Lindsay East - 50 Years in Shipping Law
50 years in shipping law On 3 March 2021, Lindsay East completed 50 years at Richards Butler/Reed Smith. This was definitely a landmark and here he looks back over his career and how the practice of shipping law has changed. I came to Richards Butler really by chance, having been at Oxford, where I did a new course in shipping law which was taught by my tutor at Worcester College. I found this interesting, and I therefore applied to all law firms that did shipping law, and paid more than £900 a year! The first firm to say yes was Richards Butler which turned out to be a good place to work, and I got on well. It was a boom time for shipping and, as a result, I was promoted rather rapidly, and became a partner at 28. This is no longer possible, due to the much more complex procedure now for law firms, and indeed other firms generally. When I started, a Grammar school boy with only one suit, bowler hats were still being worn. The partners were all male...