Fletchers Solicitors has launched a new legal apprenticeship scheme, in partnership with The University of Law (ULaw), to offer aspiring lawyers an alternative route into the profession.

The six-year Trailblazer solicitor apprenticeship aims to give aspiring young trainees, who may have found the financial cost of a traditional university route a deterrent, the opportunity to have a successful career in law.

The scheme will allow students to learn on the job, whilst completing an undergraduate degree (LLB), a Master’s degree (LLM), and a Legal Practice Course (LPC) at ULaw, as well as a period of recognised training along the way.

Fletchers will begin recruiting for three apprentices in April and will be accepting applications from King George V College in Southport, as well as ones from internal applicants.  Successful candidates will start work at the firm this September.

The firm already offers an extensive work placement, training, and apprenticeship programme, taking on over 20 students and apprentices per year, but this is the first apprenticeship that will lead to participants becoming a fully qualified solicitor at the end of it.

The new scheme enables students to qualify while earning a salary, which will rise at various stages of progression, meaning participants don’t have to pay for tuition fees and can, instead, earn while they learn.

Commenting on the apprenticeship programme Ed Fletcher, CEO at Fletchers Solicitors, said: “We’ve long advocated the investment in young talent, as part of our long-term plan to ‘grow our own’ people and harness talent within the firm that fits in with our core values. And what better way to do it than to grow this talent within the firm?

“I also think it’s incredibly important that we encourage diversity in the law profession – not everyone can afford the burden of spending years at university and not earning at the same time, so an apprenticeship is a great alternative.”

Professor Andrea Nollent, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at ULaw, said:

“We are delighted that Fletchers is grasping this new development opportunity for its current staff and future employees. We are confident that the practical nature of the programmes offered by The University of Law, alongside substantive work based learning, will deliver considerable enhancement to Fletchers’ future workforce.”

 

For more information, please visit www.fletcherssolicitors.co.uk and www.law.ac.uk.

Work friendships can contribute to a lack of creative diversity in the office, according to new research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

‘Relational capital and individual exploration: Unravelling the influence of goal alignment and knowledge acquisition’, a paper that examines the double-edged sword of friendships between colleagues, has revealed that work friendships discourage employees from challenging ‘group think’.

Tom Mom, along with co-authors Pepijn van Neerijnen, Patrick Reinmoeller and Ernst Verwaal, demonstrate that by aligning themselves, employees become less likely to innovate away from the established and accepted ‘norm’.

The researchers examined 150 respondents within large R&D departments of three Fortune Global 500 firms, gauging whether their accounts of personal friendships affected individual creativity, in information obtained from their colleagues.

Tom says: “Of course, having a network of friends at work is a positive circumstance, both personally and professionally. Not only does this enable innovation and creativity through increased knowledge exchange, but being able to trust one another and speak candidly opens doors to growth. Business development has always been huge priority for firms and the focus has recently shifted to maximising individual employees’ outputs. By taking measures such as cross-sectional working, mixed training exercises or even the rotation of teams, managers can ensure that they reap the positive benefits of work relationships without slipping into the trap of over-familiarity and goal-alignment.”

He adds: “This also highlights the very real need for companies to increase diversity at board level in order to combat ‘group-think’, which would ultimately hinder innovation. Steering away from having a standardised business ‘identity’ – even if that may seem counter-intuitive – is a necessity in protecting from a herd mentality.”

More information on the research is available on the RSM Discovery platform.

London, U.K. – 22 March 2016 – Research commissioned by LexisNexis into mid-law firms finds that there is an exaggerated sense of progressiveness among decision-makers in law firms. Despite this, 47% of decision-makers acknowledge that they are traditional in their way of working, suggesting that they are struggling to let go of conventional values and adopt new ways of working. These are the findings of the report, Mind the Gap, based on interviews and surveys with over 150 law firms (56 decision makers and more than 100 practising lawyers) in England.

