The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 23: Spring 2022 | Page 7

ADVERTISING FEATURE

New era for Bath ’ s Mogers Drewett

At the beginning of the year , Bath headquartered law firm Mogers Drewett announced the appointment of Sean McDonough as its new Managing Partner . Sean , who specialises in employment law , joined the firm in 2011 . His appointment comes at an exciting time for the business as it prepares to implement a new business plan which will see the firm enhance both its client and people experience , while focussing on becoming a leading provider of legal and financial planning services across the region . We met Sean to find out more about Mogers Drewett ’ s plans for the years ahead .
Tell us more about the firm ’ s new direction The legal services market has been in a state of change for a long time which presents all sorts of challenges and opportunities . A number of our local and regional competitors have responded to those challenges by becoming larger . We want to do things differently , and whilst we are focussed on growth , we would like that growth to be achieved , in part , through diversifying our service offering . Our clients like the legal services that we provide and the way in which we provide them . We want to build on that by growing our financial planning offering .
So that ’ s pretty much it . We are not just going to get bigger for the sake of it . We will grow but will continue to be dedicated to our clients and our people whilst offering a broader range of legal and non-legal services that we believe will be helpful to our clients .
What changes will you be making ? We think it ’ s more about improving and strengthening what we currently do , as opposed to changing . We want to be better at doing what we do , and to do what we do better than our competitors . That ’ s quite the challenge as there are some really good local law firms and some really good local financial planning firms ! However , we offer both of those services under one roof which sets us aside from our competitors . We are focussing very heavily on identifying how we can improve the experience that our clients and our people have within the business . It ’ s obviously important to attract and retain clients to whom we can provide a fantastic service , but we can ’ t do any of that without
a team of talented people right across the business who enjoy working at the firm . Those areas will be a constant focus .
What are the ambitions for the firm ? We have big plans for the next three years as we launch our new business plan , but overall , we want to become the leading provider of legal and financial planning services in our region while continuing to exceed our clients expectations , attracting the best people to work with us and ensuring our people are passionate about Mogers Drewett .
What do you think is unique about Mogers Drewett ? We are and will continue to be , more than just a law firm . There is nothing wrong with being ‘ just ’ a law firm , but we want to be different .
How is business so far this year ? We are doing well which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the whole team here . Life is still fairly challenging and there are definitely further bumps to come as we emerge from the pandemic but there are also lots of opportunities to come and we are feeling optimistic .
Throughout the pandemic you ’ ve been a regular voice at The Business Exchange , giving our readers furlough advice and explaining the complexities of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme . Now , as we head out of the pandemic what challenges and opportunities are you seeing ? There are so many but if I was to focus on one key theme , it would be the impact the pandemic has had on the way most of us work .
The pace of change within the business accelerated overnight . Whilst we were in the middle of it , it seemed like we were reacting to the crisis and that we would at some point get back to ‘ normal ’. What dawned on us pretty quickly , however , was that a number of the changes that we made ( in particular of flexible / hybrid working and improving our tech to enable that ), were long overdue . We have retained lots of the changes we made . I think our clients and our people value the flexibility and convenience that now exists within the organisation .
It also represents an opportunity for us , as those working practices make it easier for us to attract and retain clients and talented people . Our people can choose to work as flexibly as their role allows and current evidence suggests that we are , on the whole , a happier and more productive business . The challenge that those working practices creates is ensuring that we have systems in place to keep our people connected to each other , making sure we don ’ t lose out on team working and those types of things .
Tell us more about your community work and its importance to Mogers Drewett The communities in which we live and work are very important to us and we work hard to support them . Each year , we choose a number of local community projects to support both financially and also with our time .
We very much believe in getting involved and so far this year we have collected and delivered laptops to local schools to support the Wiltshire Digital Drive , we have held workshops to support the great work that the amazing team at the Bath Rugby Foundation do to give young people in Bath the start in life they deserve , and we have walked , cycled , ran and baked to raise money for many other good causes .
What are your passions outside the office ? My family , my dog , Bob Dylan and The Smiths .
Mogers Drewett is a leading South West legal and financial planning firm . From offices in Bath , Frome , Sherborne and Wells it offers comprehensive expert advice across a range of legal and financial services for individuals and businesses .
To contact Sean email : Sean . McDonough @ mogersdrewett . com or call 01225 750 000 .

THE LAW FIRM ON THE SAME PAGE

Forward-thinking legal expertise on your doorstep

BATH | WELLS | SHERBORNE | FROME | mogersdrewett . com | 01225 750 000
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2022 7