Firm aiming for even further growth after rapid expansion

Opportunities are emerging for smaller, niche firms that can take the heat out of complex family disputes.

A Harrogate-based law firm has started the new financial year aiming for growth after tripling its client base in less than 18 months.

Jarvis Family Law’s managing partner Jackie Nicholson hopes to hire another two solicitors by 2014. In the last 18 months, the firm has grown from a staff of four to 10.

Ms Nicholson said: “Our growth has been rapid and we’re proud of what the team has achieved in the last two years – but it has to be sustainable.

“It’s no good bringing in new staff and investing in new offices and IT and then paying for it simply by increasing your fees.

“The risk is that your client base will shrink and you will find yourself saddled with costs the business can no longer afford.

“We took the view that, if we wanted to grow, we would have to pay for it by attracting new business. Seeing a divorce lawyer is often daunting enough but that doesn’t mean the ‘solicitor experience’ has to be formal, sombre or inflexible.

“We try not to force our clients into a process which doesn’t fit them, preferring to work within their time frames and budgets – and it seems to have worked.”

Jarvis Family Law faced a challenging time when proprietor and sole practitioner Anne Jarvis was forced to retire due to ill-health in October 2010.

Although Ms Nicholson and Angela Moores agreed to take over the reins, the practice faced an uncertain future as – fearing the worst and with no guarantee of job security – some key staff had already left.

Undaunted, the twin sisters devised a business plan based on sustained growth, without any borrowing and without an increase in fees.

Solicitor Nadia Gubba joined the team in November 2010 with a new legal secretary recruited to boost administration. Neil Dring then joined from Graysons in Sheffield in early 2011.

Solicitor Harriet Reid, who had previously worked in Aylesbury and Wetherby, joined the practice in January this year.

Ms Reid, who is the daughter of Yorkshire orthopaedic surgeon Robert Bremner and the sister of ITV news correspondent Juliet Bremner, brings 19 years of experience in family law to the Harrogate practice.

The company is aiming to recruit a junior administrator and a further part-time secretary to help manage the increased workload.

Ms Nicholson added: “Outside our industry, there’s often the perception that lawyers are somehow insulated from the challenges facing the economy, but that’s not the case at all.

“Of course, people still need expert opinion on legal matters – but they still want good customer service and value for money and, if you’re not offering it, then they will simply go elsewhere.”

The firm’s turnover has increased more than three-fold since its formation, to a sum which is close to seven figures.

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