We speak to Sintons’ recently elected managing partner

Mark, you were elected managing partner in February; how have the past few months been?
Busy but in a good way! I get a great deal of support from our management committee, which has been crucial in enabling me to progress several key initiatives, including an overhaul of our benefits package, which we now regard as being very attractive..

What have been the most challenging and enjoyable aspects of your new role?
As Macmillan may have said: ‘Events, dear boy, events’. The biggest challenge is getting the balance right between working on longer term strategic plans and dealing with the minutiae of daily practice.

How tough have you found it juggling your managing partner & fee earning duties?
I am in the privileged position of being allowed to focus more or less full time on managing the firm.

What’s your leadership style and how does it differ from your predecessor?
Perhaps a question to ask of others! Wherever possible, I want to bring people with me so I try to listen and understand before resolving on a course of action. As the role of managing partner is new to the firm, I am perhaps fortunate in having nobody to compare myself with.

What’s your five-year vision for Sintons?
Our vision speaks of achieving excellence in everything that we do and in how we do it. It’s about maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and taking pride in the work we do. We have an ambitious growth strategy over the next five years which will only be achieved by retaining and recruiting the best legal talent.

Did you always want to be a lawyer?
Not at all. Like many North East lads, I was convinced I was going to be a footballer until brutal reality intruded during my early teens. Various other (equally fanciful) career paths appealed thereafter. I was in my mid-twenties by the time I decided that being a lawyer was as good a way as any to effect positive change.

What drives you personally?
I have a restless mind. I relish the opportunity to share and shape ideas and to work with colleagues on implementing them in order to make the firm as good as it can be. Then another idea comes along and off I go again…

Who or what has been your biggest career inspiration?
I am full of admiration for those, from all walks of life, who are able to nourish and grow something which endures long after they have moved on. I think that all of my partners share my view that we are custodians of the firm and our aim is to pass it on in good shape ready for the next generation.

What’s been the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?
Make yourself indispensable.

What are your passions outside of work?
I studied English Literature at University and remain an avid reader. I have also been fortunate enough to trek through some of the world’s most wondrous landscapes and find that I do my best thinking whilst walking. Let’s not mention Newcastle United.

www.sintons.co.uk