Company Man
Essex Life|October 2020
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
Company Man

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.’

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Essex Life.

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This story is from the October 2020 edition of Essex Life.

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