Reaching 50 not out

This year was my firm's 50th anniversary. Always a little difficult to establish precisely when a firm comes in to existence, especially when those celebrating the anniversary were probably not present at the birth of the practice. Nevertheless, the certificate under the Registration of Business Names Act, dated 22 December 1958, fortunately kept in the firm's archive, seems to indicate that we are officially 50 years old. As does the hardback ledger filled in miraculously by fountain pen indicating the very first transactions on client account.

This rather delightful volume records the fact that our advice was often given for the sum of £1, that letters were sent for three guineas and more significant matters dealt with for £10 or £20. Back in 1960 the fee for filing a divorce was £3, and one of the more common bills that seems to be rendered for professional advice was in the sum of £2, 17 shillings and sixpence. How times change! The problem I have had this year is trying to find an appropriate way to celebrate our illustrious 50 years of being in practice.

Oldies not goldies?

Obviously our first thought was some form of party or celebration inviting back all the trainees, solicitors, secretaries and clerks that we could track down. However, did we really want to meet up again with everyone who had been through our doors, or deep down were we not just a little bit pleased that some of these people had in fact left when they did! Having a party with former solicitors who have jumped ship before they were pushed is not exactly my idea of a good time.

Besides, tracking down the various people who have been employed over the past 50 years would probably be a gargantuan exercise as by my calculations this would probably involve finding some 300 or 400 people.

Celebrating an important anniversary is to my mind best dealt with by celebrating with the existing staff '“ these are our most important asset; it is they that are with us and it is for that reason I decided to have events throughout the year for the staff. Accordingly, no party.

Instead we kicked off the year's celebrations with an evening of Italian cookery at a restaurant where we were all taught the pleasures of making pasta, roasting potatoes and stuffing pork loins. The evening started with an excellent wine tasting and certainly got everybody in the mood for cooking. While the evening was not without incident (one of the staff set off the fire alarm and this involved us all being rescued by the Fire Brigade), we all certainly left the event happier, merrier and with a much more sophisticated idea as to how to cook Italian food well.

Such events are good for the firm. It involves the senior partner peeling the potatoes and mucking in with the rest of the staff, which is not a bad thing. There was a purpose to the evening, and everybody agreed that a good time had been had by all.

Our second event was an evening at Kempton Park Races. This is something we had done a few years ago, but this time we 'upgraded', booking very comfortable seats in the grandstand and a rather lavish five-course meal. Race cards were provided and staff came around to take our bets. It was a magnificent sunny evening and we all had a very clear view of the finish line. We gave all our staff a sum of money to bet with, so that nobody would lose any money, but surprise, surprise, very few people came away as winners! A good few stayed behind to attend the after-race disco at the ground and again an extremely enjoyable time was had by staff and partners alike.

Whodunnit?

Our third event is at the end of the year and has not yet taken place. This will be a murder mystery evening at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel in Baker Street. We are to have a dinner accompanied by actors and actresses who re-enact some kind of murder, while we have to guess who is to blame. It all sounds good fun (and I suppose a little bit relevant as we are all lawyers). Will we guess the villain? Who knows '“ but again I suspect it will be an entertaining evening.

Thus, at the end of the year I feel we will have celebrated what will have been an important landmark in the history of Oliver Fisher. Our existing staff will have benefitted from the celebrations, and the large sums of money involved in setting up these events will not have been invested in some irrelevant party.

Times have changed over the past 50 years. I no longer give advice for £1. Court fees are a little bit more than they used to be. We live in very strange times and I suppose I wonder what will we be doing in another 50 years' time. Will there be private practice? Will there be publicly funded work? Will conveyancing have disappeared completely? These are all important questions, but fortunately it will not be me, or indeed my dog, who will have to provide the answers. In 50 years' time I will be in that rather more final court room in the sky!