Company Man

This year he’s celebrating a quarter of a century with Essex law firm Ellisons Solicitors, but managing partner Guy Longhurst’s early days as a trainee solicitor were key to establishing firm foundations

- Nicky Adams

Two applicants who turned down a job at Ellisons in the mid1990s are to thank for Guy Longhurst’s successful legal career, that this year hits 25 years.

‘I had applied for about 400 jobs as a trainee solicitor, so I was desperate to get the job with Ellisons,’ explains Guy. ‘It was only after I’d been working here for eight years and was made a partner that I found out there had only been one trainee job going and that two people had been offered it before me, but hadn’t taken it. So, whoever they are, I hope they’ve enjoyed their careers because thanks to them I’ve been very fortunate and have had a wonderful 25 years in the business, so far.’

Guy always knew he wanted to be a lawyer, having watched his father make a success of his own legal practice in Colchester, but he was less keen to follow the traditional route into the profession.

‘I didn’t want to do a straightforward law degree,’ he says. ‘I thought I might study history but ended up studying town and country planning, which probably turned out to be the best thing I ever did because it gave me such a great foundation to build on.’

The ability to adapt has helped Guy to respond to the changes in his role throughout the years.

‘When I started out in the Colchester office of Ellisons, the trainees were very much left to their own devices – training was something that you organised yourself in your own time. What we have now and the career opportunities we offer are so much better.’