield homes in Dundee, Uddingston, West Linton and Milton of Campsie. Our success in the last few years has seen Springfield named the Homes for Scotland Home Builder of the Year 2015, Scottish Homes House Builder of the Year in 2014 for the second year running, and Scottish Chambers of Commerce Scottish Business of the Year 2014.

What is your most unusual/amusing work experience?

Just after starting, I was asked if I could do anything to help a customer who lived next door to a house with 30 birds. I said: “He should buy 30 cats.” I don’t think that was the answer he was looking for...

What makes a good in-house lawyer? And what’s your career advice for young lawyers who want to start an in-house career?

I’d tell young lawyers to speak simply, write plainly and be direct. Answer “Yes” or “No” when asked questions. Explanations are interesting (to you) but rarely to anyone else. While you need to know what you’re doing, your colleagues just want to know if what they’re doing is right and, if not, what they need to change to make it right. It’s the opposite of an exam. People want to see a solution, not your workings.

What do you look for when you seek external legal advice from solicitors or counsel? And how do you see the in-house/external legal relationship changing?

They need to know what they’re doing. But most lawyers do. We buy sites; we sell houses. That’s just conveyancing. The difference is whether they can do the simple things well. Are they fast? Do they translate that work into simple and straightforward advice? Do they push deals forward or wait to be told what to do?

Also, and this is probably more important than it should be (but still a factor), if I recognise their telephone number when the phone rings, do I look forward to speaking to them? Work should be enjoyable and not a chore and I’d much rather deal with people I like.

What are the current hot legal topics in your sector? And how does the future look for in-house lawyers?

If one local authority says “black is black”, another will say “black is white” – and the rest just say “no”. Scotland needs new homes and the Scottish Government’s desire to improve the planning system is fantastic – if it genuinely changes it. I’m less interested in land reform; it seems focused on large estates and rural areas. It doesn’t address the genuine challenge to build more homes for people in places they want to live and at prices they can afford.

As for the future for in-house lawyers, I think there’ll be less distinction between in-house and external lawyers. We’re all lawyers, we all live by the same standards and we all do something different. A legal aid lawyer in Thurso has as much in common with a corporate finance lawyer in London as an in-house lawyer does with an external lawyer. We’re all different – and the in-house and external divide will, to me, become increasingly artificial. Why divide lawyers by where they sit?

Does Scottish legal education and training provide the necessary skills for working in-house in your organisation?

Purely out of self-interest I have to say it doesn’t, but it will! I’ve co-authored a new book to help students become lawyers. We’re just finishing the proof stage and the book will cover everything students, trainees and new lawyers need to know about working for clients (whether external or internal, if working in-house), providing advice, making money and being a professional. It’ll be called Commercial Awareness for Lawyers, and it’ll be published by W Green in August.

How do you think in-house lawyers today are perceived within the legal profession?

We start at nine and go home at five, which isn’t true, at least not for me. I finish at 5.30.

You’re on the ILC: how do you see its current remit developing?

Pass – I only joined at the end of last year, so I’m getting up to speed with how the committee works and how it’s trying to help in-house lawyers. My interest is in legal training, so I hope I’ll be able to help with providing good quality and relevant training for in-house lawyers.

What keeps you busy outside the office?

Now that I’ve finished Commercial Awareness for Lawyers, I’m taking part in Norseman Extreme Triathlon in August. Norseman involves jumping off the back of a ferry into a Norwegian fjord, swimming two and half miles back to shore, cycling 112 miles up five mountains, before running a marathon up another. As I said, I like to keep busy...

What would you take with you to a desert island and what would you put in Room 101?

If a basketball called Wilson can help Tom Hanks survive being castaway on a desert island for five years, then I’ll go with that too. As for Room 101, I’d happily see the back of flying – though not before I’m rescued from that desert island.