Youle tidings bring hope to trainee outsiders

Joanna Clarke, a corporate finance associate at Wragge & Co, has emailed in to say how inspiring she found the Dealmaker article in the latest issue of Legal Week.

Under the Dealmaker microscope was newly made-up Linklaters private equity partner Richard Youle (see story). Youle’s sense of humour was first revealed to Legal Week readers when he was ranked by Mergermarket as one of the UK’s hardest-working associates. “It is particularly reassuring to see how hard I have been working and a big boost given my impending divorce," he quipped (see story).

Evidently some colleagues took his remark at face value. Still, his advice to young deal lawyers - “every two weeks, check with your partner that he/she is happy” – reveals that he does recognise the strains this line of work can put on personal relationships.

But perhaps of most interest to those starting out on their legal careers will be the fact that he began his legal life as a trainee at Hull firm Stamp Jackson & Proctor. A recurring theme among student-readers of our Career Clinic is how quickly their legal career options narrow when they do not quite conform to the accepted norm – whether it is because of poor A-level results or disappointing second-year degree results.

Youle’s career path suggests that all is not quite lost if you do not get that coveted training contract at a magic circle firm.

john.malpas@legalweek.com