The Duncan Cotterill partner believes expression and personal style are important in the profession
Edwin Boshier beautifully describes law as something that “always grapples with the fallibility of language”. The Duncan Cotterill partner was drawn to the profession because of the central role people, language and communication play in it.
In the first half of this interview, Boshier explains why expression and personal style matter in the law, and why there’s no such thing as an objectively “big case”.
I chose a career in law because people, language and communication are so central to it. I think of law as a set of rules for human interactions which tries to be scientific, but which always grapples with the fallibility of language and an inability to capture its subject matter precisely.
Expression and personal style will always have a big role in law, and I like the tension between those things and the need to communicate within the procedural rules and institutional parameters that law imposes. My favourite part of the job is getting on precisely the same page as someone.
On the work front, I’m proud to have realised that there’s no such thing as an objectively “big case” I should be trying to land or that will fulfil me. Any case, no matter the size or the potential outcome, is capable of meaning almost everything to the people involved. That has led me to focus more on inhabiting the client’s mindset and enabled me to re-set my goals in a way that is process driven.
More broadly and more importantly, my proudest achievement has been working really hard to get my work life in harmony with my home and family life, which is the most important thing. My wife and I had our first child in July, and although it’s early days having a happy and healthy wee boy surpasses any professional accomplishment to a point that’s incomparable.
The one thing I think is important above all else and the advice I’d offer is to resolve your priorities and never lose sight of them. Life as a lawyer can get super busy and demand so much of one’s intellectual and emotional energy that without a very clear “why?” as a guide, there’s a risk of losing yourself. Ultimately, I think having clear priorities and values tends to make for a better lawyer, too.
Almost impossible to say. I’ve always been the type to follow my nose and do what I enjoy, on the basis of my belief that often you don’t know what you’ll enjoy until you’ve started doing it. Having said that I imagine something I would like to be doing as an alternative is commentating Test cricket around the world (having recently finished a successful career as a leg-spinning allrounder for the Black Caps). Dreams are free.
