There is something faintly reassuring about a lawyer with the humility to admit that he was once “a rubbish corporate lawyer.”
Martin, now a partner advising on financial services regulatory, payments and crypto, arrived at law less by divine calling than by a pragmatic assessment of London rents and the unappealing salaries in journalism.
One suspects many City careers begin in much the same way.
A career built on curiosity (and a bit of realism)
Martin’s route into the law is instructive for younger lawyers inclined to believe their destiny hinges on getting everything right first time. It doesn’t.
He read Russian at university, flirted with diplomacy and journalism and only then landed in law. The important point is what followed: curiosity, luck and a willingness to pivot when something clearly wasn’t working.
Corporate finance, for instance, did not set his pulse racing. Regulatory work—“the slightly more nerdy stuff,” as he puts it—did.
There is a useful lesson here. Too many junior lawyers fret about choosing the “right” seat or practice area as if a single misstep will condemn them to professional purgatory. In reality, as Martin notes, you don’t truly understand a practice until you’ve done it.
Discovering what you dislike is just as valuable as discovering what you do.
Timing matters more than you think
Martin’s specialism—FS Reg with a focus on payments, fintech and crypto—was shaped as much by timing as by design.
He entered the profession in the aftermath of the financial crisis when regulation was not merely fashionable but unavoidable. It's a reminder that careers are often less about grand strategy and more about being alert to the moment you happen to inhabit.
He's worked across Silver Circle, Magic Circle and US firms and speaks with refreshing candour about the differences. The old hierarchies are increasingly blurred. American firms have muscled in, scale has shifted and the neat categories beloved by legal journalists now look rather dated.
For those obsessing over firm labels this is worth noting: the market evolves faster than your assumptions.
What clients actually care about
More enduring than firm prestige is the importance of mentors. Martin credits much of his development to senior lawyers who shaped not just his technical ability but how he thinks, communicates and advises.
The most important lesson is deceptively simple: clients do not want a lecture on the law—they want to know what to do next.
It sounds obvious. It's not.
Lawyers are trained to qualify and caveat. The result is often advice so carefully balanced it answers every question except the one the client asked. Martin’s preferred drafting benchmark—“the cat sat on the mat”—is not anti-intellectual. It's pro-clarity.
Complexity should be distilled not displayed.
The fintech difference
This becomes even more important in Martin’s current world within fintech and crypto.
His clients are often fast-moving businesses staffed by highly technical people who are not especially interested in legal theory. They want practical answers that they can act on immediately. Tell them something on Monday and it may be implemented by Tuesday.
That pace is both energising and unforgiving.
Unlike large banks where decisions can take months, fintech clients move quickly and expect their advisers to keep up. The lawyer who can translate regulation into clear commercial advice will thrive. The one who cannot will quietly fall out of favour.
Life as a partner: less glamour more reality
On becoming a partner Martin is disarmingly honest. It's “very up and down.”
One day you feel brilliant. The next you wonder where the work is coming from.
The legal work itself does not change dramatically. What changes is everything else: business development, pricing, people management and the uncomfortable reality that the final answer now rests with you.
That psychological shift—being the person in the room that people look to for decisions—takes some getting used to.
Practical advice for junior lawyers
Martin’s advice is straightforward:
Build your network early: Don’t wait until partnership. Your peers today are your clients tomorrow. Be curious not just clever: Technical knowledge comes with time. Understanding how things actually work matters more. Learn from experience: Spend time with people who have done the job for years. There are no shortcuts but there are plenty of lessons to borrow. Listen properly: Not just waiting for your turn to speak—actually listening to clients. Give an answer: Clients aren't paying for a summary of the law. They're paying for an answer.
The underrated skill: saying “I don’t know”
Perhaps the most valuable insight is Martin’s view on uncertainty.
Lawyers are reluctant to admit they don’t know something. It feels like undermining your value. In reality the opposite is true.
Saying “I don’t know—but I’ll find out” builds trust. Projecting certainty where none exists destroys it.
Clients can tell the difference.
And what about AI?
Like most lawyers Martin is pragmatic about AI.
It's useful. It's improving. But it's not replacing advisory lawyers any time soon. The kind of work he does—navigating grey areas, applying judgement and giving commercial advice—is not easily reduced to pattern recognition.
More likely it will augment rather than replace.
Which in legal terms is about as close to a definitive answer as one ever gets.
Final thought
Strip away the titles the firm names and the technical jargon and Martin’s career offers a simple blueprint:
Be curious and keep learning from the people around you (in the office).
It's not glamorous advice. But then neither is most of the law—and that is precisely why it works.