Last month Pogust Goodhead CEO and Managing Partner Tom Goodhead spoke with The Lawyer about how the values that young lawyers hold are helping us attract the best global talent.
Junior lawyers are value driven
The discussion with The Lawyer comes after The Times reported most junior legal professionals wouldn’t work for a firm that didn’t align with their values – even if they were offered more money.
On our recent $550m deal with Gramercy, Tom said: “We now have the funds to go after the bad guys by hiring a barrister from Blackstone or Brick Court or wherever we can get the best experts. It’s helping us to level up and that’s incredibly exciting.”
“It’s no longer a choice between having money and doing the right thing – that’s what we’re selling at Pogust Goodhead. 80% of our lawyers are climate quitters.” – Tom Goodhead
The Times survey found that even more young lawyers were ‘looking to effect positive change in society’ through their work. Another survey found that 63% of junior lawyers said that ‘ESG initiatives were important when considering a change of employer.’
A career with purpose
At Pogust Goodhead, we represent ordinary people, many of whom were previously denied access to justice, against large and powerful corporations.
Tom told The Lawyer that he is unafraid of calling out large City law firms over their hypocrisy.
“Some of their websites are just hilarious. They’re full of commitments to ESG when they’re advising oil companies to go drilling anywhere in the developing world. There are pictures of shiny, sustainable offices. Yet they’re making millions of pounds out of the misery of my clients by using immoral tactics to delay cases. They shout about doing 50 hours per year on pro bono when they spend the other 2,950 hours representing the likes of Shell.”
The Lawyer comment
“Pogust Goodhead’s $552m war chest could not have come at a better time for the firm. The appetite for environmental justice is there – just look at Extinction Rebellion’s protest against Eversheds Sutherland’s ties with “planet-wrecking” clients earlier this year – and the firm may have at least two big trials going ahead in 2024.” – Jess Boak, The Lawyer Magazine
Read the full interview in The Lawyer.
