Firm Friends
Reshaping the legal market through innovation – Mike Polson, Executive Coach
Mike Polson grew up in Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands. It’s a stunningly beautiful place and, as a child, Mike loved being able to roam freely across the islands’ open, dramatic landscape.
As well as honing his independent spirit, Mike’s life in Shetland also helped shape his career. In his after-school job at a local electrical shop, Mike discovered his passion for business. That led him to apply for a sponsored degree in business at LSE. Sadly, he didn’t get it. Instead, he settled for his fallback position, which was studying law at the University of Edinburgh.
After graduating, Mike joined Dundas & Wilson’s Corporate team. During his early years at the firm, he was seconded to Ashurst in London where he worked with "great lawyers" and "great people", many of whom he stayed in contact with after returning to Scotland in 1991.
Mike stayed at Dundas & Wilson for a further 17 years, where he rose through the ranks from trainee to partner, gaining an MBA along the way. During his time there, he worked on many significant deals, including defending the attempted hostile takeover of Edinburgh’s Hibernian Football Club by its archrival, Heart of Midlothian FC. As both a committed professional and a diehard Hibs supporter, Mike relished that successful, sweet result.
An enduring passion for business
Although Mike had already enjoyed a distinguished career as a lawyer, his enduring passion for business left him wanting more. He’d been considering moving into a General Counsel role for the final chapter of his career when he had a chance conversation with a former colleague, now in a senior leadership role at Ashurst, who outlined plans to build a global delivery centre for the firm in Scotland. As Mike said, "As soon as that option was on the table, every other choice disappeared as far as I was concerned. Ashurst gave me the chance to focus on the business of law, which was the role I had always wanted without ever knowing it."
"That sliding door moment, which happened because of a relationship I had formed 21 years earlier is a great example of the incredible power of alumni networks. While your network won’t always lead to your dream role, it will allow you to exchange views, knowledge and support with people who are going through similar challenges," Mike added.
In 2013, Mike joined Ashurst and went on to lead the setting-up and growth of the Glasgow office. While Mike admits all the unknowns made it a daunting but exciting prospect at first, he felt confident because he had a successful global firm wrapped around him.
"There were three key factors behind our success," he explained. "There was a clear, agreed vision for what we were trying to do, which very importantly had the full backing of the entire Ashurst leadership team. We were also able to hire and then develop new and talented teams of people, many of whom are still there today."
The success of the Glasgow global delivery centre is evidenced by its exponential growth to become an office of nearly 500 people in just 10 years, the expansion of the model to include a twin global delivery centre in Brisbane and the web of connections established across the global firm. Though, from Mike’s perspective, "seeing the wider firm embrace change and innovation with excitement was the best thing of all".
Mike was the Glasgow Managing Partner from 2013 to 2022. In 2018, he took on a dual role as the firm’s Co-Head of Innovation alongside Jamie Ng. In that role, Mike helped ensure that Ashurst, by continuing to evolve, could keep pace with the changing needs of clients. "The creation of those Co-Head roles was an important internal and external signal that the firm was really serious about innovation. Essentially, each person in the firm started to think about ways to do things better," said Mike.
In 2016, Mike became the Co-Head of Ashurst Advance. "Ashurst Advance was an evolution of what we were building in Glasgow and Brisbane. It responded to the increasing client demand for legal solutions that harnessed technology, focused on efficient process and provided alternative resource capability. With Ashurst Advance, we brought those key elements together and gave them a clear identity," he explained. "Of course, Ashurst Advance represented a significant market shift. We knew we had to deliver success after success to make a compelling case for change. A number of times, it was support from Ashurst alumni in in-house roles who generated the following wind that gave Ashurst Advance its momentum" he added.
On legacy, leadership and life after Ashurst
In 2022, Mike started thinking about retirement. While he still loved his demanding job, he knew it was important to make way for the next generation of leaders. "I felt a genuine sense of stewardship over what we’d built. What I wanted was to be able to pass on foundations that were strong enough to evolve and develop in the future under new leadership," he said.
To work out what he wanted to do next, Mike began to think about what he would miss most about his work (coaching people) and what he wouldn’t miss at all (early morning conference calls). A natural next step was achieving his qualification as an Executive Coach from Henley Business School.
"I was very fortunate to be supported by Ashurst as I transitioned out of the firm. On my retirement in 2023, the firm hosted a farewell party for me at an iconic venue in Glasgow. That night, in that room, I could clearly see everything I had been part of and I was able to share that with my family, friends and colleagues. It was one of the most special occasions of my life," Mike said.
(Mike with his family at his 2023 retirement celebration (photo by Louise Gault Photography))
Given that Mike has worn several hats in his career, it should come as no surprise that in retirement he is an active executive coach. In particular, he loves contributing to the professional development of future law-firm leaders and is passionate about sharing his business and leadership insights with them.
"As a young lawyer, I mostly worked with leaders who were very directional. Their clear ‘do this’ guidance was useful to me at the time, but as I matured I started to see the flaws in that approach. When I opened my mind to other ways of leading, it was a lightbulb moment for me," Mike recalled.
"Leaders should be authentic and lead by example, which includes being willing to grow, develop and evolve. As a leader, you need to recognise the different things people need from you. You also need to get comfortable with the feeling of discomfort that may come when doing those things. Another lesson I learned the hard way is to never adopt someone else’s point of view without making your own evaluation," he said. "The truth is you never really crack being a great leader – there’s always more work to do."
As an executive coach, Mike also continues to have many conversations about the need to embrace change. "At a macro level, there’s a real tension in the market between the historically successful big law firm model and the need to do things differently in response to factors such as changing client needs and the impact of generative AI. Because of structural limitations, it can be difficult for big law firms to both retain top-of-the-market talent and set aside profit for future investment. If firms can’t find the right balance, they risk stifling innovation – which will threaten their long-term sustainability."
(Portrait of Mike on display in the Polson Pavilion, Ashurst Glasgow)
When he’s not coaching, Mike is busy playing golf and tennis, embracing reformer Pilates in penance for the years he spent hunched over a desk, and spending time with friends and family – including his first grandchild, Beauden. Sadly, Mike’s retirement plans do not include reprising his role in the Abba tribute band he and his wife Alison once appeared in.
