The Policyholder Podcast: Presented by Fenchurch Law

S1E8 - Meet The Team: Daniel Robin

• Fenchurch Law • Season 1 • Episode 8

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Meet Dan Robin, the Deputy Managing Partner of Fenchurch Law and leader of the firm’s Financial and Professional Lines Practice Group.

Dan shares his journey from starting out at his father’s professional indemnity firm, through secondments as a broker and claims handler, to joining Fenchurch Law in 2018 and helping establish the Leeds office. Along the way, he reflects on the mentors and turning points that shaped his career, the lessons he wishes he had known as a junior lawyer, and why staying calm under pressure is key.

Dru:

Hello and welcome to a new podcast series hosted by Fenchurch Law. The series aims to introduce every member of our offices in a short and formal podcast. Today, I'm delighted to be joined by Dan Robin, who was part of the London office from 2018 until 2020, when he then moved to Yorkshire to open the Leeds office. Dan is the firm's deputy managing partner and leader of the Financial and Professional Lines Practice Group. Very well welcome, Dan.

Dru:

Thanks for having me Drew. I'm looking forward to it. Great. So before we dive into the pod, let's start with some quickfire questions. Firstly book or audio book?

Dan:

Audio book.

Dru:

Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the smartest Funniest? That's good. It's good for a lawyer who'd rather be amusing and intelligent. Um, would you rather be able to teleport or fly? Teleport, I think I'd be. Flying would be cooler. And if you were to invite me over for a dinner party, what would you cook?

Dan:

gosh, something posh that wouldn't even be my repertoire, I think I was wondering how long that would take.

Dru:

Um. So, dan, it's. It's great to have you on the pod. Obviously we're trying to organize this for a while because the Chinese liaison you're coming down from, from Leeds, I think it's fair to say in in sort of rugby terms, you'd be a bit of a utility back in the sense you have so many job titles here at Fenchurch Law. Do you mind telling us what exactly those job titles are?

Dan:

Sure, so my primary title, if you like, is I am the deputy managing partner of Fentress Law UK. I am also the training principal, I head up the firm's leads office and I am also the head of the financial professional lines practice group. If I add any more, my business card will need to be on A4, so I'll stop there, aren't you head of HR? Well, hr is one of my functions as Deputy Managing Partner. So as Deputy Managing Partner, I'm responsible for HR IT processes.

Dru:

Utility back. Well, as head of HR I have a colleague who keeps on making post jokes, so if we could discuss that at some point, that would be great. I'll get lost in the bin, probably. So let's talk a little bit about how you got to, uh, being mr utility back and the managing partner, and sort of talk a bit about your career. Where did you go to uni and what did you study?

Dan:

yeah, I had a slightly non-linear uh to put it diplomatically educational career. So originally actually, I went to uni, um at Northeastern in Boston when I was 18, but um, probably too much, too soon and I dropped. I dropped out after a few months. I then went to uh, what's now called, I think, leeds Beckett, in in Leeds and I studied law, and where did you work before joining Fenchurch? I was fortunate to benefit from a bit of nepotism, so my dad had a specialist professional indemnity defense firm shout out Michael Robin yeah, also of this parish, who um called robin simon and I earned a training contract there.

Dan:

I say earned because we had an agreement that I had to get a distinction on the lpc in order to get a training contract, so negated the nepotism a bit. So I trained, I trained there and I worked there, um, and then it was at that time I also did a secondment as an insurance claims handler and um a broker as well, and then his firm was subsequently bought by dw, dwf. I was at dwf for a couple of years, but being a bigger firm just wasn't for me, uh, and I joined fen church in 2018 thanks, I didn't know about the the broking parts, what.

Dru:

What did you? Did you sort of work in house doing claims?

Dan:

yeah, so I went on a secondment I can't remember how long it's for maybe eight or ten months, to a specialist professional indemnity broker called prime professions who subsequently got purchased by willis and I was in their claims team and, yeah, super interesting, I learned a ton. So it's great to see things from that perspective. And then I did a secondment for on and off for about a year as a claims handler for a called a tpa. So you act for like a number of different insurers where they outsource it and again, really useful to sort of I've seen sort of full circle with different insurance perspectives.

Dru:

Really yeah, no, I, I think we're we're pretty good at fenchurch that's sending associates out on so common and I think I mean I I did a wording so common at gallagher and I learned a lot. But I know our colleague cats just spent quite a long time at aeon, uh, and I've been speaking to her about it and she says it's it's very different but it's invaluable that's great.

Dan:

Yeah, you definitely.

Dru:

You learn so much about insurance exactly I think it's not just about building sort of a network, it's not about the BD side. It's actually really useful to look at claims in that more sort of high volume, high speed, turnaround sort of way. So was there a turning point or mentor that had a major influence on your journey?

Dan:

Yeah, it's a bit cheesy to say, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say, well, firstly my dad, because he well, firstly gave me my start and he, having been an insurer for over 40 years, I've obviously followed in his, in his footsteps. Turning point, my wife would say, when I met her, probably because that's when my I'd say, my, my approach to work and my work ethic probably took a bit of an uptick, really because she was so dedicated to her profession as a teacher. So definitely that was probably the point in my life, I guess, where the penny dropped and I sort of my academic achievements and went on to be a lot better from there. Really. So, yeah, no, I mean certainly my dad, and then I've been lucky. Again, sounds a bit cheesy, but the partners I work with here I've learned a ton from.

