Rising from trainee solicitor to managing partner in 11 years at commercial law firm Muckle LLP (formerly Robert Muckle) Stephen McNicol has achieved more than most could expect from an entire career. James Barton meets the dynamic 37-year-old.James Barton meets the dynamic 37-year-old.
 FOR the managing partner of Muckle LLP (formerly Robert Muckle), one of Newcastle’s most prominent commercial law firms, Stephen McNicol is disarmingly young. What’s even more surprising is that he has been in the top chair for three years. Yet it becomes evident that those who singled him out for professional stardom – senior partners Ian Gilthorpe and Hugh Welch – were shrewd with their succession planning. McNicol says: “It used to be the loudest lawyers with the loudest braces who were appointed as managing partners of law firms. “They may have been large fee earner, but they were not necessarily skilled man managers and perhaps only accepted the role out of duty, not because they really wanted it. Obviously in that situation you are not going to get somebody who performs at their absolute best. “Hopefully, it was clear with me that I had a real desire to affect the strategic direction of the business and an enthusiasm to accept the extra responsibility.” McNicol’s appointment heralded significant cultural change, ushering in a more commercial approach that has accelerated recruitment. The firm has taken on 30 new staff in the last three years and boosted sales by 20% to £9.3m in the last 12 months. The business is moving from New Bridge Street West in Newcastle to larger offices at Time Central on the city’s Gallowgate at the start of next year as it positions itself for further expansion. With such a heady mix of commercial success and youthful enthusiasm, it is refreshing to find McNicol such a likable and modest character. He says: “I am actually a frustrated professional footballer. I went to Newcastle University to read law but would probably have done sport science if I hadn’t taken the advice of my godfather, George Needham, who was partner at a law firm in Buxton. “He said ‘you don’t know what you want to do, so do a law degree which will be useful as a general qualification when you eventually come to decide’.” Considering how things have turned out, that was good advice. From the age of 12, when he lived in Buxton, Derbyshire, McNicol played in a local football team affiliated to Manchester City FC. He kicked a ball alongside the likes of former Welsh international and Newcastle United player Gary Speed and former Manchester City and Bolton defender Paul Warhurst. He says: “As you might expect with such talent they didn’t seem to have to try terribly hard to do the things that the rest of us had to work hard at – things like creating time, exhibiting fantastic control and being extremely competent all round. Having said that, there were others in the side that compared very favourably with them but didn’t make it professionally. “Which goes to show how being in the right place at the right time can impact on how someone progresses in their career. “Being recognised by the right scout and being developed in the right way is key to eventual success at anything.” At this point McNicol neatly applies his football experiences to his recruitment and retention policy at Muckle. “This is why identifying and retaining talent by helping individuals fulfil their potential is key to what we are achieving here,” he says. “It sounds a cliche but it doesn’t make it any less true, that a law firm like Muckle is only ever going to be as good as the people within it. “In order to continue achieving and building on our recent success we have to continue to attract the right calibre of people by developing them and offering progression as we grow. “We have created and are continually creating a culture that allows them to blossom.” The father-of-two is passionate about applying modern business techniques to the law firm and views himself very much as a business manager – as well as lawyer. He emerged from Newcastle University with a 2:2 law degree, which he admits himself would not be enough to get him noticed by his own recruitment policy at Muckle. “I like to think that my personality and drive would get me a position here at Muckle,” he speculates, “but I admit I probably wouldn’t have got to the interview stage with the qualifications achieved from university. “It is a much more competitive world now, even from when I started out. Our graduate applicants all seem to have first class degrees and grade As at everything, as well as Duke of Edinburgh gold awards and the rest.” McNicol’s drive can be traced back to his father, who played flute for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and later developed a national education programme for schools as a freelance “animateur” – a person who studies the skills and insights required of professional artists and investigates how best these could be applied in schools. He introduced children of all ages to classical music, inspiring them to learn a musical instrument. McNicol says: “It was a successful programme which was rolled out across the country which would capture the children’s imagination, linking great pieces of work with interesting topics the children could relate to. “Expert musicians were then sent to the schools to help the children develop their own musical skills. This would culminate in an orchestral event held for all 20 or 30 participating schools with the children actively encouraged to bring their instruments and join in. It was viewed as a great success.” Inevitably McNicol was encouraged to learn an instrument and chose classical guitar. He says: “I was six and it was the first real test of my relationship with my father. I envisaged being a rock guitarist – my father was encouraging but got me a classical guitar teacher. “It is something I regret, but I was always more interested in sport and rebelled slightly.” It is an indication of McNicol’s levels of application that he still achieved a competent grade seven on his chosen instrument. McNicol’s relationship with Newcastle is also surprising for someone born in Walthamstow, London. He recalls: “I first came to the city as a student and had a fantastic time and then thoroughly enjoyed my time working in the city for what was then Robert Muckle. “I then left for London law firm Lovells [one of the UK’s top seven] which I also thoroughly enjoyed.” However he had made many friends in the North-East and was also conducting a long-distance