Leading East Midlands-based law firm Nelsons has hit the first milestone of its three-year financial target – growing its after-tax profits by 27 per cent to £3.6 million.
The law firm – which has more than 190 employees across its offices in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby – also boosted its turnover by eight per cent from £15.9 million to £17.2 million for the year ending May 2019. It marks a positive step towards its aim of increasing turnover to £20 million by June 2021.
Stewart Vandermark, who became chief executive of Nelsons in June 2017, which was the firm’s first leadership change since it was established in 1983, said: “We’ve created a culture that when we set targets, there’s a collective determination to beat them together. Our successful financial performance confirms that we’re on the right track to achieving our ambitious goals.
“After a period of consolidation with a turnover at c£15.6 million for four consecutive years, there was a determination to drive growth again. A more focused approach to targeting business development activity, a fresh brand, and enhancing employee engagement were all part of a joined-up approach to push the business forward.
“Acquisitions in previous years have continued to provide significant growth and there’s ongoing investment in IT to drive operational efficiencies. We’re also working on restructuring our property portfolio, which allows us to reduce our overall property costs and increase profitability.”
Nelsons embarked on a journey to capture the spirit of what made the law firm in the early years, which meant the company could continue to evolve in fresh ways relevant for the modern world. Since then, Nelsons has launched a fresh vision and values, re-branded, implemented a weekly and in-depth quarterly happiness survey to improve employee engagement and gain valuable insight, and invested in Microsoft Surface Pros laptops so work can be done in a more agile way.
Since the start of 2019, Nelsons has also taken home nine prestigious industry awards – including being named the large law firm of the year at both the Derby & District and Leicestershire Law Society Awards – and was shortlisted for a further 10. The law firm was also recognised in 21 practice areas in the Legal 500 UK 2020 rankings.
Stewart said: “All of these initiatives have created a lot of positivity, excitement and energy across the business. Everyone has really embraced the changes we’ve made and the ambitious goals we’ve set.
“Delivering an outstanding client experience is at the heart of our growth strategy. We want to push boundaries so we can empower our clients – giving them a voice, fighting for them, helping them seek justice and steering them through the complex legal issues they face.
“We’re dedicated to offering employees and clients first-class meeting and working spaces, as well as attracting and retaining the best lawyers in the region to work for us. We’ve invested heavily in innovative IT solutions to help us operate as efficiently as possible. We’ve also refurbished our Nottingham office, creating a building designed for modern, agile working, with a social space to bring us together and celebrate success. Work has started on bringing the same environment to our Leicester office and is scheduled to start in our Derby premises in January next year.
“Despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the legal market in the region being competitive, we believe that our approachable nature and focus on improving efficiencies – combined with a workplace culture that attracts top talent to deliver the best client experience – sets us up for continued success.
“Nelsons was always a firm that was looking to do things differently, so it was seen as a bit of a disruptor in its early years. In an era where competitors’ doors were closed during lunch times, Nelsons staff printed their home phone numbers on letterheads and business cards, offering a 24-hour service. The firm also challenged the legal sector’s traditionally fragmented workplace structure by housing its lawyers in an open plan environment.
“Defining our vision and creating an empowering culture shows we’re committed to finishing what was started in 1983, with aims of being the leading law firm in the East Midlands. What we have achieved so far is a real team effort and I’m proud to be able to continue leading the firm on this journey, raising our profile and celebrating the work we do.”