Dru:

Yeah, you try and pick up different things from different people really yeah, I think it's quite sweet that you've been inspired by your wife as well. Um, she might be listening. Obviously you've been. You've been practicing now for for a while. Um, although you're obviously very you're very youthful to be a deputy managing partner, dan, we won't take that away from you, not the hairline, but no yeah no comment. Um, was there. So was there something you wish you knew earlier in your legal career that you know now?

Dan:

oh, that's a good question really, um, I'd say, yeah, I think don't sweat the small stuff in the sense of it's.

Dan:

It's really hard, when you're a junior in particular, to get a balance between you know, realizing that the things that we do are really, really important and we want to get everything and do the best possible outcome for our client, but also, like, if you sort of like if you make decisions in the fear of making a mistake or getting something wrong, or worrying you know, if I don't do everything instantly, my clients, you know not going to trust me anymore.

Dan:

I think you're naturally like you just it's prohibitive and it's it's got a sort of a shelf life of working that way, and I guess I was quite lucky because I trained at a firm where we did a lot of defending solicitors who are negligent. You can use one or two ways really. It can either make you really fearful, it can take the fear out of you a bit and I think probably took the fear out of me a bit really. So, yeah, I think so. Just always try and stay calm like. You'll get the job done, you'll do it to the best of your ability and, although it's a high pressured job, try to not feel that pressure as much.

Dru:

Yeah no, I think that's really good advice. I think we've sort of we've spoken about that as well, and I think you said that again not to pick up your old man too much, but he, you said that he was always very sort of unflappable in about work or in a work context, like he didn't sort of. And I would also say this of you like I've obviously worked with you quite a lot and when I think something's going not wrong or when I get stressed about something, you always have the ability to give a sort of take a breath and say no, it's not the end of the world, that's fixable, it's solvable, it's not, it's not a big deal. So no, I I would, I would agree with you.

Dan:

It's something I'm probably trying to learn off you a bit yeah, it's one of those things as well, though, that it's easier to do with experience, because you've sort of been, you've been through it and you have more confidence in your, in your ability as as well ready and it's it's the balance, like I said, because it's not about being nonchalant or not caring. You can really care, but just in a positive. Make sure it's channeled in a positive way.

Dru:

I guess and dan, I want to ask you about neurodiversity, because we've obviously um done an interview before discussing your neurodiversity and you're very much an advocate for neurodiversity in law, so perhaps you could speak a bit about that and offer any advice for neurodiverse people trying to get into law yeah, sure, so we've spoken before that I have dyspraxia and it affects things like coordination and organization, and so, again, that's something I've learned throughout my career and there's a lot more understanding now of dyspraxia and neurodiversity generally.

Dan:

But I've had to work on on being organized. Definitely I couldn't perform all and there's a lot more understanding now of dyspraxia and neurodiversity generally, but I've had to work on on being organized. Definitely I couldn't perform all the different functions I do now unless I'd I'd done so. And yeah, I'd like to think that seeing people like me uh, you know sort of ascend through the ranks is a good example that it doesn't have to be prohibitive and you can work with it and even turn it into a strength, because, naturally, if you've got something that you work hard, have to work harder at you, you perhaps become better at it than someone who, who naturally, naturally does it. You don't sort of take it, take it for granted yeah, no, I.

Dru:

That's very well said and sort of reaching to come. Well, coming towards the end of our podcast. But if you weren't, in law, aside from being a Spurs podcaster, what career do you think you'd have pursued?

Dan:

God, being a Spurs podcaster would be pretty depressing most of the time. I wouldn't ever be able to switch off from it. I would have I used to. When I was younger, I used to want to uh, be the person who was like creative for adverts, for, like commercials that's so specific uh, yeah, I don't know, it's really random really, but I used to want to like create, create adverts, and be a bit more creative.

Dan:

I'm not so much creative person really, so maybe that or uh, did you say in law or or this type of law no, no.

Dru:

If you weren't in law, if you weren't, it was in the legal industry yeah, maybe something, maybe something like that.

Dan:

It's hard really.

Dru:

I quite like arguing and picking out people's arguments really you're like the easiest person to get on with.

Dan:

You're not particularly argumentative you just not caught me on a bad day, maybe I don't know. No, no argumentative, but you know, and maybe analytical. So I've definitely realized that as as it's gone on, another wife gets really frustrated that sometimes you just look at things too much like a lawyer and I think you've either got a really analytical brain where you sort of break things down, or not really.

Dru:

But yeah, maybe something creative I can dan, thanks very much, um, and thanks so much for coming on um, notwithstanding the fact that just before we came on air, you told me that, and for the benefit of the listeners, I'm wearing what I think is quite a nice linen shirt, but Dan told me that it looks like I've come straight from Made in Chelsea.

Dan:

So, aside from that, yeah, but I'm made in Essex.

Dru:

Anyway, Dan, I've really enjoyed this. Thanks so much for your time and thanks for a candid interview.

Dan:

Thank you.

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Dru Corfield

Host