In Camera - Costas Roussos

“WHEN I was a boy, my mother would say to me, ‘Child, do not cause injustice to anyone. Be just. Never be jealous, and share what you have with others.” These wise words might have been hard to follow for the only son of Greek parents, but for Costas Roussos they have provided the boundary lines, and the safety net, for his life.

“I am a dreamer and a doer,” Costas explains within the first few minutes of our meeting. His maternal grandfather was a mathematician, and it is his influence that led Costas to think in the abstract, to enjoy logic in thought and on paper, and to love analysis.

“Most of my schoolmates went on to the Athens Polytechnic to become engineers. I wanted to be different,” says Costas. “It was against my father’s wishes that I chose a degree in law at the University of Athens.” His father – in common with fathers everywhere - was hoping his son would begin a career quickly. So came shock number one for dad.

Shock number two followed in 1964 when Costas refused to take the exams to become a judge. Two years later, shock number three came when Costas did not want to join the Greek diplomatic service but, instead, wanted his father to support him financially to further his legal studies in London.

“I treasure the gift that my father gave me,” says Costas, “in agreeing to let me pursue my ambitions.” It says a lot for the generosity of spirit shown by his father, a retired chief superintendent with the Greek city police, from the mountains above Corinth.

This is the kind of man a client wants, settling and fighting cases on his or her behalf. “You have to make clients feel that you are their trusted friend, who will never let them down,” says Costas. “To be a successful lawyer you have to really like and trust people. Fear is anathema. You cannot show it because others immediately feel it. It is also important for a client that you look contented, and are contented, and to know that you are not about to take his skin off.

“You also have to listen. When clients are opening up to you, you have to be sympathetic. If you are not, you have failed. You have to have their trust, and help them with their problems.”

So why did Costas decide to go to London in 1964? He knew he wanted to practise maritime law, because he imagined that the last thing he might experience as a shipping lawyer would be boredom. “By design or instinct, I opted for a field that is always exciting and where new things happen all the time,” he reflects now. But then he had no relatives in shipping and had to start from scratch.

Because he was competitive by nature, this simply fuelled Costas’s desire to overcome obstacles, which he did. He soon got jobs at Pegasus Ocean Services Limited, Troodos Shipping & Trading Limited, ER Lindley & Sons and Livanos Shipbrokers Limited, while enrolling at University College, London, for a postgraduate diploma in law followed by a masters in 1969.

“I learned the basics of shipping from lots of different angles,” says Costas.
“I learned so much from my teachers in London, people like Fokion Inglessis, Lucas Hadjioannou, and David Milburn, as well as Charles Botterell at Norton Rose.”

This was the swinging sixties. Costas loved the theatre and saw all the great actors such as Lawrence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft being directed by Peter Hall. He also remembers the unforgettable Peter Brook performance of a Midsummer’s Night Dream at the Aldwych. “When I came to England it was my first time away from home,” explains Costas. I learned how to train myself to listen and to be patient. The English drew that out of me. Also, they taught me to be cool and unruffled to the point of being considered insensitive.” For a Greek, this is not necessarily a natural position to take, but it is one that has since stood Costas in good stead.

In the early seventies, Costas returned home to Athens to work for Sun Enterprises, a GS Livanos company. Some time before then he had met his future wife, the daughter of a Scottish chief superintendent at Scotland Yard. After their marriage at the Athens Cathedral in 1973, life took a new turn when they flew to New York for Costas to continue his training at Poles, Tublin, Patestides and Stratakis in Manhattan.

This was not the first visit to New York for Costas. On his previous visit he had arrived with his parents on a Greek passenger liner after a two-week journey. He was eight years old. “It was 1949,” recalls Costas. “Greece was devastated after the war and still in the grip of civil war. Arriving in New York was paradise. I thought I had arrived in heaven. It was there that I saw my first Christmas tree, had my first train set, and played on the streets with other kids. Costas also attended primary school in New York for one year.

These were formative years, also, for the Greek shipping industry. The rush of New York and the ‘everything-is-possible’ attitude of its inhabitants made a lasting impression on Costas. “By nature I am a curious person. I ask questions all the time,” he says.

And the legacy Costas will pass on to the next generation of lawyers at his firm? “I always promise my colleagues that they won’t die of boredom - exhaustion maybe, but not boredom. I encourage them to try to excel, never to lower our standards. I encourage them by saying, ‘Help your clients as much as you can, with all your heart and stamina. And always tell your client the truth, even though it may not be pleasant.

“Telling the truth makes your clients happier in the long run. It enables them to know their own legal parameters and what the dangers of going against the rules may entail. It helps them to consider carefully their commercial options and reach a sensible conclusion.”

So how does Costas teach these skills? “We work in teams of two, three or four,” he explains. “The younger ones in the firm have the opportunity to see the battlefield, the real action, and to learn by practising law with an older colleague. They may find me dictatorial at times (a Corinthian trait), but they know I will never let them drown in the dirty waters of Akti Miaouli. I will work with them the whole night if that’s what is needed to show solidarity. If they make a mistake, it will always be the firm’s mistake, not theirs. In this way we create a safe environment for young lawyers to learn.”

Outside work, Costas is a crossword fan and a reader of thrillers. Together with his wife and friends, he is also a keen bridge player. And he is quick to remind you that his paternal grandfather was a cobbler. He is proud of his humble origins, and the progress of his family over three generations. And he still appreciates good shoes.

Costas’s natural style for himself, and for the firm he founded, is low-key - low-key with an aim to serve and please, underwritten by a passionate desire for truth and justice. The old foxes of Greek shipping say to their colleagues, “Go to Roussos, he may be a bit expensive,” (like his shoes), “but he is very good.”