This reluctance to let go of old ways of working is causing a major disconnect between decision-makers and practicing lawyers on the front line on what their firm’s focus areas for change should be in 2016:

• Decision-makers rank review of information sources as their number one change planned in 2016 whereas lawyers believe increased investment in processes and technology should be their firm’s top area for change implementation this year.
• Taking on more staff ranks seventh for decision-makers while lawyers rank it fourth in the list of changes they would like to see implemented in their firm.

Similarly, decision-makers have a far rosier perception of their firm than lawyers:

• 84% of decision-makers believe that the firm has a clear strategy for the future direction of the business while only 62% of lawyers consider this to be true.
• 83% of decision-makers think the firm actively embraces change compared to 71% of lawyers.
• 72% of decision-makers feel the firm is agile in decision making, only 52% of lawyers agree.

Interestingly, most mid-sized law firms (59%) view their size as a competitive advantage and are bullish about their growth prospects:

• Four out of five firms are ‘quite or very’ confident about future growth; and the vast majority (73% of decision-makers and 62% of lawyers) say they are growing. It’s noteworthy that most of the firms that have survived the recent shake-out are growing through mergers and acquisitions.
• This optimism is especially prominent among decision-makers – 84% expect their firms to grow in the next five years, particularly due to a resurgence of demand in sectors such as property and family.

Nevertheless, the mid-law market players are aware of the considerable challenges they face and the top five problems they identify revolve around client and staff issues:

• 95% of respondents believe attracting the right staff a ‘very significant’ or ‘quite significant’ issue; followed by understanding customer and markets (91%), attracting clients (89%), staff retention (87%) and retaining clients (86%).
• Increasing demand for fixed fees is very or quite significant for 82% of respondents.
• Getting the correct partner to turnover ratio right is fundamental to the health of the law firms and is cited as an issue by 71% of respondents.

Law firms’ top priorities for 2016 more or less mirror their key challenges with 80% of respondents prioritising attracting new clients, 75% retaining clients, 75% attracting the right staff and 66% understanding customers and market, in 2016.

Worryingly though, there is a degree of complacency creeping into the mind set of decision-makers at law firms as there are a number of areas where they believe that changes have been implemented and issues resolved. The reality is that these issues aren’t finite:

• 79% of respondents say taking on more staff is complete.
• 75% of respondents claim website development has been implemented.
• 59% of respondents pronounce that investment in training has been undertaken.
• 57% consider investment in processes and technology done and dusted.

“Notwithstanding the view of law firms in the mid law market segment that their size is an advantage – even though there is little differentiation among legal services providers – senior decision-makers are adopting a tick box approach to change, evolving business imperatives and new ways of working,” commented Jon Whittle, Market Development Director at LexisNexis UK. “Firms need to keep pace with the continual changes taking place in the market, which means understanding and adapting to client and staff requirements, keeping processes and infrastructure up to date and embracing a much more proactive attitude to business growth and enhancement.”

The report explores how mid-sized firms feel about the health of their, business and prospects for growth; and how they are adapting to meet the changing needs of their increasingly demanding and tech-savvy clients and staff. The full report is available here: www.lexisnexis.co.uk/mindthegapreport

Notion Capital, NextLaw Labs and IQ Capital back legal tech company’s mission to bring transparency and information symmetry to the legal sector.

London 22/03/2016: Apperio, the provider of a real time legal fee tracking platform, today announced that it has closed a £1.7 million seed funding round led by Notion Capital, with participation from, NextLaw Labs and IQ Capital. These respected venture funds have come together with angel investors in support of Apperio’s vision to provide law firms and clients real-time transparency on legal fees that is accurate and meaningful.

After winning London tech accelerator Seedcamp in 2013, Apperio secured an initial funding round led by prominent angels including Stephen Chandler, Jan Reichelt and Andy Phillipps. Within a year of launching the platform, Apperio had already secured ten corporate clients. It has since formed partnerships with 17 of the top 100 UK law firms and monitored over £20 million in legal fees through its system.

