HITTING milestones are big parts of life and is a great way to celebrate hard work with celebration.

And a chairman of a law firm is doing just that as he celebrates 35 years of service.

Phillip Hoddell, now chairman of Birkett Long which has offices in Colchester, Basildon and Chelmsford, hit the milestone this month.

Joining Birkett Long’s predecessor Morton and Long in 1987, Mr Hoddell began as a newly appointed articled clerk, or what is now known as a trainee solicitor.

Philip and his wife Sarah had both found jobs in Colchester and moved knowing nothing about the area at all.

He started work in the then Halstead office and qualified into what was then called the “contentious department” in 1989, being with the firm ever since.

Practising at first all types of litigation, then inheritance and general divorce work, he finally settled on a specialism of divorce and separation about 15 years ago.

Reminiscing on the early days, Mr Hoddell said: “When I started at the firm a car-based mobile phone would cost £1,700, which is equivalent to about £4,500 today.

“The world wide web was just being invented, so we had no email, and it would be another ten years before I had a PC on my desk.

“Client account details were held on a manual rolodex.

“My starting salary was £100 a week and we bought our first house for £55,000 with a 100 per cent mortgage and an interest rate of 16.8 per cent.”

Philip has many fond memories of his time at Birkett Long since those early days.

He has played cricket, rounders, netball, football and touch rugby as well as climbing over assault courses at the Colchester Garrison.

He has also done charity racing in Chelmsford and fun running in Colchester Castle Park.

Reflecting on his 35 years with the firm, Mr Hoddell said: “I have worked with some fantastic people.

"Sadly, some are no longer with us and we remember those who passed away far too soon. This includes my mentor, the late Christopher Holmes.

"I am so proud to have been entrusted with the role of chairman by my partners, which for me really represents the pinnacle of my career so far.

“Although I can’t really look forward to the next 35 years, I can certainly look forward to the next chapter of life at Birkett Long. I feel that we are in a fantastic place in our history at the moment.

“Despite the challenges that we face, I see great people all around me, and am very confident that we are in a strong position to continue our successful story.

“I for one am excited about our future.

"The No1 in September 1987 was Rick Astley’s Never Going to Give You Up which is always rather how I have felt about Birkett Long.”