Four new firms join leading law firm network

LawNet, the leading network for independent legal firms, has announced four new members – Breeze & Wyles in Hertfordshire, Denison Till in York, Godloves in Leeds, and Swinburne & Jackson in the North East.

Welcoming the firms, LawNet chief executive John Thomas said: “It’s excellent to welcome four more firms with such strong credentials - they will be a credit to the LawNet community.  I am sure they will bring real value to other members through their involvement in the specialist groups, training and other peer to peer events.”

He added: “We’re committed to the continuing growth of the network and it’s great to see the recognition by such firms of the benefits and strengths that we offer them, in this fast-changing legal environment.”

The signing of the new members brings total LawNet membership to 68 firms, and the network ambition is to reach 80 firms by 2012.   Membership is by invitation to those firms who fit the LawNet profile of £2m - £15 turnover and will commit to securing and maintaining the LawNet ISO 9001:2008 standard.  The quality standard is mandatory for all firms, with rigorous six monthly audits to ensure standards are held across the membership.

Breeze & Wyles Solicitors has four offices across Hertfordshire and North London, employing more than 130 fee earners and staff.  It has a range of specialist departments providing  volume legal services to banks, building societies, housing associations and other corporate customers, alongside its more traditional and longstanding legal services for local markets.

Denison Till is a 14 partner firm with a head office in York.  It has the largest corporate department in the city and specialises also in ecclesiastical law.

Godloves Solicitors has four offices across Leeds, employing more than 70 fee earners and staff, with a range of specialist departments providing legal services to a private and corporate customer base across Yorkshire.

And North East firm Swinburne & Jackson has grown from a traditional family practice to operate from four offices across the North East, with headquarters in Gateshead.

ENDS

South East firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP has been named the LawNet Law Firm of the Year. 

Said LawNet chief executive John Thomas, who presented the awards alongside BBC sports presenter Garry Richardson:  “Their client list is now really impressive with some big hitters in the field and this has helped to drive their profits forward. They have increased their profile through various routes, including focussed use of networking, and have launched their own training academy which is available for all staff.”

Winner of the Managing Partner of the Year award was Derwent Campbell of Bath-based Mogers Solicitors LLP, who has overseen international recognition for the firm through the development of their expat services.

The use of leading edge techniques on their website saw a third successive win for East of England firm Kester Cunningham John who have started to sell some legal services online and have secured a 200% increase in traffic after an overhaul of their website.

Another firm rewarded for online innovation was Hertfordshire-based Breeze & Wyles Solicitors LLP, who won the business development award, after introducing an innovative online process to manage conveyancing work, which was written internally and has automated transactional work.

Best CSR policy went to Darbys Solicitors LLP in Oxford, for a clearly defined strategy that involves employees and covers involvement in both community and resource initiatives.  The firm has recently secured ISO 14001 accreditation for its environmental management systems, one of only a handful of law firms in the country to do so.

And Ipswich firm Gotelee Solicitors won the Client Care award for a number of recent initiatives and processes, which have included a move to fixed fee billing and the introduction of a Client Promise strategy, which sets out how they will match up to their service claims and tackling everything about the client interaction process, through to how long a client may wait in reception.

The full list of award winners:

Law Firm of the Year
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Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP

Managing Partner of the Year
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Derwent Campbell of Mogers Solicitors LLP

Commitment to Client Care
Sponsored by Certainty
Gotelee Solicitors

Best website
Sponsored by Hallam Communications
Kester Cunningham John Solicitors

Single Best Initiative: Business Development/Marketing
Sponsored by thecabinetoffice
Breeze & Wyles Solicitors LLP

Best CSR Policy
Sponsored by Westfield Health
Darbys Solicitors LLP