Matthew Hawker
Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A. A lawyer or a police officer.
Q. What didn't you expect at Sparke Helmore?
A. The benefits of a national firm while still being treated as an individual.
Q. How would you describe the firm in one word?
A. Friendly.
Q. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A. Admission to the legal profession, completing my first Olympic distance triathlon and marrying my wife.
Q. Which job would you never do?
A. Midwife (I hear enough stories from my wife who seems to actually enjoy the job).
Q. What talent do you wish you had?
A. Photographic memory.
Q. What exasperates you?
A. A failure to keep commitments and selfishness.
Q. What is your motto?
A. Too many: expect little from others and demand the highest standards of yourself; always try and see the best in people until you have evidence of the contrary; it takes all types of people to make up the world; you don't drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there; and to achieve extraordinary things, you must put in extra than the ordinary effort.
Q. What do you most value in your colleagues?
A. Intelligence coupled with a good sense of humour and a dedicated, composed and supportive approach to work.
