Time to sit back and savour life in the law

From poverty in the Wrexham area he rose to qualify as a solicitor and co-founded the largest legal practice in Newport and became winner of the best law firm in Wales (2004).

At the same time he maintained a 1960s' rugby career as a second-row forward playing for Newport, Wales and the Barbarians.

It's less well known that he was one of a trio of Newport businessmen who founded Acorn Recruitment & Training. He said: "It has given me tremendous satisfaction to watch the growth of Acorn and I count Matt Southall as one of my greatest friends." And since his brother died two years ago, Bill is also running a Wrexham-based electrical company employing more than 170 people.

It sounds like the life of a human dynamo, but Bill claims that doing nothing comes easily to him and he plans to demonstrate this when he retires.

Bill has never courted publicity and was reluctant to do this interview. But once he gets started he's a natural raconteur. By turns Bill is amusing, curious, tough and emotional, with a head for business and a heart for Wales.

Bill was actually born in Australia. In the 1930s his father joined the colonial Shanghai Municipal Police and learned to speak Chinese. During the Second World War he was transferred to the Royal Australian Airforce, and that's when Bill came along.

After the war the family returned to their roots in the Wrexham area, where Mr Morris senior resumed his trade of painter and signwriter.

"He was terrible with accounts and his customers were very slow payers."

When things looked particularly bleak, he become a miner at Gresford colliery to secure the miners' perk of free coal. "If you had coal then you could at least heat the house."

Sadly, Mr Morris senior died of cancer, leaving a widow and two children. "There was no money, and to make ends meet my mother started a fish and chip shop in our front room.

"Before going to school my brother and I would do a milk round, paper round and peel two bins' worth of spuds."

Salvation came through education: having passed his 11-plus Bill became a pupil at Grove Park Grammar School.

He passed his O and A-levels and thought about going to university to study geology. "But there was no money around to do it."

More by accident than design he was also playing first-class rugby. "I'd always played football in school and was right-back for the team."

The breakthrough came when the Wales Rugby Union offered a summer camp.

"It was only £2 for the week, a cheap holiday and the coaching was fantastic."

Although never the most dedicated of trainers, Bill made up for it with other attributes. "I could run and play with the ball. I also had two good fists and wouldn't stand for any nonsense."

Genetics or hard work during childhood had made him strong. "I had a job on a chicken farm where - for a bet - I carried five hundredweight of concrete bags to a trailer and loaded it myself."

He started playing for Wrexham and then switched to New Brighton, a top UK club at the time, based on the Wirral, near Liverpool.

While on the bus to a match he met Martin Thomas (now Lord Martin Thomas) who was en-route to Oxbridge and a distinguished career in law and politics.

"He suggested that I go in for the law." Why was that? "I may have been rather argumentative."

A five-year articleship in Mold beckoned, but Bill had met a girl from Newport who was training to be a PE teacher at Cartrefle College, Wrexham.

"Playing for Newport and getting travelling expenses was the only way I could afford to go to see Kay. But it was a great team I fell into - I was tremendously lucky."

In 1962 he moved to Newport, transferring his articles to Ivor Whitehead, at Newport firm Herbert & Harding.

He made his Welsh debut at Murrayfield in 1965. Wales won, as they would on every occasion Bill played for them.

"There is no feeling on this earth like waiting in the tunnel before a rugby international. They keep you hanging around for five minutes while your stomach is going through your mouth.

"And then comes the roar of about 60,000 Welsh people greeting you on to the field - you just can't buy that."

But working and playing rugby was not a recipe for success in legal exams. "It was very hard to concentrate on some musty book when you knew you were playing Neath on Saturday."

Consequently, after the birth of his first child and a Barbarians tour of South Africa, he hung up his boots in 1970 and focused on his career. When his boss died Bill bought the Herbert & Harding firm.

He ran it from rooms on Skinner Street, where the gents' hairdresser is based today. At this time Bill met lifelong friend and future partner Roly Arthur, who had a half-interest in the firm Frank Lewis. In 1975 a three-way merger with John Taynton-Evans' firm of Gustard & Evans formed the basis of today's Harding Evans.

"We had offices above the NatWest bank but business took off so quickly our filing exploded.

"We had nowhere to store anything."

Bill spotted today's Harding Evans offices when they were the disused council chambers of Magor & St Mellons rural council. "The acquisition of these premises was a major step forward and gave us space to grow. Size means you can employ specialists instead of being jacks-of-all-trades and masters of none.

"It really is a fantastic situation when every practice within the firm is led by an acknowledged expert in their field."

Bill took the opportunity to concentrate on commercial property law. "I never liked criminal work, I had no patience to deal with the clients - too many excuses. I'd sooner prosecute."

But he is angry that legal aid rates have barely improved since 1990. "Our other practices are effectively subsidising our legal aid work."

Bill said he and his partners at Harding Evans realised something big was happening about seven or eight years ago. "We started attracting solicitors from the big Cardiff firms who wanted to come and work here. Prior to that firms like this would be a stepping-stone to Cardiff."

He said he'd striven to make Harding Evans a great place to work. "My motto is 'enjoyment in employment'. We've got sports teams and quiz teams and they're all strongly supported."

The payroll numbers 120 people and the firm is one of the city centre's largest employers. But Bill is angry about the way the city centre has been developed.

"I feel Newport has been let down very badly by its planners.

"The city has no focal point, no elegance, it's just a big mish-mash.

"And in the villages surrounding Newport companies have been allowed to develop on a massive scale without providing civic amenities. Where I live, in Rhiwderin, we've got a wonderful cricket team but we have to play our home matches in Risca!

"Planning law is my specialism and I've been instructed in cases involving councils in southern England where the developers have been obliged to build community facilities at their own expense as part of the deal. It cost those councils nothing."

He's frustrated that while most people use a car for commuting, shopping and recreation, planners don't want to acknowledge the fact, and spend their time on bus and cycle routes.

He agonises over the bad luck that Newport has suffered.

"The failure of the barrage scheme was a major blow - we could have had a waterfront like Chester, with boating, yachting and lovely walks.

"We lost that on account of the prejudices of the landed gentry in Monmouthshire and the fate of about 300 rare fish that come up the river each year. Ridiculous!

"And the LG semiconductor failure was another huge blow. I had visions of Newport becoming another Silicon Valley, most of the jobs would have been at graduate level - can you imagine that?"

On the brighter side, Bill thinks that Ben Hoppe and others did a marvellous job on the bid for city status, which he feels has made a difference.

And he's hopeful that the latest reincarnation of the city under the auspices of Newport Unlimited will be more successful.

"They're working very hard at it and I hope it's a major success because the people of Newport deserve it."