BOUNCING BACK:Leman Solicitors has profited from cutting legal jargon, itemising bills and increasing clients' access to files
‘TWO LADS and a laptop,” is how John Hogan of Leman Solicitors describes his 2007 business start-up with solicitor Larry Fenelon.
In a little mews near the Pepper Canister church these two young gun solicitors decided to jump head first into the ever-widening black hole of a faltering economy and to keep faith in their ambitious plan to form a modern law practice based on three founding principles: clear channels of communication with clients; modern understandable language without the archaic legal gobbledegook so often associated with the law; and itemised bills that set out exactly every fee charged to client accounts.
It sounds like a huge task in a profession wedded to an old-fashioned way of doing business, in an era when the industry at large has been lambasted in the media and society for nest-feathering practices and legally, ethically and morally dubious behaviour by the rogue few.
Says Hogan: “We wanted to change the culture of opacity and if possible, begin to reverse the terrible damage done to our profession’s reputation by the Thomas Byrnes and the Michael Lynns.
“We want to drag solicitors into the 21st century by having complete transparency, online access to files and availability to our clients so that we are there for them when they need us.
They soon found they were onto something.
At the time many large firms were shedding staff and cutting wages. Lemans was fortunate to pick up talented people just as these other firms were handing out the P45s.
Taking the plunge, both partners remortgaged their homes and worked round the clock to build their practice. They moved out of their mews and into smart offices round the corner, all the better to accommodate their growing numbers of staff.
“We have expanded fourfold since we started and we plan to recruit more staff this year,” explains Hogan, acknowledging that he may not have been in a position to employ these professionals when the property bubble and associated avalanche of work for legal professionals was at its height.
“The crash worked to our advantage. Much of our business is with small and medium enterprises, companies which got shoved aside during the boom. This sector will drive the recovery and Leman wants to service these new, clever, Irish businesses, from start up. It’s all about building up relationships, keeping costs low and adding value for clients.”
Hogan reckons we, as a society, need to get back to basics and professional basics are as good a place as any to start.
The legal profession has been decimated by the crash in the construction sector with firms closing, large numbers of redundancies and consolidation within the industry. The aforementioned rogue solicitors have caused problems for the industry way beyond the obvious public relations disaster. Insurance premiums for all firms have increased several hundred per cent but Hogan agrees that some firms were giving out enormous guarantees for loans that they should have known were unsustainable in the medium and long term.
“That kind of culture had to go. It has caused a huge amount of distrust with the public. The industry is now safer and public confidence in the legal profession is slowly returning. The local solicitor used to be an important part of civic society and it would be a shame if we lost all of that. There are many decent people paying for the sins of the few. Our opportunity is in continuing our leaner, modern business methods. First and foremost we are a business and have to operate on sound business principals of cash flow and employment. Some firms got too big. No more living in ivory towers for the professional class of this country.”
Leman Solicitors has picked up a small business award from FBD for the best use of IT in a small business. The company also supports the Endeavour Programme, a new initiative run by business guru Patrick O’Sullivan-Green, which is aimed at creating a new generation of Irish technical superstars, with
all the possibilities for employment and the economy which success at that level could offer.
Hogan is investing in staff by funding training and continuing education and is proud of the positive contribution made to the company by all staff members, new and more experienced.
“Best practice in our industry provides better services. We feel we offer the expertise and professionalism you would find in a large firm, but with the personal, modern touch of a small young team.”
Leman Solicitors has elbowed its way into a crowded market and found a niche for itself working with Irish companies who previously weren’t always best served by the big players.
And for a financially burned public, Hogan offers this: “Transparency is going to change the fee system in the legal profession. We are definitely ahead of the curve on this.”
Series concluded