Years ago, in a world that now feels almost alien, when telex machines were still in use, fax machines were just emerging, and personal computers, smartphones, and satellite navigation were the stuff of MI5 and MI6, I began my Articles of Clerkship at a prominent Shipping Practice on Castle Street, Liverpool.
At that time, securing a training contract was considerably easier than it is now. The advice was ‘dress smartly, put a raincoat over your arm and look the part’.
Concurrently, ‘Big Bang’ created numerous opportunities and led to a migration of talent to London which might have helped – who knows? However, I remained in the North West and married a local Crosby girl, whom I had become engaged to during the time we were apparently studying hard at the College of Law in Chester.
Over the next nine years, I advanced to the position of junior partner at a notable Commercial practice in Chester. Subsequently, I co-founded a practice with Brian Wake, named the ‘Wake Dyne Practice,’ focusing primarily on minerals and waste-related landlord and tenant work, as well as road transport-related legal matters.
We operated out of Worley Court, Tattenhall, and were later joined by Jonathan Lawton, a specialist Transport Lawyer, thus forming Wake Dyne Lawton. Our team expanded to include two experienced Planning Solicitors, and the practice evolved accordingly. We established a specialist renewables team handling the land law side of land and marine-based wind farm installations.
In 2005, I founded my own practice, Dyne Solicitors, which relocated in late 2008 to our current premises, ‘The White House,’ coinciding with President Obama’s imminent arrival at the other White House (a point where all similarities end).
Currently, the practice is in an optimal financial condition. Reflecting on the period since 2005, the practice was a work-in-progress, enduring considerable growing pains while struggling to establish its identity and presence within the legal marketplace. It didn’t feel like that at the time. Starting a business from scratch was incredibly exciting and great fun (sometimes more difficult than ‘fun’ would imply)!
I was running a business the success or failure of which was entirely in my hands (and in the hands of my other work colleagues). I pay due credit to family members who worked with the practice and stood by me through thick and thin and staff in general who all contributed to the overall success.
You all know who you are so I will spare your blushes.
I have remained in contact with many of our former colleagues. either directly or through social media. I observe with a degree of satisfaction that all of our trainees, most of whom stayed on for a while post qualification, have gone on to accomplish great things in their careers. One of our former trainees has in fact stayed the course, ended up as head of department and is now recognised as a leading expert in his field of Transport Law.
Initially conceived as an Environmental and Transport practice, covering both regulatory work and specialist transactional work associated with renewal projects (e.g., wind farms), we developed a litigation department over time. This department has significantly progressed since Alex Sandland rejoined the practice in May 2023. An equal owner, Alex’s infusion of energy and enthusiasm has markedly transformed the practice and given it a new lease of life. That is important to me because a business cannot stand still it must either go forwards or backwards. The morale of the workforce is also incredibly important and Alex has been particularly good at engendering a spirit of bonhomie.
I feel that everything has miraculously come together. We have achieved the sweet spot and the challenge will be to maintain that going forwards.
We seem, at long last to have successfully integrated the niche environmental and transport services with commercial litigation and done so to great effect.