The Big Interview
Patrick relishing his new challenge Patrick Gilmour is the newest member of Anthony Gold Solicitors, joining the team as Head of Corporate and Commercial. He talks to Sarah Dale about why he became a lawyer and his plans for his new role.
When Patrick Gilmour’s German teacher suggested he become a lawyer when he successfully argued that a question on a test his teacher had set the class was ambiguous and should not have been marked wrong, it was his lightbulb moment. At 15, he knew what he wanted to do and started researching how to become a lawyer. Now a successful commercially driven corporate lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience, it is not surprising that Anthony Gold Solicitors snapped him up. Patrick joined the law firm as the new Head of Corporate and Commercial on October 1st and is excited to be leading the new department, which he plans to grow over the next few years. His expertise is private company acquisition, disposal and corporate restructuring. “I’m a big fan of [English-born American author and inspirational speaker] Simon Sinek and his theory of people buying into the idea of not what you do but why you do it,” said Patrick, who recently celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary and has four children, two dogs, three cats and 20 chickens. He was born and raised in Nottingham and was the first in his family to graduate from university. He grew up loving the stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur and, when
asked why he became a lawyer, he refers to these tales as a way of explanation. “Both are about ‘might’ being for ‘right’, rather than ‘might’ deciding who was ‘right’,” he explained. “In my teens, I saw Charlton Heston in A Man for all Seasons where he makes his famous speech defending the rule of law and that has always stayed with me.” Patrick’s role is helping businesses from startup to sale with any corporate and commercial issues. These include setting up the company, drafting agreements between partners, investment, terms and conditions, bespoke contracts, any regulatory issues such as data protection, for example, software contracts, shares, and investment. His primary passion as a lawyer lies in the buying and selling of companies and providing all the legal advice to clients they need for both. “Anthony Gold has work that needs doing that fits my skillset,” he added. “The thing that attracted me to Anthony Gold was one of the senior partners was a trainee at one of my old firms who I remembered warmly, and it turned out that David Marshall, the Managing Partner, when we were talking in the interview, he knew my wife. Everyone here is really lovely.”
Now a successful commercially driven corporate lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience, it is not surprising that Anthony Gold Solicitors snapped him up. 12 Southwark BUSINESS TODAY
