Ghosts, a fire and a royal garden party: Richard Hopkins’ 38 years at the Law Society
“I joined Law Society in 1987 as a carpenter. This was at a time when all the building repairs were done in-house. We had five in-house painters, two carpenters, two plumbers and five electricians. They later made a facilities team, and that was where I needed to be. I got more chance to make an impact there than I would have had anywhere else.”
Although Richard’s spent nearly four decades working in the building, he still hasn’t got completely used to the surroundings.
“I still say 'wow' when I walk into the building every day. The building is what I'm here for. The staff are a bonus. My favourite room is the Reading Room. It has that ‘wow’ factor, and it was part of the original building. It's a grand looking room, and it still makes me smile when I go in there.
“The building is so much more welcoming now than it used to be. And it’s more inviting than it ever was. When I joined, I never spoke to the president like I do now, and our CEO was called the 'secretary general'. The building used to have flats on the top floors for executives as well. We made the building more accessible to visitors in the early 1990s and we took the living spaces out.”
Taking a tour of Chancery Lane
As staff became keener to make the most of Richard’s extensive knowledge of our building, he started to take new Law Society employees on tours so they could get to know its various rooms and fun historical facts.
It became such a popular tour that it was built into all staff inductions!
Beyond looking after and modernising our building, Richard’s been a part of shaping our culture too – he campaigned for paternity leave in our staff magazine.
“The year I started in 1987, my eldest daughter was born and there was no such thing as paternity leave here. It was happening elsewhere, so, I wrote an article sharing my opinion. Something was implemented really quickly after that, and I got paternity leave for my second child in 1989.”
Richard has become well-known for remembering the names of hundreds of Law Society staff, despite how much our team has changed over the past half century. So, how does he do it?
“When you see people on a daily basis, you get to talk to people. There’s no special secret. I'm getting older now, so it is getting harder than it used to be. When David McNeill, our director of public affairs, came back to the Law Society, it had been 21 years since he last worked here. When he walked into the building, I said ‘Hello David’, and freaked him out!”
Richard also has a knack for showing up right at the moment someone needs his help. It feels too often to be coincidence, but what is it?
"I think it's like the Candy Man. You say my name three times, and I appear! I do a lot of walking around the building, so when people see you more than once a day, you're likely to be there when needed. When there's a major event happening, I also make sure I'm around.”
Responding to crisis
As well as being around for planned big events, Richard’s had to be alert to unexpected crises as well.
In 2002, he spent 48 hours trapped inside Chancery Lane, when a bomb threat occurred.
“There was a disgruntled businessman outside. The porters gave me a call, and I came outside and spoke to him. He told us he had a bomb in the van. I reported it, and police quickly created an exclusion area around the building. We did pizza runs in the building for staff who were stuck inside. We got a bit extra as the police were taking some as we came through. They took some food out to the gentleman. Eventually, armed police came out and he called it a day.”
Thankfully, the threat turned out to be a hoax, and staff were able to leave safely. But crisis came again in January 2020, when an overnight fire spread across our building.
“I got a call at 2am on a Sunday morning to say, 'your building is on fire'. Before long, we had 27 fire appliances looking after the building. The fire started in 114 Chancery Lane, but the firefighters didn't realise that the power from 114 came from next door. I had to come in and help shut the power off.
“We lost the entire fifth floor and a lot of the fourth floor. But, in the end, the building had more damage from water than from the fire. There was so much water, and they were trying to make sure that it didn't get into the library. If it got in behind the panelling, there would be no stopping it. A lot of people lost their belongings, which was sad. We did our best to recover as much as possible – we had to enter the building in hazmat suits to collect things. We definitely couldn't save the plants.”
And of course, this was not the only unforeseen event that would impact Law Society buildings in 2020.
“In January we had the fire, and then March was COVID. I got a dispensation when building trade was allowed to resume, so I could travel into London to come in here and oversee the building works. The train was pretty much empty every day.”
Quickfire questions
As we try to record as much knowledge from Richard as possible, staff were keen to ask him to address some long-standing rumours.
Is the Law Society haunted?
“Carey Street was never built to be heated centrally, nor is this building, so the buildings make noises. They do groan a bit.
“If you're inclined to believe in ghosts, yeah, you will probably believe that. I've never believed it.
“I've been all over the buildings and never seen anything. I don't think there are any, but each to their own.”
What’s been your favourite renovation?
“Originally, there was a light well behind our stained glass windows. A staircase was built behind it, which took all the light away. And at one point it was dark.
“We added some new footlights behind it to make it look like it does now. So, it does look quite special there.”
Is there really a magician’s playing card on the ceiling of one of our rooms?
“Yes. I was there at that time. The chief exec used to have larger parties for staff, and we would coach people down from Redditch and several other areas.
“A magician was performing at the party, and he threw a playing card up onto a beam that runs across the ceiling. I don't know how he got it up there.
“The signature of the woman who whose card it was is on the card. She might have been a plant – I don't know – but it's still there now in the Common Room.”
When staff returned to the office in 2021, Richard had helped to oversee a transformation of 113, with new meeting rooms and more modern working spaces.
By this point, Richard had over three decades of experience of preparing our building for long-anticipated invitees, including international diplomats, leaders, and other esteemed guests.
Richard’s typically been involved in making sure that everything is running smoothly – his team’s motto is “no news is good news” – but the pressure was on during a visit from the then-Prince Charles.
“When we did the refurbishment in 1992, Prince Charles came to visit. When he arrived, he was coming to the common room, so I put a curtain rail up for him. As he opened his speech, he said, ‘oh, this is going better’. The day before, Prince Charles had paid a visit to another building, and the curtain rail fell off. I was standing right beside him, and thankfully, this time, it did stay up.
“Years later, I was invited to a royal garden party, which was arranged after I’d worked here for 25 years. That was quite special. If there’s one thing I could change about the Law Society, I would like our name to be changed to 'The Royal Law Society', like the Royal College of Surgeons, or the Royal Academy of Engineering. I think we're grand enough to be that, and the organisation is as well.”
Richard has always had a smile and a ‘hallo’ for everyone coming into the building. He has made a huge impact on the organisation and his care has made a difference to every single person who has worked here in the last 37 years. He is, quite simply, a Law Society legend.
Celebrating 200 years of supporting solicitors
We’re proud to recognise the enormous contribution that solicitors make every day to individuals, communities and businesses, both at home and overseas.
You can join the celebrations, recall the rich history of our profession and explore what the future looks like at upcoming events in Birmingham, Newcastle, Norwich and Liverpool.