This funding round was led by Notion Capital, a fund focused on high potential businesses in the cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service markets. Ian Milbourn, partner at Notion said, “I am incredibly excited to be investing in Apperio. I have thought for some time now that the legal sector is ripe for disruption with the right technology and Apperio is well placed to spearhead this. The time has come for transparency in legal fees. and law firms and their clients are recognizing this. In addition the analytics that the platform provides are invaluable and enable law firms to greatly improve their behavioral and financial performance.”

Apperio CEO and founder Nicholas d’Adhemar, said, “This investment from such a fantastic syndicate really supports our mission to bring meaningful transparency to the legal industry. With the new funding we will be able to grow our core teams to further strengthen our products and support our clients.”

Legal fees are complex and the billing system opaque, to the detriment of both law firms and their clients, with months spent wrangling over fees. As an industry, the average law firm lockup period (unbilled WIP plus debtor days) is 120 days and recovery rates are around 84%. Clients face uncertainty over pricing and find it difficult to accurately understand and budget for their legal work. The Apperio platform equips law firms and businesses with the real-time fee data and tools needed to accurately price, track and assess legal matters, identifying areas for improved efficiency and providing instant value to all.

Colemans-ctts, a well-known legal brand in the UK, announces that it has changed its name to Simpson Millar LLP [‘Simpson Millar’]. The rebrand, which took effect from 16 January 2016 follows the merger with Simpson Millar LLP in 2015 and reflects the union of both business, which will now operate as one entity across the UK.

In August 2015, Colemans-ctts and Simpson Millar merged to create one of the largest consumer law firms in the UK. A market leader in consumer legal services, Simpson Millar’s range of services has now been significantly enhanced and its footprint extended to 12 locations across England and Wales. Combined revenues are now in excess of £40m with expectations to grow to over £60m in the next two years in line with the firm’s ambition to become a top 50 law firm. The firm has strengthened its market positions in key business lines including travel law, personal injury and property conveyancing.

Peter Watson, Managing Director of Simpson Millar: “Merging with Colemans-ctts in 2015 represented a significant milestone for both businesses. Not only has our range of services been enhanced and our UK presence extended, importantly, clients now have access to a broader range of talented legal experts across many key practice areas. An important focus has also been to ensure that there is no compromise to quality and client care during this transition. Rebranding the combined businesses to Simpson Millar LLP represents the next step in this transition, and ensures a clear synergy between both businesses.”
With the backing of its parent company, Fairpoint Group PLC, Simpson Millar has become the largest trading operation within the Fairpoint business, accounting for more than 60%* of total group revenue.

Simpson Millar’s range of services includes:

• Commercial, Dispute Resolution and Mediation
• Conveyancing and Property
• Driving Offences
• Education Law
• Employment Law
• Family Law
• Holiday Claims
• Immigration
• Medical Negligence
• Personal Injury
• Polish Legal Services
• Professional Negligence
• Road Accidents
• Wills and Probate

SIMPSON MILLAR LLP

Simpson Millar LLP is a Fairpoint Group PLC company which successfully represents the rights of individuals and their families via a network of 13 regional UK offices and through its long-standing association with membership organisations.

The firm was the first ever UK law firm to obtain Lexcel Accreditation from the Law Society, and the first to obtain the Diversity in Business Accreditation.

Simpson Millar LLP employs more than 500 people including around 330 fee earners from offices in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Wimbledon, Bristol, Cardiff, Lancaster, Gateshead, Newcastle, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Acton.

www.simpsonmillar.co.uk    

FAIRPOINT GROUP PLC

Fairpoint Group Plc is listed on the Alternative Investment Market and a leading provider of professional services to UK consumers with particular skills in process automation and consolidation. Fairpoint offers a wide range of specialist solutions across two market sectors, financial and legal services.

www.fairpoint.co.uk

BroadGroup Consulting continues to be contacted by new investors interested in the asset class. These include real estate investors and pension funds, keen to diversify and attracted by returns, tenant quality and low churn. It also includes private equity who have previously ignored the sector, or hedge funds or VCs keen to exploit growth in cloud.

