Get to know Fee Langstone: Angus Wakeman
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How long have you been practising law, and how long have you been with Fee Langstone/Jones Fee?
I started practising in 2001, so have been a lawyer for 15 years now (8 years of which were spent practising in the UK). I started out initially working in banking and finance and intellectual property but always knew that I wanted to pursue my legal career as a litigator. I have now been with Jones Fee/Fee Langstone for 2.5 years.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what do you think you’d be doing?
Travel writing. Unfortunately, like so many of us, a career as a professional sportsman was realistically never going to fly, but I would love to be a travel writer. I am currently reading Bill Bryson’s The Road to Little Dribbling (sequel to Notes from a Small Island), a humorous account of his travels around the UK, and it has reminded me again of my love for travel writing.
What do you think sets Fee Langstone apart from other firms?
As a boutique firm of insurance and litigation specialists, we offer a team of highly skilled and experienced lawyers who are leaders in the field. But as a place to work and a firm for our clients to work with - it is the people that really matter. We work hard and we are passionate about what we do, but we also know not to take ourselves too seriously and we know how to have fun.
What makes insurance law different from other areas of practice?
As someone who started out working in other areas of the law, what strikes me about insurance law (and what I really enjoy) is the diversity of the claims that the industry grapples with on a daily basis. Our job is to take the complex, distil it down and find a solution for our clients, but to do that we have to gain an understanding of so many different fields and areas. That can be challenging at times, but also very rewarding. Acting for insurers, commercial and pragmatic considerations also really come to the forefront, which sometimes get lost in other areas of litigation.
What are three things still left on your bucket list?
There are still so many, but to name a few…buying a house with these crazy Auckland property prices, walking the Camino in Spain, and watching the French Open men’s tennis final at Roland-Garros.
