Interview with David Milner, an in-house litigation lawyer

In this article, Diya Gupta interviews David Milner, a well-established in-house lawyer at one of the UK’s leading Financial Services providers, Legal & General. David provides an insight into his journey from being a trainee at Ashurst to his position now, shedding light on some of his key learnings so far.

1) Hi David, please could you introduce yourself and explain where you’re currently at in your legal career.
I am currently approaching 12 years PQE.

I am a Senior Legal Counsel (Litigation) for Legal & General, and delighted to be there. I was previously in-house at Ernst & Young UK.

2) Why did you decide to pursue a career in law, having studied English Literature? And how did you eventually secure a training contract?My first step on the path started with working as a clerk to the Employment Tribunals in Nottingham as a gap year job – that was its own civil litigation microcosm. It gave me up close experience of case work, dealing with advocates, the clients/parties, and employment tribunal judges; and having a good reference from a tribunal judge almost certainly helped my training contract application.

3) What was your most enjoyable, and or testing, experience as a trainee?
A memorable highlight was being sent to a market town in Essex, which happened to be Dick Turpin’s home town, to ascertain if a suspected fraudulent banker was selling the house they’d acquired with misappropriated funds… Which it turned out they were!

4) Having spent a significant amount of time at highly-reputed corporate firms (such as Clyde &Co LLP), what triggered your move in-house?
It’s a case of horses for courses. Success in private practice equates to making partnership, which tends to require the acute specialisation of one’s practice – whereas I still enjoy the varied diet and dynamics of in-house life.

5) Is there anything in particular that you miss about private practice?
It’s always a shame to leave behind former colleagues and friends.

6) In your opinion, what is the most challenging and or rewarding part of working in-house?
The range of legal and technical subject matters which cross one’s desk as an in-house lawyer is vastly broader – you have to be comfortable making decisions even sometimes without perfect information. By the same token, I have learned a huge amount since I have worked at a senior level inside two blue chip UK businesses.

7) What methods have you found most effective in developing your knowledge to advise businesses in contrasting industries (i.e. accounting/audit firms, insurers, as well as corporations in private practice)?
I find the most effective way to learn about a business, whatever the industry, is by speaking to colleagues. They are the experts in their field. In my experience, people nearly always enjoy talking about what fills their working day.

8) The financial sector is heavily regulated and this is especially true for insurance providers – does regulatory compliance constitute a large proportion of your role?
I am in a litigation role rather than a regulatory role but regulatory obligations permeate everything we do, so it’s essential to keep them in mind at all times.

9) With regards to day-to-day responsibilities, do your tasks lend themselves to a more collaborative or independent working style; and which do you prefer?
Being an in-house lawyer is all about collaboration, whether it’s with colleagues in the legal department, the wider business or external law firms.

10) Given the demands of the legal industry, what would you say has been key in sustaining and pacing yourself?
This is a really important topic. I have thankfully never experienced ‘burn out’, but it happens more often than people starting out in their career may appreciate. The key thing is ensuring you allow yourself the basics of enough food, water and sleep – as well as quality time with friends and family. Having said that, sometimes small children pose the bigger challenge to well-being!

11) On reflection, would you do anything differently in the first few years of your legal career?
If you don’t plan to be a partner then I would endorse moving on from private practice after the first 3-5 years PQE tops. Good in-house jobs are highly sought after and waiting too long can harm your chances, and could even set you back when you finally get there.