These conclusions form part of a new paper by BroadGroup Consulting to be included in the next edition of Colocation Market Quarterly the European tracking service provided by the company.

The company believes that trade buyers, keen to scale up their operations, broaden and diversify their offerings, and potentially preparing for IPO are also evident, with other investment coming in from Asia.

On the seller side, BroadGroup sees options emerging from big telcos and managed services providers to smaller and more regional plays, to existing investors in the space.

“A big challenge is that often the seller has the ‘wrong’ kind of asset,” comments Steve Wallage, managing director at BroadGroup Consulting. “They could be too small – private equity often finds the assets are below their minimum threshold. Old and low quality facilities is often an issue afflicting telco assets. Data Centres could be in unattractive locations. Another factor could be an unappealing business model or the complexity of ownership structure.”

However, the group believes that the single biggest hold-up is valuation.

“Sellers point to the growth in data centre demand from IoT, Big Data, cloud and the challenges in securing new data centre sites, such as power, telecoms and planning/zoning. Pricing of recent deals, such as the Equinix acquisition of TeleCity at a 27% premium to its stock price may be cited.”

But overall the group believes that buyers are wary of multiples beyond 15x EBITDA. They also point out the weaknesses in many data centre assets, the threats and challenges in the industry, whether from technology, cloud, commoditization or the size and scale of competitors.

Addressing who will win in the poker game between buyers and sellers of data centre assets is a key question for the 9th annual Finance and Investment Forum|http://www.financeinvestmentforum.com] which takes place in London 21 January 2016.

Burcher Jennings is delighted to have won the Award for ‘Supporting the Industry’ at the recent Modern Law Awards 2015. This Award recognises businesses which have demonstrated significant support to the legal sector over the past year. The Awards ceremony was presented by celebrity Jimmy Carr in a glittering ‘Great Gatsby’ theme at The Hurlingham Club.

Amidst a background of continuous change in the legal industry, throughout the year, Burcher Jennings has continued to invest in its strategic development including in respect of costs, funding and pricing. The firm’s pioneering work included the launch of a ground breaking new funding scheme – ‘Burcher Jennings Funding for Growth’, which is aimed at countering several long-standing structural challenges that law firms face. Unlike traditional loans and overdraft facilities that need to be repaid relatively quickly, a ‘Burcher Jennings Funding for Growth’ scheme is available where firms are offered a revolving evergreen facility that should increase in size as the firm grows. Unlike standard bank finance, Burcher Jennings’ finance is not offered as a product and is without a hefty interest rate. This innovative funding initiative is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK legal industry.

Amongst other developments, Bucher Jennings also opened further offices in Exeter and London complementing its existing offices in Bristol and Birmingham while making several new senior appointments, creating further ‘Centres of Excellence’ in strategic points across the country.

Martyn Jennings, Chief Executive at Burcher Jennings commented: “We are honoured to have won such a prestigious award. Our key objective is ensure law firms have continuous access to a comprehensive portfolio of specialist costs, pricing and funding services to enable them to boost efficiency, profitability and cash flow in a new and innovative way.”

Martyn added: “This Award is also clear recognition of the depth, quality and commitment which is inherent in all our teams across the UK who continuously strive to innovate and provide solutions which support the UK legal market. Business development and investment in high quality talent continues, and over the next period, we will be seeking to open further new offices and recruiting new talent to increase accessibility and depth of service for our valued clients.”

The Modern Law Awards took place in London on 19 November 2015, details of which can be found here. Burcher Jennings also wishes to congratulate all other winners at the Awards.