Legal Matters Q&A: Martin Thompson, Partner Armitage Sykes, Huddersfield

This has to be the Legal Services Act 2007. The traditional high street law firm’s days are well and truly numbered.

The weak and badly managed firms are unlikely to survive the challenge.

The major development is the increased level of competition which the act will bring.

What law would you like to see changed?

This has to be the repeal of Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 whereby empty rates become liable at 100 per cent for properties left vacant for longer than three months – six months for industrial properties – unless the property’s rateable value is less than £18,000.

Continuation of this tax will lead to many more senseless demolitions of proper- ties.

What is the most exciting work you have ever done?

Leaving aside assisting in the defence of a local high profile murder trial while a trainee, and which was more chilling than exciting, the most rewarding work I get involved in is in seeing through a development transaction from site acquisition right through to the sale or letting of the final unit on disposal.

Who in the legal world do you most admire?

Professor Stephen Mayson, Director of the Legal Services Policy Institute at the College of Law.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the profession?

Be clear what it is you want out of a career in the legal services industry, and whether you intend to have a stakeholder interest or an employee interest.

If you want primarily to practice law, then steer clear of those disciplines which are becoming more and more commoditised unless you have a keen business acumen and an eye for innovation and systems.