Small but perfectly planned - HSL Featured firm last week Blakeleys Solicitors

Simon Blakeley started planning setting up his own law firm more than 25 years ago. However, D Day was in 2006 when he opened the doors (figuratively) to Blakeleys Solicitors with no work , no clients but bags of enthusiasm. Simon learnt how to generate work from referrers who trusted and respected him and the work that he could produce. This story resonated with a number of other HSL Workshare members who have followed dreams to set up their own law firms. But being in practice on your own can be a lonely existence and Simon acknowledged that there are times when having others around to bounce ideas off, whether they be for legal opinions or for management questions is a luxury that many sole practitioners don't have. Being part of an online network, such as High Street Lawyer provides a community of like minded individuals happy to comment, support and discuss topics.

One area that Simon concentrated on during his week on HSL Workshare as featured firm was Marketing, building on the earlier discussions that had taken place in the forum. Simon proved that brand visibility works for his firm and his bright yellow signs in farmers fields have led to an increase in personal injury instructions, hopefully not because drivers were distracted though! A discussion of the marketing of wills and probate has led to the creation of a High Street Lawyer wills and probate group to consider marketing solutions for this difficult to market area of law.

Being a small firm means striking the appropriate balance between not turning work away and trying to do everything. Blakeleys appears to have got this balance right and Simon explained how his good advice, coupled with genuine interest has lead him to be instructed by other law firms in certain work areas, such as low velocity personal injury claims and alleged fraud against doctor cases, proving that despite above the line marketing and promotions, good leads come from building reputations.

Marketing, compliance and regulation are the key areas of the forthcoming HSL Strategy day on 12 March, being held in London. Attendees will hear from top speakers including Neil Throrogood of Lloyds Bank, Joe Reevy of Legal RSS, Stephen Madge of Principle 8 and Gary Yantin of HSL. As with all HSL events, there will no doubt also be an opportunity to consider a bunch of other issues pertinent to the owners and managers of small law firms. Full details and how to book are here. 

Featured Firm of the Week - Watson Legal - Living the dream

When you have always dreamt of running your own law firm you don't want it to become a nightmare. Sarah Jones of Watson Legal in Bishops Stortford is living the dream. Sarah set up Watson Legal in September 2013 in serviced offices and is already looking at expanding into larger premises and adding more areas of practice to her firm.

Watson Legal deals with litigation, conveyancing, will disputes, inheritance claims, property disputes, commercial law and employment. Sarah is also a mediator and used her time as Featured Firm on High Street Lawyer to discuss the benefits that mediation can bring to a case.

Watson Legal is a new firm and Sarah shared aspects of her business plan and aspirations for the future. As a result, she received valuable feedback from other law firm sole practitioners and senior partners who have been there and done it.

Sarah questioned the audience on HSL Workshare about growth in law firms, observing that while some were satisfied in standing still, the reality of doing nothing to push your business forward can actually result in in going backwards. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone and attending networking events, organising lectures and connecting with local businesses are some of the ideas Sarah has planned for this year.

HighStreetLawyer is a support services business whose aim is to help small law firms flourish through a combination of outsourcing, collaboration and sharing. HSL Workshare is our unique platform for connecting all of our members all the time in real time. On 12 March our HSL Member firms and other interested  like minded law firm owners and senior solicitors will come together for a CPD accredited strategy day. Hosted by DUAL Asset Underwriters we will discuss marketing, insurance, banking and compliance. As always, we expect more ideas will be shared than we have anticipated and our participants go away with far more than the cost of the day. Check out the full programme and book your place. Places are strictly limited so please contact us to reserve your place. 

Featured Firm of the Week - Hutharts Law Firm Gateshead

Read most LinkedIn discussions about law firm marketing and the majority of the people involved in the discussion are marketing consultants. They may have been lawyers once too but switched from the practice of law to dispensing marketing advice to law firms. If small law firms followed all of the advice given out by marketing consultants, there would be little time left for the practice of law.

Our HSL member firms benefited this week from the marketing strategy and insights of our Featured Firm. Gillian Huthart, principal of Hutharts Law Firm of Gateshead not only told us what she had tried that worked but also what she had tried that didn't work. Gillian proved that she is not closed to trying new ideas to bring work into her firm, but that she has an acute awareness of when a strategy has not worked and it is time to move on.

One of the themes of Gillian's marketing efforts is availability. If you want people to use your law firm you have to be there for them, whether that is attending networking events at unsocial hours, opening outside of office hours so that working clients (most of them) can see you or using any spare time to call your clients and contacts to find out how their business is going and remind them that you and your business still exists.

Gillian Huthart's insights elicited one of the longest discussion threads we have seen on HSL Workshare but you'll have to sign up (for FREE) to see it in detail. It was described by one user as "the thread of the week".

Gillian extended her marketing strategy later in the week to discuss the benefits of pro bono work. Aside from the obligation some lawyers feel to give back to the community and the inherent feel good factor of helping others, Gillian revealed that her pro bono efforts of helping set up  charities and guide them though legal issues has led to lucrative commercial work as a result.

A real example of getting back more than you put in. Exemplified further by the positive comments, new followers and even a work referral that Hutharts gained in the week that they were our featured firm.

