Partner at FP Logue Solicitors

There are not many science graduates practising law in Ireland so it is my wife who must take responsibility for inspiring me to become a solicitor. At some point she grew sick of listening to me complaining about how awful my engineering job was and out of the blue she said that I would make a great lawyer.

She told me to stop complaining and go and do something about it. A teacher by profession, but originally qualified with a law degree, she knew what she was talking about. That was my first big break.

So without further ado, I started studying for the dreaded FE-1s at night. Much to my surprise I took to law and found it inspirational, so much so that I came first in the Constitutional Law exam that year.

My second break came several years later when I was lucky enough to be hired as a trainee with a big five firm. There I got to work on several big ticket projects in intellectual property, competition and commercial litigation. With my technical background and relative maturity I was able to contribute to all matters that were thrown my way.

After qualification we moved to Brussels but I kept my connection to Ireland and set up a management consultancy specialising in Intellectual Property. This helped me build a profile, grow my network and learn how to run a small business.

Sole Practitioner

When we moved back to Ireland in 2014 I felt I was ready to practice as a solicitor. It was a big worry taking on the overhead and risk of opening a legal practice not to mention the hefty insurance bill. I was lucky that my experience as a consultant transferred well as did a reasonable number of clients. Having practised for six months or so it became clear to me that a more substantial operation was needed to offer the type of high quality legal service that technology and brand based clients in Ireland need. That’s when my third big break came.

Partnership

I had known and collaborated with solicitor Niall Rooney for a number of years. He also had a small consultancy business in a related area and he agreed to join his practice with mine. We both felt that his soft IP experience complemented my skills in technology and commercial law. After one year in business we are now moving into offices in Smithfield and planning for the year ahead.

Advice

Being a lawyer is demanding so anyone considering it as a career must be sure that it is something they really enjoy. Second having a non-law background brings many benefits including being able to really identify with your client’s problems. We are lucky as solicitors that we do not need to have a law degree. Prospective solicitors should make the most of that and get a broad education outside of law. The profession and the economy will surely benefit.

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