When I was Vice President of the Law Society in 2007 I made the decision to scrap the Law Society Annual Conference, which was gradually losing support and suggested that we should put the budget into a classy annual Law Society Excellence Awards ceremony in Central London. I was not popular with some Law Society members on two counts. Firstly I had scrapped an annual jolly, which on occasions had been held in glamourous locations around Europe, largely paid for through the Practising Certificate Fee. Secondly, the Excellence Awards would concentrate only on the good firms and, was it appropriate they said, for our professional body to highlight good practice when we also represented those not so good; should we not look after the whole profession!
I did not feel that my unpopularity with the insiders should be a reason not to do the right thing. So the Law Society Awards commenced in 2008 in my Presidential year and they have been a highlight of the Law Society calendar every year since. It has been effective in highlighting the wonderful work carried out by solicitors and solicitor’s practices. In 2015, Elkan Abrahamson was named Solicitor of the year for his work on Hillsborough. In 2017 we decided to enter as a practice for the first time and won two prestigious awards for excellence in Pro Bono through the work of our Jackson Lees Foundation and for Chris Topping as Human Rights lawyer of the year.
In the meantime, Liverpool Law Society started its own biannual awards ceremonies in 2007 and in 2009 where we picked up Liverpool Law firm of the Year. In 2011 we did not enter but in 2013 we won Medium law firm of the year and in 2015 and 2017 we won Large Law Firm of the year. The Awards Ceremony this year was held last Friday where we were nominated for the large firm award again, but it was too much to expect we should carry on winning. Well done to Weightmans this year!
I must also mention that Hannah Bickley, one of our family team lawyers, was highly commended as one of the local profession’s rising stars. We have also been shortlisted in the CILEX national awards for the Innovation and People Development Award and Large Law Firm award and in the Wirral Business Awards for the Financial and Professional Business of the Year. These ceremonies come up soon. It is just the way we write them? Yes, we all know that awards are a bit of a jamboree but, how seriously can we really take the results?
What I am getting at is that we are nominated because we have a story to tell as a business. We know why we exist and our staff know why they come into work. Making a positive difference in all that we do is not just a strap line; it drives everything we do. It makes us look after the interests of each client according to their needs. It means that we dedicate a percentage of our profits to our Jackson Lees Foundation for charitable purposes. It motivates us to look after our staff and provide a working environment where each can reach their full potential and develop and thrive, hence our Training Academy. It means that we care about justice which is why we still do asylum work and hold those in authority to account like if a mental health patient dies in custody. 40% of our income comes from legal aid areas when many of our rivals have given up the work because they say it cannot deliver a profit. We carry on doing it because justice matters.
This story sets us apart. 92% of our staff in a recent engagement survey understand why we exist and believe that we do make the positive difference we claim to through the work that we do. Our purpose is not just management speak and wishful thinking it runs through every corner of the business. Our entries to these award competitions tell a stoy that makes us stand out. I also think it is why we were named as one of the 1000 companies to inspire Britain by the London Stock Exchange in 2018.
Whilst we know we can improve, we are proud to be different and that motivates us to make that positive difference in what we do and the way that we do it. That is something to be proud of.