Fiona Hinds is a partner in the Commercial Dispute Resolution team at Howard Kennedy specialising in civil fraud and sport.
What attracted you to becoming a commercial litigator and how did you develop your areas of specialism?
I initially thought I would be a corporate lawyer working on mergers and acquisitions, but I quickly discovered that litigation has a really engaging mix of legal analysis, problem solving and strategy. Although I started out litigating complex structured products in the City and didn't fall in love with swaps. I moved here to join the civil fraud team over 10 years ago. I've always loved sport, but the fraud work came first and I am really lucky to be able to combine them. My focus now is on technically difficult, urgent claims where our clients are often facing business-critical issues. What you advise in those circumstances can have a huge impact on the final outcome, so when things come together for the client it is hugely rewarding.
What's been your proudest professional moment?
There have been lots of career highs – from leading a team interviewing witnesses in Japan at 3 days' notice to resolving claims against the then world number 1 showjumper accused of siphoning out secret commissions on horse sales. But a few years ago we issued a number of urgent applications to stop a bank pulling our client's banking services without notice. The entire business would have collapsed without our work. The team obtained 15 court orders in about a month and ended up changing the way anti-money laundering legislation works here.
How about your proudest achievement outside of work?
Ha! I am probably a huge cliché, but our small children make me feel proud every time I look at them. They are 1 and 3, which means there is a massive fight or a health and safety incident taking place at knee-height most of the time. But almost everything they do is funny.
You've recently returned from maternity leave, what were you most looking forward to about being back?
Talking to adults!
Tell us about an amusing experience you've had arising out of one of your cases.
Hmm. Any anecdote where the punch line is "And of course, it was an injunction!!!" probably isn't that amusing. Early on in my career, I was seconded to Shanghai for a time and really tried hard to learn Mandarin. The language is tonal, so the way you say the word completely changes its meaning. Just before I left the team gently informed me that instead of asking "excuse me, please could you help?" I'd been saying "excuse me. Please kiss". I was mortified.
If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what do you think you'd be doing now?
Training horses. Although it would mostly involve training people to work more effectively with horses.
When you're not working, how do you like to spend your time?
My time is a fairly fluid concept at the moment. We live near Epping Forest, so on my best days, I love to ride our horses there. It's been carefully managed for 500 years, and in some areas there are stands of trees that were last lopped in the 1880s. You get a tangible sense of the passage of time riding through those trees.
Quick fire round:
- What are you currently listening to? Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
- What's your favourite film of all time? Back to the Future
- What's your top London restaurant recommendation? I love the original, very small Hawksmoor in Spitalfields
- Favourite sport? Eventing – I am completely in awe of the horse & rider partnership.
- Most used emoji? Definitely the eye roll
- Do you have a party trick? I can herd two toddlers and a cat down a main road in relative safety. Does that count as a party trick?
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