Five minutes with... Luke Crawford

Sellar Bone partner Luke Crawford talks to NZLawyer about cricket, air-conditioning and what he perceives is the single biggest issue facing the legal space in New Zealand in 2015.

What made you decide to become a lawyer?
I always liked the idea of solving disputes using words, my family would just say I loved to argue.
 
How long have you worked at Sellar Bone for and what brought you to this position?
Just over 10 years and it was the first place to offer me a job and then a partnership!
 
What’s the strangest case you’ve ever worked on/been involved with?
There have been a few but a recent one where a new client wanted advice on how to kick his parents in law out of the family home.
 
If you could invite three people for dinner, dead or alive and excluding family and friends, who would they be and why?
Winston Churchill as his knowledge of WWII is significant. Harry Truman as would be fascinating knowing his thinking before dropping the atomic bomb and Richard Nixon as I’ve read he is a very complex character.
 
Where’s the best place to go for a drink and/or dinner after work in Auckland?
Drink in the summer would be on the deck at Tom Tom and dinner without question would be Sidart in Ponsonby.
 
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given (work or personal)?
Patience is a virtue.
 
Do you have any hobbies/interests outside of work?
I try and hack my way around the golf course and love to travel, try to get away midyear each year.
 
Complete this sentence: If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would be…
A professional cricketer.
 
What do you think will be single biggest issue facing the legal space in New Zealand in 2015?
Self-represented litigants and use of google to attempt to obtain legal advice.
 
If you had John Key’s job for one day, what would you do?
I wouldn’t want his job, the hours and workload seem unbearable.
 
What do you love about your job?
I love the variety of the work.
 
What would you change about your job right now if you could?
The air-conditioning in my office, it seems impossible to get it right.