LAW
Legal eagles – Punch Robson senior partners Elaine McLaine- Wood and John Wilkin ( stood ) with Katherine Eaton ( left ) and Jennifer Williamson .
Katherine Eaton : Head of Punch Robson ’ s residential property department , Katherine joined Punch Robson as a trainee solicitor in 2002 and qualified two years later .
Jennifer Williamson : Jennifer qualified as a solicitor in 2013 and specialises in family law , advising clients on various legal issues , including domestic abuse and private and public law children matters .
All four are equity partners , so they not only possess legal excellence , business acumen and sound financial management but , says Elaine , they all “ understand the ethos of what the firm is about .”
She says : “ For a firm to work , you need good financial management , loyalty , the ability to be a trusted adviser and good staff morale – and I believe we have all of those .
“ We ’ re not a generally high-pressure , ‘ billable hours ’ culture where a lot of the larger firms would be , in that they ’ ve got to record so many hours and bill accordingly .
“ We do have targets , but they ’ re realistic , which helps with the work-life balance and keeping staff morale high . “ And we don ’ t chase growth for growth ’ s sake – we ’ re not ever going to think ‘ we ’ re going to grow and take over the world ’.
“ I might have been a bit more like that when I was younger but being realistic , there ’ s something about focusing on
delivering first-class legal services and having a better working culture and environment that gives you stability , rather than fixating on unrealistic targets .
“ When you ’ ve got a culture of mentoring and a grasp of the business world , it puts the firm in good health and breeds confidence .
“ We ’ re also bespoke with our services – not each job or client will be the same . You could say buying and selling a house is a simple transaction , for example , but it isn ’ t necessarily for that person , so it ’ s about engaging with the client and managing their needs and expectations .”
And with an eye to the future , Elaine says she would love more legal graduates to consider working for a smaller independent such as Punch Robson .
“ I ’ d ask law graduates to think whether they really necessarily want to work for the big firms ,” she says .
“ There ’ s no harm in doing that , of course , but with a smaller independent , you can give a human level of service that can make a difference but doesn ’ t jeopardise the ethos of the firm .”
And it ’ s that ethos , she believes , that will continue to serve Punch Robson well .
She said : “ Our success is down to the quality of the expertise , solid commercial
We ’ re very traditional in many ways but there ’ s nothing wrong with that .
logic and a commitment to treating clients , staff , intermediaries and third parties with respect .
“ Our clients like our independence . With agricultural clients , for example , we ’ ve had generations of parents and grandparents – they like to have that trusted adviser and they buy into what we ’ re all about .
“ We ’ re very traditional in many ways but there ’ s nothing wrong with that – there ’ s something about looking somebody in the eye , a good handshake , face-to-face meetings , that personal touch .
“ Yes , you can deal with a lot of things remotely but there ’ s something about Teessiders in particular who like the human touch .
“ And the best thing about what we do is when you ’ re making a difference because of your expertise and how your client buys into you and trusts you .
“ That ’ s what we pride ourselves on and we feel staying independent is an important part of that .”
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The voice of business in the Tees region | 31