relationship with his then wife-to-be Niki, who is from the region. After a chance meeting with Robert Muckle’s Ian Gilthorpe at a London dinner party in 2000, McNicol was offered the opportunity to launch the banking division at the Newcastle firm. He says: “I enjoyed London but I was delighted to come back to the North-East and my old firm.” McNicol has always found the cut and thrust of the business world compelling and, after completing his training, he found working with insolvency practitioners and business law the most enjoyable. “The work was always more intense and therefore more exciting,” he muses. “Often insolvency practitioners would be appointed on a Friday and we would have to work over the weekend while the business was closed to help establish if there was going to be a company to market or whether it would need to be wound up. All the while, time would be critical to preserve jobs and the life of the business.” McNicol continued with his commercial bias and whilst in London was even seconded to accountant Deloitte for 12 months. “The fact that it was financial, non-legal work gave me a totally different perspective on business pressures generally. “The pressure of working in a close-knit team and putting in 18 hour days to try and turn a bad situation round, it was a real buzz.” Time and again McNicol refers to creating an environment that will help talented people to thrive and applying commercial principles to the operation of the firm. “A law firm like any other business must be run according to certain principles. It seems hard to believe that traditionally law firms were run differently from other commercial enterprises. “It used to be the norm in the legal profession that lawyers were brought in and left after four or five years for pastures new after being worked into the ground. “This is no way to run any business, piling resources into training people who then leave and take their expertise to your competitors. “In order to keep the successful formula working, the firm must continue to expand, because as people develop they need to be able to progress within the organisation. To allow this to happen, new more senior roles must come available.” It is clear McNicol sees one of his key roles as being a hands on man-manger. “People react differently to different techniques. Some people need to be patted on the back, others need a firmer hand. It’s about finding out what motivates people – what makes them tick,” he says. I put it to him that this sounds like sport psychology and that the frustrated footballer is coming out. “Maybe,” he accepts. “It’s possible some of my theories were first formed when I captained football teams. “It is about human behaviour and I think we really have changed the culture here, so it is more open and people feel more free to express their views and, if they are found to be workable, apply them.” If one thing becomes apparent above all else, it’s that McNicol is a people motivator – a talent which has not been lost on the other senior partners who have this month voted for him to continue as managing partner for another three years. McNicol says: “I have only just started to witness changes I have implemented start to bite, our graduate recruitment programme and the firm’s ability to attract senior staff from global organisations are really paying dividends. “It is the next three years I’m really looking forward to, when the changes really take effect.” He is just starting to get into his stride. --------------------------------------------------------- CV Born: September 30, 1969, in Walthamstow, London 1973: Oakhill Primary School 1980: Ilford County High School 1981: Moved to Buxton, Derbyshire 1981: Buxton College 1988-1991: University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1992/3: College of Law, York 1993: Joined Muckle LLP (then Robert Muckle) as a trainee solicitor 1997: Joined Lovells in London 1998/9: Seconded to Deloitte 2000: Returned to Muckle LLP as a partner and head of banking. 2001: Appointed group management partner for commercial group. 2004: Appointed managing partner – three year term 2007: Re-appointed managing partner – three year term. --------------------------------------------------------- The questionnaire What car do you drive? An Audi. What’s your favourite restaurant? Club Gascon, Smithfield Market, London. Who or what makes you laugh? My daughter Freya, three, and son Hugo, one. What’s your favourite book? Depending on the time of day either Room on the Broom written by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler or The Grapes of Ralph by Ralph Steadman. What’s your favourite film? The Great Escape. What was the last album you bought? Undelivered by James Morrison. What’s your ideal job, other than your current one? I love sport, so being a sports journalist. If you had a talking parrot, what’s the first thing you’d teach it to say? Nothing you could print. What’s your greatest fear? Not achieving the right balance between work and family. What’s the best piece of business advice you have ever received? Your business can only be as good as your people. Worst business advice? Don’t worry it will all work itself out. What’s your poison? Red wine and coffee. What newspaper do you read, other than The Journal? The Times and the Hexham Courant. How much was your first pay packet and what was it for? £20 for working from dusk until dawn on a fruit and veg market in Buxton, Derbyshire. How do you keep fit? Boxing circuit training, tennis and running after two children and a dog. What’s your most irritating habit? My wife tells me that it is my inability to accurately assess the time that it will take to get away from the office. What’s your biggest extravagance? Buying wine En Primeur [paying a first installment or ‘cellar door price’ for a sought-after wine while it is still maturing in its cask]. Which historical or fictional character do you most identify with/admire? Bobby Moore – for his talent, his achievements and the respect that he earned through quietly but firmly leading by example. And which four famous people would you most like to dine with? Bill Shankly, JFK, Billy Connolly and Muhammad Ali. How would you like to be remembered? As someone who was a successful businessman, a great husband and father. | 
Have your say on the issues affecting you and your business in the North East >>>
Sign up to our Daily Emails and receive the latest business news and features delivered to your inbox >>>
Subscribe to our RSS nebusiness news feeds >>>
