Law firm wins praise for its innovative work

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 5 December 2020

East Midlands law firm Nelsons has won praise for ‘blazing a trail’ in the legal world as it secured accreditation from The Law Society for the 15th year running.

Nelsons – which has more than 190 employees across its offices in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby – was described as ‘leaving other firms standing in terms of its innovation and culture’ in a report by the national society’s Lexcel auditor.

Among the 20 areas it has excelled in over the past year was the methods Nelsons has developed to deal with the difficulties of Covid-19, with the auditor applauding the law firm for placing employees’ mental health and wellbeing high on the agenda.

As well as being the 15th year running that Nelsons – which boosted its turnover by eight per cent to £17.2 million for the year ending May 2019 – has won the prestigious accreditation, it was also the first time that no instances of non-compliance against the requirements was recorded by the firm.

Cathryn Selby, partner and director of professional standards at Nelsons, said:

“We are very proud to hold this accolade once again, especially after the turbulent year the entire world has experienced.

“The Lexcel mark demonstrates our commitment to client care and best practice, meaning our clients can be assured that we always have their best interests at heart.

“To achieve zero non-compliances is a fantastic achievement and highlights that we continue to adopt and deliver the highest standards in everything we do – so that we can truly empower our clients.”

The Lexcel quality mark has been developed specifically for the legal profession, giving assurance that a practice meets high client care and business management standards. Law firms and in-house legal departments must undergo a rigorous annual application and assessment process, which includes background checks and an on-site visit from an experienced Lexcel assessor.

Stewart Vandermark, who became chief executive of Nelsons in June 2017, which was the law firm’s first leadership change since it was established in 1983, said:

“We are delighted that we have been able to preserve our culture through this time, which is testament to the gut-busting efforts of our team.

“Delivering an outstanding client experience is at the heart of everything we do at Nelsons. We want to push boundaries so we can empower our clients – give them a voice, fight for them, help them seek justice, and steer them through the complex legal issues they face. So, it is fantastic this has been recognised by The Law Society.”

Among the highlights, the auditor noted how Nelsons welcomes feedback on its processes by staff; how it introduced a new financial management procedure during lockdown; its proactive approach in continuing with promotions and new job titles; and the firm’s awards successes.

The IT department was praised for its ‘great resilience’ and prompt response in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the company had ‘risen to the challenge’ in placing employees’ mental health and wellbeing high on the agenda.

In their report, the auditor added:

“A great strength of the firm is its reputation, borne out of its in-house legal expertise, the skill-set of those in non-lawyer roles and built on a foundation of client care.”

Nelsons is one of more than 1,600 other legal practices in England and Wales with Lexcel accreditation.

For more information on Nelsons, please visit www.nelsonslaw.co.uk.

L/R Cathryn Selby & Stewart Vandermark

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