Member Article

Law firm develops team of the future

Leading North West law firm Gorvins is continuing to look to talent from within to provide high quality legal services to an expanding client base.

The policy of nurturing home-grown legal professionals and developing exciting career opportunities for existing employees has been a long-term commitment and in a fast-moving, recovering market is proving invaluable now.

Michael Smoult, who joined the firm as a newly-qualified lawyer, has been promoted to Senior Associate in the firm’s award-winning wills, trust and probate team, which is now one of the largest in the region.

Gorvins’ conveyancing team has grown substantially in the last 12 months and now has seven fee earners and three new support staff, including trainee solicitor Samantha Shemilt, who has secured a training contract after 18 months.

Samantha Ikin is six months into her training contract with the firm’s personal injury team and more are expected to be awarded in various departments later in the year as a crop of excellent individuals starts to achieve its potential.

Emma Sockett has become a paralegal in the firm’s commercial property team and Ben Hardman has joined the marketing department to manage Gorvins’ online and social media presence.

Of course the firm continues to look outside for people with the right level of commitment and potential and the family law team has been strengthened with the arrival of Linzi Perriman as Associate Solicitor.

Moving administrative employees into paralegal roles has long been a passion of Lorraine Lockie Managing Partner. Under her ‘sponsorship’ Karen Davenport recently completed the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) exams and is planning to qualify as a solicitor and hard on her heels is Danielle Hursthouse who has also become a paralegal in the wills, trust and probate department and is studying for her ILEX qualification.

Lorraine Lockie commented: “In a recovering marketplace we need to attract and retain good people quickly and we are actively looking for people already with us who have the talent and determination to succeed. Nurturing new lawyers and giving senior opportunities to those who have proved themselves is really starting to bear fruit and means we can react with speed and confidence to new business as it comes in.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Welton .