Alex Bishop
Alex Bishop is a Partner, National Head of Dispute Resolution & Litigation and Co-Head of the Birmingham office of Shoosmiths LLP.
Alex and her team help businesses mitigate risks, enhance their reputations and maximise assets.
1. Tell us a little bit about your business…
Shoosmiths is a law firm clients choose for excellent service, incisive thinking and above all for our ability to focus on what matters. Our clients include some of the world’s most exciting and ambitious businesses; amazing clients making an impact. We empower our people to be their authentic selves and to deliver together in supportive teams committed to excellence and innovation.
2. How did you get into the industry?
I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since the age of 3 – no one knows where that came from as I was the first in my family to go to university. As law was always my destination, I took the very linear route of studying law at university, followed by law school and then was lucky enough to secure a training contract, ultimately qualifying as a solicitor. Terrifying to think that was nearly 30 years ago!
3. What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
Advancements in AI represent a huge opportunity for the legal industry and for client service delivery but this brings with it challenges in harnessing that power ethically and responsibly – it is the new wild west!
4. How would you describe your leadership style?
Firm, fair, fun but most importantly, authentic.
5. How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
Trusting them to do a great job and then getting out of their way.
6. What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
Everybody being clear on our vision, communicating and collaborating with each other to achieve that vision and always delivering an excellent service for our clients.
7. How has the past 12 months been for you?
A whirlwind! We moved into our new home in Birmingham a little under a year ago just after winning Law Firm of the Year at the British Legal Awards and just before launching our new brand. We have been really busy since getting those messages out into the market and implementing our new firmwide strategy. From a litigation perspective, we have had an incredible year – ranked in the top 10 for litigation in the High Courts in the UK acting for claimants and for defendants (a rare feat!) with average claim values of £19m and we are currently acting on 2 of the top 20 cases of 2024 according to ‘The Lawyer’ magazine.
8. What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
The next 12 months are all about focus – focus on delivering excellence in our chosen markets and being client obsessed. For our litigation practice we will focus on furthering our growth ambitions.
9. What are the highlights of your career so far?
It has been such a privilege to co-head the Birmingham office of Shoosmiths and our national dispute resolution and litigation practice. I am so proud of our people and all we have achieved together and, of course, a huge recent highlight has been moving to our new home at 103 Colmore Row in Birmingham. Otherwise in my career, my ego loved achieving “Hottie” status in ‘The Lawyer’s Hot 100’ Lawyers 2021 as well as achieving ‘Eminent Practitioner’ status for litigation in Chambers 2024 and being listed in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for Litigation in Legal 500 2024. I’ve been so lucky to work with some incredible people and incredible clients over the years on some fascinating and exciting cases, as well as working in some fabulous locations like the Cayman Islands, Dubai, New York and across Europe.
10. What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
Hiring the wrong people. Having a disconnect in values can be horribly toxic and it always takes longer than you’d like to get rid of them!
11. What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Don’t be afraid to fail, that’s where the growth is and what’s the worst that can happen anyway?
