unLTD’s Chris Coates spoke to Adrian Sheehan, Rob Cooke, James Alger and Sarah Rowland from BRM Solicitors about finding the best staff, how to retain them and why local legal professionals should join the team.
With offices in Sheffield and Chesterfield, BRM Solicitors has been a mainstay of our region for almost 40 years. The company is a specialist commercial law firm covering all areas of commercial and
business law, including corporate, commercial property, dispute resolution and employment law, together with supporting private client services such as residential property, wills, trusts and estate planning.
But what sets BRM apart from other law firms in the city?
Rob Cooke, executive director and one of the owners at BRM said: “I would consider us to be something of a surprise package when it comes to law firms.
“The owners of the business have a young outlook and are dynamic which removes some of the traditional stuffiness of a law firm, and that feeds into the working environment. Historically, we have been reluctant to shout about the great work we do, but we are now starting to do that."
The shift in outlook is reflected in BRM’s culture when it comes to workload and flexibility. Rob said: “It is a historic view of a law firm that lawyers always work long hours and remain at their desks late into the evening regularly.
“That perception is less relevant to today’s flexible working patterns. It is correct to say that being a lawyer is hard work, but it does not necessarily have to mean long hours. We provide our lawyers with the tools to work effectively in a normal working day.”
Fellow executive director and Head of Real Estate, Adrian Sheehan, added: “The morale of staff is incredibly important, and we have always been keen to foster a culture that delivers the highest service to clients without requiring a ‘last out of the office’ approach.
“We pride ourselves on the service levels we provide, whilst giving our staff the tools, freedom and flexibility to achieve work-life balance.
“Against the numerous negatives brought about by the pandemic, one positive is the acceleration of flexible working practices and a renewed outlook within the legal industry.”
This flexible and considered approach to working is welcomed by BRM’s lawyers. James Alger, Real Estate director said: “Flexibility is very important to me, as I have a young family.
“Office contact is still important for development, training, supervision and peer-to-peer support, but as long as the work is done to a high standard and client satisfaction does not suffer, where it is done is not a concern.”
With a culture of flexible working and high achievement, BRM is an attractive place for legal professionals to work and has a strong staff retention rate. The company is keen to fly the flag for regional firms, which can sometimes be overlooked by people in favour of large national companies.
Adrian said: “At BRM we feel we have a good retention level, and we believe that this is because we have worked hard on making the culture right and making sure the staff are central to our planning.”
Rob said: “Moving to a regional firm can give great rewards, better work-life balance, clearer career progression and similar quality of work as a large national firm.
“The legal market is changing, and many firms are now too expensive for anyone other than multinational clients. At BRM we want to take advantage of this, our clients realise this, and the rest of the profession needs to see it.”
Despite the working culture being established at BRM, the industry-wide issue of recruiting remains a problem.
Rob said: “The biggest challenge is the initial reluctance for potential employees to leave their current safe, steady, unfulfilling role and leap into something new.
“It is important to realise that by working at BRM they are getting the same financial rewards, the same if not better quality of work, but with the correct work-life balance.
“We know we do not get everything right and not all appointments work, but those that buy into what we are trying to do are flourishing.
“We want to make sure that the people are the main driving force of the business based around respect, passion and drive to take BRM to the next level.”
Sarah Rowland, executive director and head of corporate added: “A benefit of working for BRM is that you get direct access to transactions and clients which may not be found in larger firms.
“It also allows you to deal with high value and high complexity transactions and there is a clearer path to substantive career progression, which may not be found in larger regional firms where caseload is often delivered from above.”
To legal professionals looking for a new challenge, James has this advice: “Look beyond the obvious and look at the people you are working with, the people you are working for and the quality of work.
To find out more about BRM Solicitors and the services they offer, visit www.brmlaw.co.uk.
