Spotlight on our solicitors – meet Callum Giliker

Get to know about the people behind the legal advice at Harper James in this series of interviews with our solicitors. In this spotlight on our solicitors, Callum Giliker shares his career journey in corporate law, specialising in mergers & acquisitions and investments.

How long have you worked at Harper James?

I joined Harper James in March 2020.

What inspired you to practise law in the first place? Tell us about your legal career so far?

I realised that I wanted to study law because of the effect that words can have on relationships between people. Once I had completed my LPC (legal practise course) I started off as a divorce law paralegal, however, I realised that divorce law wasn’t for me. I had an interest in corporate law early on, as it really is a unique practice area in allowing you to help clients in a wide variety of interesting and fast-moving sectors.

I moved into a corporate paralegal role at Continuum Law, where I secured a training contract and qualified in September 2018.

How does working with Harper James compare with other firms you have worked at?

Other firms I have worked for have had much smaller teams. After joining Harper James, I quickly learned that there are so many different legal experts within a big team. This has made the cross-referral of work so much easier; I have been able to connect clients to other lawyers within the firm (for example in employment and dispute resolution). I think that this brings added value from a clients’ perspective because we offer easy access to legal experts in all key areas of business law.

Define corporate law in a sentence

Helping clients take hold of opportunities in a way that is right for their business”. Being a corporate lawyer is about being able to understand the needs of the clients, assessing their long-term objectives, and making sure that all the stepping stones are in place to reach those objectives.

What’s the best piece of corporate advice you could give a business?

Be proactive rather than reactive as far as is possible to do so, get the right documentation in place from the start.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?

Early on in my corporate law career, I acted for two shareholders selling their homegrown business for circa £7 million to a foreign acquirer. This was the first transaction that I carried out on my own from start to finish. It gave me a great sense of pride and achievement (in myself and my client). It was a great result, and it is always gratifying being able to be there to help inventors pass on the torch – it can be an emotional experience for them, and I’m always glad to be able to help them navigate it.    

What do you do to unwind?

I have a passion for rock climbing and mountaineering. I also enjoy reading – in 2019 I set myself a challenge and tried to read one foreign book each month (I got to 10 books because some were longer than I anticipated!). Most of all, I enjoy horror books and movies.

Tell us a prediction for your practice area in the future

Undoubtedly there will be lots of change because of the impact of COVID-19 but equally, there will be new opportunities (particularly expansion within technology and remote technology solutions). It is difficult to see what things are going to look like but where there is change there is always opportunity. The world has changed and continues to change, and entrepreneurs (and their investors) are becoming interested in new types of technologies that reflect that.