IQ-Magazine-Issue-15

IQ personality
BREAKING
CONVENTION
Cut-throat, over-competitive and bland - a few of the
adjectives that might come to mind when you hear the words
‘corporate lawyer’. But that’s certainly not always the
case. We caught up with Adam Kudryl, partner at Howes
Percival, who shows us that hard work and having fun
could be what it takes to break the stereotype.
Adam became a corporate lawyer back in 2003, after
working as an in-house accountant left him fascinated with
the machinations of law. His interest was peaked and he
needed to know more.
Since then, he has worked his way up to become a partner
at leading commercial law firm, Howes Percival. Dealing
with anything from the buying and selling of businesses to
joint ventures and shareholder and partnership agreements,
Adam sure has his work cut out for him, but that doesn’t
seem to slow him down.
When asked about the common misconception that all
lawyers are boring, he tells us how it really is. “Every lawyer
has to be a bit of a geek, it goes with the territory,” he
explains. “But, it can be very different to what people would
expect in the workplace. I’m lucky to be in a firm made up of
characters and colourful people who are fun to work with.”
If he were to choose another profession, he tells us he would
be an F1 racing car driver, saying, “I love the precision,
adrenaline and pressure to perform involved.” It’s clear that
Adam is far from your average lawyer.
Adam’s adventurous side took him round the world for
both business and leisure. Having travelled to New Zealand,
Australia, Cuba, China, USA and Europe, Adam was keen
to experience different cultures as well as try something
new career wise. Stemming from his passion for fitness, he
embarked on a project to restructure, refinance, rebrand
and re-launch a gym business in Cambridge, NZ. Driven
by the excitement of starting something new, he launched a
CrossFit gym business and his own CrossFit clothing range.
Adam wisely says that, “You don’t want to waste time doing
More Information
Howes Percival. www.howesperival.com. 01223 791000.
things you feel you should be doing, at the
expense of following your passions.”
After a while, he missed the cut and thrust of
the business scene in the UK and so returned
to follow his career in commercial law. Owing
much of his success to Howes Percival, Adam
says, “They allowed me to fully express my
entrepreneurial spirit and do what
I am truly good at, without the
bureaucracy and politics that
larger law firms are known for.”
Becoming a partner with Howes Percival
earlier this year was something Adam saw
as recognition of his years of hard
work, experience and hard-earned
reputation.
More than this though, it’s clear
that Adam is always looking for
exciting and innovative ways to
push himself and the business.
He views the partnership as a
platform to take his career to the
next level, using his skills and
experience to help Howes
Percival establish a solid
business in Cambridge.
Change in the future of
law is something that
Adam views as black
and white and leaves us
with the insight that,
“firms that innovate
on how they work with
clients will thrive, those
who fail to innovate
will be left behind.”
issue 15 | page 45