Quentin Poole
I'm responsible for leading the business and shaping it around the bigger picture. That means asking questions about the wider world, the global economy and the legal marketplace.
Tel: +44 (0)870 733 0666
Email: quentin_poole@wragge.com
What's happening in our clients' sectors and in their businesses? What are the future trends and how are we adapting to those as a law firm and in serving our clients?
My focus is largely external while Ian Metcalfe, the managing partner, looks after the operational side of the business.
As the leader, I have to be motivational too. A big part of my role is ensuring that the environment here is one that people enjoy and where they can be determined to be the best they can be. I spend a lot of my time talking to our people. It's also up to me to communicate the direction and the strategy and ensure everyone is behind it.
Best Brains in
Believing in the 'single team' and encouraging others to get behind it too. I have complete conviction in our single team message and that the only way to distinguish ourselves from any other law firm is to look after it.
I'm good at spotting the possibilities in a situation and allowing people to get on with it. In fact, I've surrounded myself with people who are excellent in their respective disciplines so I delegate what I can and trust them to get on with it.
Highlight of your career so far?
Deciding to give up accountancy.
What's the toughest part of your job?
Realising that as soon as I became senior partner, the buck stops with me. The decisions I make will impact on the lives of over 1000 plus people and their families.
What about outside the UK?
Ensuring that all of our people think about our other offices all of the time and look for opportunities to build client relationships across office boundaries.
What's your contribution to Wragge & Co's reputation for being a relationship firm?
Every year I lead about 20 client service reviews. That means going out to interview clients, sometimes up to ten people in several different locations, and asking them to feedback on how we've performed in terms of our technical and service excellence. It's a pretty comprehensive process but it informs the work we do and the approach we take. Clients appreciate the fact that the senior partner spends the time doing this and it demonstrates our commitment to that client. One client said to me that he wished his own people were as motivated to deliver success for his company as our people. Comments like that make it all worthwhile.
What's your part in supporting Wragge & Co's drive for innovation?
It's a big part of my role to ensure we create a culture of innovation where everyone – and I mean everyone – feels a responsibility for moving the business forward. We work on the basis that if someone has an idea, they can take it forward and see if it works. It's okay to challenge perceived wisdom here. In fact, we encourage that. Some of the best ideas I've had about how we can improve the business have come from our secretaries – they know the business as well as any partner – and it's my job to keep those channels open and those ideas coming.
What's your contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?
I chair the firm's diversity forum to ensure we deliver on our commitment to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of cultures regardless of gender or ability. It's such a vital issue to the profession, never mind the firm, that if I'm going to devote my time to anything then it has to be this.
What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?
The point is, it's not about me! It's about the firm. Every time I hear a client talk positively about the firm and the work that our people have done for their business – say in a client service review or if they've written to me – it makes me feel very proud. I've just seen an email from a satisfied client praising not just the hard work of the legal team, but also the excellence of our catering operation and reception staff. That's what we mean by the Wragge & Co single team. It's that sort of response which makes me realise we've got it right.
