Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Charles Wander of our member firm Fladgate LLP in London, England.  

In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Advising businesses and their management on strategic and governance issues, as well as their day to day concerns.

Who would be your typical client?
I’ve enjoyed 35 years of not having a typical client. My clients have ranged from institutions such as insurance companies, to entrepreneurs setting up new ventures.

What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
That I will work quickly and relentlessly to assist them and to help them achieve their aims.

What has been your most challenging case?
I wouldn’t want to choose one in particular! The challenge is always to achieve what my client wants and needs.

What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
There may be an element of the recency effect, but I am proud to have been chosen to lead the firm where I started my law training 35 years ago.

What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
I read voraciously, fiction and non-fiction, and am a news junkie. A little tennis (it gets worse) and even less golf (ditto).

What would surprise people most about you?
Choose from two: I have a (lapsed) pilot’s licence. Before I started my law studies I worked for a bookmakers (as in horses) and trained as a "settler" (the person who calculates the winnings).

What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
Early days, but the Irish band in Lisbon was pretty memorable.

What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
Probably advertising. I interned at an ad agency one summer, and was tempted.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
James Caan (the hair used to be the same).

How would you like to be remembered?
Fondly.

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Photo of Lindsay Griffiths Lindsay Griffiths

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the…

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the goals of a global professional services network. She manages all major aspects of the Network, including recruitment, member retention, and providing exceptional client service to an international membership base.

In her role as Executive Director, Griffiths manages a mix of international programs, engages a diverse global community, and develops an international membership base. She leads the development and successful implementation of major organizational initiatives, manages interpersonal relationships, and possesses executive presence with audiences of internal and external stakeholders. Griffiths excels at project management, organization, and planning, writes and speaks with influence and authority, and works independently while demonstrating flexibility in thinking, especially in challenging situations. She also adapts to diverse and dynamic environments with constant assessment and recalibration.

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2019

In 2021, the ILN was honored as Global Law Firm Network of the Year by The Lawyer European Awards, and in 2016, 2017, and 2022, they were shortlisted as Global Law Firm Network of the Year. Since 2011, the Network has been listed as a Chambers & Partners Leading Law Firm Network, recently increasing this ranking to be included in the top two percent of law firm networks globally, as well as adding two regional rankings. She was awarded “Thought Leader of the Year” by the Legal Marketing Association’s New York chapter in 2014 for her substantive contributions to the industry and was included in Clio’s list of “34 People in Legal You Should Follow on Twitter.” She was also chosen for the American Bar Association Journal’s inaugural Web 100‘s Best Law Blogs, where judge Ivy Grey said “This blog is outstanding, thoughtful, and useful.” Ms. Griffiths was chosen as a Top Author by JD Supra in their 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards, for the level of engagement and visibility she attained with readers on the topic of marketing & business development. She has been the author of Zen & the Art of Legal Networking since February 2009.