LAW
Reputation – it’ s Jacksons’ people who set the law firm apart from its competitors.
Richard Flounders, partner and head of property litigation, adds:“ People buy from people and – certainly with what Toby and I do – nobody comes to see us with something that isn’ t giving them a certain level of stress.
“ The results are potentially life-changing if we can’ t help change things.”
Care in communication Erica firmly believes empathising with clients enables them to fully confide in you – and this is crucial to helping them find a timely solution.
“ Sometimes the advice we give is quite general rather than legal – but people choose to come back to someone who has shown them a sympathetic ear,” she says.
Nicola Neilson, partner and head of commercial property and agricultural and rural affairs, adds it’ s important to be approachable and available.
“ People ring up, they want to speak to you – and they get to speak to you,” she says.“ This makes them feel seen, heard and valued.”
She adds that the complexities of the law are increasing at the same rate as time pressures, with new technology meaning clients often expect an immediate response.
We are independent business owners, dealing with other independent business owners.”
“ If you’ ve been emailed one day and your client’ s question needs some thought, it’ s important to tell them you’ re going to need time to think before responding fully,” she says.“ When you update people like that, they appreciate it.”
Remaining independent, embracing change Jacksons is committed to retaining independence to protect its unique culture and client care.
“ We are independent business owners, dealing with other independent business owners,” Toby says.
“ When you appoint Jacksons, you are dealing with the firm’ s owners – that’ s how we can form relationships and that’ s what sets us apart and makes us unique and successful.”
Erica says:“ If you’ re going to be a business that stands still, people are going to overtake you. Change should be your friend and not your foe.
“ We are still providing pragmatic advice like we always have – but the manner in which we are delivering the advice is different.”
Richard adds that the advent of AI means clients now visit lawyers already armed with information and“ rightly or wrongly perceive they already understand their legal situation”, which can be a challenge.
“ In the past, a solicitor would tell you what to do and you would accept that, but now it’ s a two-way street,” he says.“ We give them options and they can choose what they want to do based on our advice.”
Business advice Both Toby and Richard advise people to seek legal advice as soon as a problem in your business becomes evident.
“ We see things when something has gone drastically wrong and we often say,‘ If we’ d picked this up six months ago, we could have turned this around’,” Richard says.
David adds:“ Your bank manager, your lawyer and your accountant should be the trusted advisers around you. You shouldn’ t be afraid to pick up the phone to them and ask their advice about your plans.”
With 150 years of success behind it, Jacksons certainly offers advice worth taking.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 109