Interview with: Alec Colson, Head of Employment

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Taylor Walton Solicitors  from your competitors?

 The majority of our clients have worked with us on a longstanding basis and I believe that this is because we take the time to really understand how our client’s businesses operate and what is important to them.  This means that when we devise legal strategies for our clients, we are able to do so in a way which addresses the clients needs in a more tailored way.  Additionally, we are very responsive to our client’s needs.  As we are a fairly small team, this means that most of our clients will know all of the members of the team and work can be picked up and dealt with quickly and effectively, even if a client’s main contact is not available.

 

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

 Employment law will be subject to some dramatic changes in the next 12 -18 months as a result of the new Employment Rights Bill which sets out details of the Labour Government’s plans to “make work pay”.

Changes will include significant extensions to the right to claim unfair dismissal, as well as new restrictions on zero hours contracts and “fire and rehire” practices.  Our clients are already taking steps to understand and prepare for the changes.  The changes will affect all businesses, regardless of size, and I expect that our team will spend a significant amount of time in the coming 12 months helping our clients to get to grips with the upcoming changes.

 

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

 In recent years our ability to be responsive to clients needs has improved significantly.  Many of our processes can now be caried out remotely or online.  We can be flexible in terms of meetings and communication to ensure that our clients can contact us in a way and at a time which is most convenient to them.

We also have a range of fee earners within our team with differing levels of experience to ensure that all work is being carried out at the right level and in a cost- effective way.  In the last 12 months a newly qualified solicitor has joined our team and we will continue to grow the team in the coming months to ensure that we have a stable and secure team for the future.

 

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

 Whilst the needs of our clients have not changed significantly in recent years, the way that we interact with them has.  It is increasingly the case that in person meetings are being replaced with video meetings which enables us to be more flexible in terms of when meetings and calls can take place.  Nearly all written communications now take place by email and we are also able to facilitate signing of documents for clients electronically.

Where clients are involved in employment tribunal proceedings, it is increasingly possible for hearings to take place via video, or on a hybrid basis involving video and in person attendance.  This means that matters can be dealt with in a more flexible and cost effective way with less disruption to the clients’ businesses.

 

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

 We have recently started acting for a client which had grown significantly over a fairly short period as a result of various acquisitions.  The result of this was that the staff were all engaged on different contracts and had different working arrangements, creating operational difficulties and administrative burdens.

We assisted the client to review the business and formulate a strategy to ensure that the staff were moved onto new contracts with consistent terms which were not significantly to the detriment of any staff member.  We assisted the client with their collective consultation obligations in relation to the contractual changes, and with the practical arrangements for carrying out the process.

The result of this exercise is that the client now has a workforce who all have generally consistent working arrangements, which has made the business easier and cheaper to run from an operational and administrative perspective.

 

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

 My view is that our clients want to feel that we will continue to support them in the future with keeping them up to date with changes in the law and also addressing their legal issues as they arise.  Having a stable team that knows our clients well also means that we can be proactive is anticipating changes in the law which might be relevant to them, assisting them to prepare and act as appropriate.

In the next three years, we would like to maintain the excellent client base that our team has built by continuing to develop and build those relationships.  We also hope to grow the team in a sustainable way to ensure that we remain well equipped to respond to our clients’ needs.