The Performance Coach
for law firm partners
& partnerships
Coaching Advising Speaking Training
THE BUSINESS OF LAW MADE SIMPLE, SUCCESSFUL & SUSTAINABLE
THIS IS FOR YOU
IF YOU are an associate ambitious to be a law firm partner
IF YOU want to cut through to the inside track of what really matters
IF YOU think it's for you, book your free discovery call with Jonathan
IF YOU are a law firm partner ambitious to improve performance
IF YOU are a law firm leader ambitious to grow profits
JONATHAN WATMOUGH
M&A partner at 30
Managing Partner at 38
3 x winner of Law Firm of the Year
Author of 'How To Thrive In A Commercial Law Firm'
2 x named in The Lawyer's HOT 100 lawyers in the UK
The Managing Partners' Forum's 'Strategic Leadership Award'
Award-winning former City law firm Managing Partner, passionate about helping people succeed in the business of law in a human, sustainable way
GOOD REASONS WHY I'M DIFFERENT & WHY IT MATTERS
3
1. I have the expert inside track
I spent 18 years as a partner in an award-winning City law firm, the last 10 as Managing Partner. I know what it takes to be made up to partner, to make it as a sucessful partner and to make it as a profitable partnership. I have been there and done it myself. I have helped hundreds of lawyers go there and do it and I can help you go there and do it.
2. I am independent & objective
I am on your side and I will tell you what you need to know.
3. I understand
Whether you are an associate, a partner or a managing partner, I am one of you. I have done what you do. I have felt what you feel. I am there to provide friendly, non-judgmental, understanding support to help you achieve your ambitions.
ABOUT JONATHAN WATMOUGH
M&A lawyer, managing partner, coach, advisor, NED, author & speaker
I am passionate about helping people succeed in the business of law in a human, sustainable way.
I was born in the Yorkshire Dales but raised in the Sussex Downs. I have been a lifeguard, gardener, dishwasher, hotel porter, humper in a meat factory, pilot, fruit farmer, decorator, builder's mate and bartender. My parents both left school at 15 and I was the first in my family to go to university.
I qualified as a Solicitor in The City of London at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in 1993. Practising in M&A and equity capital markets, I became a partner at thirty, managing partner at thirty-eight and spent the next ten years helping to transform RPC from a London insurance firm into an international, multi-disciplinary professional services business.
The firm delivered five consecutive years of double-digit top and bottom-line organic compound growth when the rest of the market stagnated following the Global Financial Crisis, won Law Firm of the Year three times, won the Managing Partners’ Forum’s strategic leadership award and was named five years running as Best Legal Employer. I was also twice-named within The Lawyer’s Hot 100 lawyers in the UK.
After ten years as managing partner, I retired from the firm in 2016 to help lawyers and leaders of lawyers cut through to what matters and emulate the simple things successful people do differently in private practice. No theory, no platitudes, just practical common sense guidance on what matters most in the real world of the business of law, why and how to do it to get ahead. And in 2024 I encapsulated this in my book How To Thrive In A Commercial Law Firm.
I have also combined my entrepreneurial streak with my passion for understanding people and relationships and co-founded Quintillion, a technology group that develops cognitive and behavioural analytics. Quintillion’s flagship product, myTeamRadar, uses next-generation human factors visualisation to help reveal, diagnose and resolve hidden performance and wellbeing problems in teams.
"Under managing partner, Jonathan Watmough's leadership, RPC has become one of the most vibrant and best-run firms in the mid-market."
2014
"Cultural integrity and a move upmarket sees RPC named Firm of the Year."
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2014
"Praised by judges for its strong financial results, being 'innovative' and for 'really looking after its staff', the firm impressed on a number of levels. But what particularly impressed the judges was not its financial performance but the steps RPC has taken to position its business for the future - and the efforts it is taking to keep its staff happy."
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2015
"If you keep your people happy, then your clients will be happy too. Led by a Managing Partner who has no office and the same desk as everyone else who works in this open plan office, RPC achieved outstanding financial results in 2015, and has earned recognition as Best Legal Advisor by Legal Week for the last 5 years. Innovative initiatives to support employeees, a well-developed social-inclusion plan, and an unrelenting focus on understanding the needs of clients, have earned recognition as Best Legal Employer over the same five year period."
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AWARD 2016
Look inside my book
For lawyers, leaders and law firms who want to thrive in a changing world
Whether you're an aspiring associate or a managing partner, how good you are at people, relationships and leadership will determine your personal, professional and business success.
These are skills which are not taught at law school and which many firms preach but few practice.
Jonathan Watmough led an award-winning City law firm for ten years.
He lifts the lid on what makes lawyers and law firms tick. Why people, relationships and leadership are fundamentally important for lawyers, lawyer careers, law firm success and life. Why they matter more than ever in a changing world. And how to master them.
What others are saying about my book
"Those involved in nurturing and developing talent, particularly leaders, should take a look at this book and identify who within their firms they would like to read it. It deserves to be widely read across commercial law firms. In many ways, it is essential reading and a fantastic addition to the law firm management library."
The Law Society Gazette
"The book is important ... I would go so far as to say it ought to be on the curriculum for all those contemplating a career in a corporate law firm and ought to be on the reading list for anyone who wants to make a career of private practice, whether doing client work or with ambitions to lead those who do."
Richard Martin, CEO, The Mindful Business Charter
"It will be essential reading for many years to come for anybody working in, or considering working in, a private practice law firm. It is also essential reading for those involved in the management of those firms. I can't think of any other book that captures the wisdom, learning and experience to be found here, all based on Jonathan's considerable experience at the coal face as a Managing Partner."
Richard Haywood, former Managing Partner, Wragge & Co (now Gowling WLG)
"Jonathan writes with authority and authenticity. A great read for anyone aspiring to succeed in professional services."
Mark Sherfield, former COO & CFO, BDO LLP
"I've just spent some of the most important hours of my career reading How To Thrive In A Commercial Law Firm. Whether you are beginning your career, closer to the end than the beginning, or more crucially running a firm, read this book."
Clive Gringas, Head of Technology, Media & Telecoms, CMS UK
"A super-engaging and thought provoking read - thank you! I have no hesitation in recommending ALL to read."
Rob Fowler, Head of Talent Acquisition, Taylor Wessing