Property teams and service providers recognised within the recent LawNet and Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards
Over the last couple of weeks, many well-known industry leaders have scooped multiple awards.
Presented on 11th November at the annual conference, the LawNet 2016 Awards were handed to an array of worthy winners, including Gardner Leader, Hart Brown and the property team at Mullis & Peake.
Gardner Leader was crowned Law Firm of the Year – their second award in just two months. In October, the firm took the prize for the best in Business Development at the national Halsbury Legal Awards 2016.
The firm were said to have delivered strong evidence on all counts including a clear five-year growth plan and figures to show how turnover has almost doubled in the last six years thanks to its continuous expansion. In two years, the firm has expanded its teams in all three offices, with its Maidenhead team approaching twice the size it was when they acquired it in October 2014.
For the second year running, Hart Brown was awarded the Mark of Excellence award for outstanding performance on LawNet’s independently assessed mystery shopping and client satisfaction measurement. This award is given to firms based on internal performance and activity data looking for those who are most improved and proactive.
In addition, Danielle Collett-Bruce, Commercial & Corporate solicitor at Hart Brown, was awarded the Young Lawyer of the Year trophy. The award was given to her based on her understanding of the importance of putting clients first, communication and relationship building. A member of the Commercial & Corporate team, she is already leading on multi-million pound deals.
Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader said: “Winning Law Firm of the Year award is an absolute honour and tribute to all the hard work and commitment of every single employee, to make Gardner Leader the successful law firm that it is today. We have seen tremendous growth over the last few years and this is all down to having a happy and highly motivated workforce at the core, driving and implementing changes that benefit our clients and that lead to the growth and prosperity of the firm.”
Nigel Maud, Chief Operating Officer at Hart Brown said: “As a firm we strive to give the best client service that we can. We measure this using tools such as satisfaction surveys and mystery shopping. Having been benchmarked against national law firms we consistently beat the average score being achieved in the legal industry and are working towards being even better. To have the efforts of our people recognised by LawNet is wonderful for every member of staff.”
The following week, the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards took place on 16th November, with winners including My Home Move, Lawyer Checker and Landmark Information Group.
My Home Move scooped two of the awards, both the Best Conveyancing Firm and Innovation (non-lender). This is the third time in as many years that the conveyancing provider has been recognised by the judges of these awards. In 2015 it was named Best Use of Technology for its innovative, online case management service, eWay and last year picked up the title of Best Conveyancing Provider.
Lawyer Checker took home their second award win of 2016, achieving Best Anti-Fraud Service. In July, the service provider was also awarded the Innovation of the Year Award at the new Modern Law Conveyancing Awards.
Speaking of their win, Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move, said: “Since winning our first Mortgage Finance Gazette Award in 2015, we have developed the eWay service we provide to our clients to ensure they can manage their home move from the convenience of a smartphone or tablet. This innovation, complete with accompanying app, sets us apart from our competitors. Described as ‘effortless’ to use by our clients and recommended as the key feature of our service by our introducers, eWay is revolutionising the customer experience of conveyancing to confirm our position as the country’s leading conveyancing provider.
“We’d like to thank the judges for presenting us with these awards, and I very much look forward to sharing them with everyone at My Home Move.”
LawNet 2016 Award Winners
- Best Digital Presence (sponsored by Conscious Solutions) – Gotelee Solicitors
- Best Community Contribution (sponsored by Landmark Information Group) – Ashtons Legal
- Excellence in Employee Engagement (sponsored by Tikit) – Buckles Solicitors LLP
- Young Lawyer of the Year (sponsored by Econocom Digital Finance) – Hart Brown Solicitors
- Team of the Year (sponsored by STL) – Residential Property Team at Mullis & Peake LLP
- Law Firm of the Year (sponsored by Wilkinson Read & Partners) – Gardner Leader
- LawNet Mark of Excellence Award (sponsored by Shopper Anonymous) – Hart Brown Solicitors
- Most Active LawNet Member Firm (sponsored by PKF Francis Clark) – Andrew & Co LLP
Mortgage Finance Gazette Award Winners 2017
Mortgage Product Innovation – Medium to Large Lenders
Winner: Family Building Society
Highly Commended: Leeds Building Society
Highly Commended: Newcastle Building Society
Mortgage Product Innovation – Smaller Lenders
Winner: Melton Mowbray Building Society
Highly Commended: Hodge Lifetime
Highly Commended: Marsden Building Society
Innovation – Lenders
Winner: Virgin Money
Highly Commended: Leeds Building Society
Collaborative Innovation
Winner: Vizolution in association with HSBC
Highly Commended: Legal & General Home Finance in association with Santander
Highly Commended: Unisys in association with Nationwide
Innovation – Non-Lenders
Winner: My Home Move
Highly Commended: Landmark Information Group
Community Services – Medium to Large Lenders
Winner: Yorkshire Building Society
Highly Commended: Newcastle Building Society
Highly Commended: West Brom Building Society
Community Services – Smaller Lenders
Winner: Darlington Building Society
Community Services – Non-Lenders
Winner: Landmark Information Group
Highly Commended: Computershare
Corporate Social Responsibility
Winner: Phoebus Software Limited
Customer Service/Treating Customers Fairly – Lenders
Winner: Bank of Ireland
Highly Commended: Legal & General Home Finance
Highly Commended: Marsden Building Society
Customer Service/Treating Customers Fairly – Non-Lenders
Winner: Zing Mortgages
Highly Commended: Countrywide Conveyancing Services
Highly Commended: Intelenet Global Services
Best Debt and Arrears Management Strategy
Winner: Computershare
Highly Commended: Target Group
Highly Commended: TLT
Best Use of Technology – Lenders
Winner: Legal & General Home Finance
Highly Commended: Bank of Ireland
Best Use of Collaborative Technology
Winner: DPR and Metro Bank
Highly Commended: Phoebus Software Limited
Best Use of Technology – Suppliers
Winner: Countrywide and Landmark Valuation Services
Highly Commended: ULS Technology
Best Anti-Fraud Service
Winner: Lawyer Checker
Highly Commended: Countrywide Surveying Services
Highly Commended: Legal Eye
Best Law Firm
Winner: Shakespeare Martineau
Highly Commended: Aberdein Considine
Best Conveyancing Firm
Winner: My Home Move
Highly Commended: Countrywide Conveyancing Services
Highly Commended: Shakespeare Martineau
Leadership Award – Amyn Fazal, Chief Executive, Penrith Building Society
Lifetime Achievement Award – Paul Winter MBE, chief executive, Ipswich Building Society