Based in Gateshead but acting for clients from across the North east and further afield, Gillian and her team of freelance lawyers looking for a better work life balance, deal with all commercial, corporate, property, IP and IT legal issues.

Connect with Gillian and other like minded law firms at HSL Workshare. Or join us on 12 March in Central London for the HSL Strategy Day 

Featured firm of the Week - Flint Bishop LLP

Dr Darren Conway is a clinical negligence solicitor at Derbyshire law firm Flint Bishop. Darren told us on HSL Workshare that he had been a solicitor for 10 years, all of which time he has specialised in clinical negligence claimant work. Prior to a career in the law, Darren was a scientist and acedemic in the field of Genetics. His previous experience and background allows him to bring a different perspective to his work in a law firm. Darren informed us that working towards a Phd is in many ways akin to running a small business. There are time limits and financial considerations. Ultimately, responsibility for the success of the project rests solely with the person doing the work. Much like running a law firm department. 

Darren also highlighted the social, medical and scientific impact that clinical negligence legal work has on wider society. Often, the primary objective in bringing a claim is financial. There may be losses to recover and future medical and care costs to consider. However, as Darren pointed out, another factor, is helping to ensure that the negligence that occurred does not reoccur and that lessons are learnt. In Darren's experience, a claim that he worked on successfully achieved multi million pound damages for his client but also influenced the practice of ante natal testing. 

On a marketing note, Darren led debate about videos on your website, a subject that I think, will be hugely important in 2014, if you want clients to engage with you. 

Flint Bishop's week as Featured Firm allowed Darren to connect with more lawyers in firms around the country who now have awareness of his experience and skills and know to instruct him if they or their clients need a clinical negligence lawyer. 

Connect with Darren by joining HSL Workshare and joining the debate. 

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

If Law is a people business why do so many law firm websites use images of models not real people? 
I asked this question on a Linked In discussion a while back. The responses I got then are still valid now. 

One reader suggested that perhaps the real lawyers were too ugly to have their pictures on their site and models, even if it so obvious that they are not actually the lawyers that the client will deal with, represent a far better face of the law firm. 

Another contributor suggested it might have something to do with cost. Hiring a photographer, retouching the photos in Photoshop if necessary and then uploading them to your site all costs money and time. 

One commentator also pointed out that firms using stock images of people, instead of authentic ones, also often use standard pictures of skyline, blue clouds and chess pieces to show clear thinking, strategic excellence and other "buzz". However, he was quickly brought to task as his own LinkedIn picture is the avatar provided by LinkedIn for those users who haven't uploaded a picture. 

The web and social media is where your client base, actual and potential, as well as your peers and colleagues go to research you and your law firm. With so many solicitors bemoaning the fact that law is not a commodity but a profession where people connect with people, I find it surprising that so many are willing to hide behind fake images. Not to mention the damage using standard pictures can do for SEO (but more on that another time). 

Even on HSL Workshare, our own bespoke networking site for solicitors in small law firms, those users with a real picture have more connections and more activity than those still using the avatar. So, if you want to paint a picture of what you are like to do business with, start by taking a picture. 

PI, PII and Apple Pie - What happened on HighStreetLawyer Workshare last week?

Last week was our busiest ever on HSL Workshare. This is largely thanks to Mark Kiteley, the managing partner of South Coast law firm Kiteleys. Kiteleys were our featured firm of the week and it was Mark's job to start discussions each day on subjects that mattered to him. Some of these topics helped promote Mark's firm to the other 40 or so law firms on HSL Workshare while others demonstrated Mark's ideas on how he runs his practice. Not all of Mark's ideas were agreed with but it certainly generated a strong debate.

Mark started the week by telling us how Kiteleys has grown into a 7 office law firm by acquisition and cautious expansion, now with offices in Bournemouth, Southampton, Boscombe, Canford Cliffs, Ferndown and Wimborne. As a firm that carries out a fair amount of Personal Injury law, Mark pointed out the importance of diversification into other areas including property. He also let us in on a secret about how partner meetings are discussed at Kiteleys.

Later in the week the thorny issue of professional indemnity insurance cropped up. If the Law Society's consultation suggests that unrated insurers should not be allowed in the market, what effect will this have on small law firms. In light of more than 130 firms recently closing due to the inability to get insurance, surely as wide a market as possible is the best solution provided there are no commercial barriers?




Mark ended the week with a word of encouragement to clear out the clutter and keep a clean inbox. Good advice surely but not always so easy in practice.

Thanks to Mark Kiteley and all the others who commented this week. Work referrals were also shared between members but if you want to know more and join in the debate, promoting your work to other like minded lawyers then join us on HSL Workshare by clinking here and registering yourself.

Guest Blogs from our member Firms This Week

Sheffield Wills and Probate Solicitors Lewis Francis Blackburn Bray have posted a blog recently about Wills and what to do if you cant find one

http://www.lfbbsolicitors.co.uk/help-i-cant-find-my-parents-will/

Trident Solicitors of Hull specialise in Motoring and Traffic Law. Read their opinion piece about the Motoring lawyer from Scotland caught driving at 105 MPH on a motorway.

http://www.tridentsolicitors.co.uk/wordpress/105mph-and-he-still-cant-get-away/