On Tuesday 25th May 2021, professionals from across the conveyancing sector came together to celebrate the successes and achievements of the industry at The British Conveyancing Awards 2021.
The inaugural awards took to the virtual stage, and were led by the fabulous award winning broadcaster and journalist Samira Ahmed. If you want a re-cap of the action, the recording is available to view here.
As part of our winner spotlight features, we want to shine a light on those who narrowly missed out on being crowned the winner, but have been highly commended for their efforts over the previous 12 months at this year’s event.
Today we profile Fishers Solicitors who were highly commended in the Best Direct to Consumer Offering category.
About the award
Covid-19 has forced more consumers online in their search for home moving services resulting in many firms focusing on a direct to consumer offering. This category recognises those firms that can successfully demonstrate how their direct to consumer offering positively impacts on their business now and moving forward.
The firm must demonstrate over the last 12 months:
- An innovative approach in their model
- How their direct offering contributes to their overall business
- The positive impact of a direct offering to enhance the customer experience
- The sustainability of their direct to consumer offering in 2021 and beyond
Fishers were commended by the judges, who stated:
“Impressive idea and great customer service.”
Muve won this category, with MyHomeMove Conveyancing securing third spot.
We spoke to Fishers Solicitors shortly after they found out the results.
How did you feel being highly commended in the Best Direct to Consumer Offering?
We were over the moon to be highly commended in the Best Direct to Consumer Offering. The conveyancing team at Fishers have been hugely and overwhelmingly busy over the last 14 months. This recognition is really appreciated after a hectic time for the team and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be shortlisted in the first place.
Tell us about your team and the services you provide
Fishers Solicitors is a law firm in Ashby. It has been around for nearly 200 years and provides local and national clients with a range of legal services including, conveyancing, commercial property, family law, wills, probate and tax, dispute resolution and commercial litigation work.
How has your firm developed in the last 14 months and navigated the added complexity of the coronavirus pandemic and SDLT holiday?
Just before lockdown hit, we had moved into new offices, these are on the outskirts of Ashby and are bright, contemporary and open plan. Just after we had all been given a desk and set up with new equipment we found ourselves very quickly working from home. The transition ran smooth with the help of key team members and from there we would see clients on Zoom or for our older and more vulnerable clients conduct meetings through windows or, when possible host meetings outside. To help with the increase of the conveyancing work we appointed a new solicitor in the conveyancing team who is well known in the area alongside other support staff too.
What’s next on the cards for you?
We’re really excited to say that we are advancing our uses of technology and soon we will have a some new features that we feel will serve our clients much better and give us an edge over our competitors. We won’t reveal all of our secrets just yet, but we’re really excited we have been able to make huge strides in becoming a much more forward thinking and modern firm. We hope to be back in our new offices when safe and to carry on working as one big team. Our plans are always to grow, adapt whilst staying loyal to our roots.
What advice would you give someone thinking of joining the conveyancing sector?
I would personally say, after many interviews and talks with our conveyancing team that you need to be highly organised, customer centric and to understand the importance of the transaction in your client’s life. Buying and selling a property for some people happens only once, or a handful of times, it’s a huge investment and so every transaction you work on should be done with care, precision and excitement, when in the right circumstances.
This is the very first British Conveyancing Awards, which recognises the herculean efforts of the industry, why do you think these awards are so important, especially after the last 14 months?
The times have been unprecedented, ever changing and very busy. Conveyancers across the country have had to be more vigilant than ever. The Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday sky rocketed the property market and the Coronavirus complicated things also, so the people working in these teams really deserve to be celebrated for keeping people buying and selling, at a time where at points there didn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel.
Everyone at Today’s Conveyancer congratulates all those who entered this year’s awards.
Join in the conversation #BCAwards2021
