David Parkin on a legal eagle retiring and life in the fast lane

SO farewell then Andrew Walker who is retiring this month, after 45 years as a lawyer.

Andrew, 70, started his career with Linklaters in London before moving to a Barnsley firm and then provided distinguished service for 31 years as a corporate lawyer and managing partner at Simpson Curtis – now Pinsent Masons – and latterly at Watson Burton and DWF.

An experienced and respected corporate finance lawyer, Andrew is retaining his non-executive directorships with AIM quoted Leeds engineering company TF & JH Braime (Holdings) and Clugston Group, the Scunthorpe-based construction and distribution company.

And despite a roll call of deals behind him, it is something else I remember him for.

A former president of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce. I recall a chamber dinner where Andrew, as one of the past presidents of the distinguished organisation, was seated on the top table on the left of one of the guest speakers for the evening, Bob ‘The Cat’ Bevan.

Now Bob – a former amateur sportsman who had shown a talent as a goalkeeper, hence the nickname – is a hilarious speaker with a voice that sounds like Tommy Cooper and some of the jokes to match.

His party piece when speaking at dinners is to ask to be seated next to a well known member of whichever organisation is hosting the event and to chat to them during the meal, showing great interest in them, their job, their family, where they live, etc,

Then, when Bob gets to his feet, he repeats all this information to the audience at length and in great detail giving the impression that his neighbour has droned on about himself all evening and bored him rigid.

Poor Andrew looked mortified as Bob regaled the audience with minute details of his commute to Pinsents’ offices in Park Row from his home in Collingham, near Wetherby.

Needless to say the rest of us thought it was hilarious. Mainly because Andrew is not like that at all and is a man who is far more interested in others than himself.

I’m sure that whilst he is leaving the law, Andrew will remain an enthusiastic and energetic supporter of business in the region and will always be there with wise words when needed.

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YOU meet some great people and have plenty of wonderful experiences as a business journalist. You’ll never get rich like the entrepreneurs you meet, but the wealth of opportunities and experiences is priceless.

In the last week I’ve met a man who if he travels further than London, always gets a private jet. Another went shooting with Prince William.

And to cap it all, after lunch at Sous le Nez in Leeds I was given a lift by my host in his chauffeur-driven Bentley all of 100 yards around the corner to Restaurant Bar & Grill where I had offered to buy him a drink.

Why was I so impressed by that? Well I normally crawl between the two establishments.

If you are slightly peturbed that I may be getting delusions of grandeur, don’t be.

Life always has a way of pulling you down to earth with a bump.

After receiving a press release about a new MD at a Yorkshire firm, I commented in an email to the PR person who sent it me that the executive had a lovely head of wavy hair.

“I used to have hair like that,” I said.

“That was probably before my time though,” she shot back in reply.

Things haven’t got any better, despite being away skiing for a few days.

I’m currently half way up an Austrian mountain with 30 blokes from Huddersfield.

My Derby County bobble hat hasn’t been warmly received by these rabid Terriers.

Well, I suppose I’m skiing faster than normal.

Have a great weekend.