On Thursday 22 October 2020, professionals from across the wills and probate sector came together to celebrate the successes and achievements of the industry is what has been a challenging year, at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2020.
The awards, which was back for it’s third year, took to the virtual stage and was hosted by ex-Royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, alongside headline sponsor Arken.legal (UK), and champagne sponsor Executor Solutions.
500 people watched the winning organisations take the crown this year. The full list of winners is available here. The online event is available to watch here.
Let’s hear from Solicitor Firm of the Year (South) Award winner, Simpson Solicitors
About the Solicitor Firm of the Year (South) Award
This award represents the regional Solicitor firm who has best proven all round excellence within the practice area of Wills, Probate and Estate Management. They effectively engage with their clients through various channels be it directly, online or through panels.
The winner of this award must:
- Be able to demonstrate extensive development and progress as a business within the last year, including but not limited to; strategy, growth, financial performance, employee development, diversity and training
- Have evidence of active engagement and community and or corporate initiatives
- Be able to demonstrate that they are operating in the best interests of the client and the profession
- Be able to demonstrate they excel at dealing with service issues or complaints which may arise
- Be able to demonstrate a clear approach it IT security and cyber crime prevention
Simpson Solicitors were shortlisted alongside:
- Grant Saw Solicitors (Highly Commended)
- Morrisons Solicitors
During the judging process, the judges decided that Simpson Solicitors were the worthy winners saying:
“A strong submission with innovative new ways of delivering services.”
How did you feel winning the Solicitor Firm of the Year (South) Award this year?
Absolutely fantastic! For everyone who works at our 5 Simpson Solicitors South West shops and for everyone who works at our Right Legal Group head office, to be recognised by the industry for what we do is truly humbling.
So, who are Simpson Solicitors? What do you do?
Simpson Solicitors SW is a part of the Right Legal Group that specialises in Wills and Probate.
Simpson Solicitors SW has 5 high street shops embedded in their local communities in South Gloucester, Bristol and North Somerset.
How has your firm developed in the last 12 months and navigated the added complexity of the coronavirus pandemic?
When COVID hit in March 2020, we saw CLOSED signs being sellotaped to law firm doors across our area. At Simpson Solicitors, this didn’t feel right. More than ever before there were people worried about death and the legal and financial implications.
Online Wills and Probate offerings really were not the best option for many of the most vulnerable and the elderly.
So, we stayed OPEN and adapted, as our team went the extra mile for clients.
We quickly forget that it was quite a difficult decision to stay open in lockdown, with police patrolling shopping centres and stopping the cars of members of staff. But we had been designated as key-workers and with huge compliance support and practical encouragement from Right Legal Group’s head office we were able to continue supporting the vulnerable, those shielding at home and the families of the people who died.
Communication: People needed to know we were open and that we could help even if they were isolating. We commissioned huge A0 signs at our shops. We got the message out through our community connections and with a big social media campaign.
In person meetings: We continued with more telephone and Zoom meeting but we found many people did not feel comfortable with them. So, we offered socially distanced, in person, solutions:
- Under a Gazebo in our (now empty) car park
- Or in their garden.
Signing Meeting: It was more important than ever to check the client’s understanding and protect against challenge due to errors at execution. So we offered a complementary:
- “Door-step” signing outside each client’s home.
- Or “drive-thru” signings in our car park, (no need for the client to leave their car).
Probate: We provided free initial support to clients who lost a family member – this covered not only probate advice but also practical support such as arranging funerals under lockdown.
Free OPAs – We found many people shielding at home were experiencing difficulties without a registered LPA in place – so to provide immediate protection we offered a FREE Ordinary Power of Attorney service.
All backed up with lots of additional staff training and support from the Right Legal Group Training Academy on the new ways of working safely, as well as risk assessments.
Meanwhile, we watched in awe how NHS workers were putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the public – to give something back we promoted a Free Will to NHS workers scheme – with places allocated by our local NHS Trust.
There is space for just one example of the difference our team made during lockdown. Sophie at our Nailsea Shop facilitated a Makaton sign language meeting for a deaf client. Afterwards she admitted the lady opened up about how lonely she had been during lockdown and that Sophie was the first person that she had “spoken to” in 10 weeks.
What’s next on the cards for you?
This year we have really seen how important it is for law firms to reach people in our communities, making high quality legal advice accessible to them.
For all parts of the Right Legal Group, we do what we do to help people and to preserve the legacies and memories for our clients so that their stories can live on for future generations…and so the aim for 2021 is to reach more people.
What advice would you give someone thinking of joining the Wills and Probate sector?
It is an area of law where you really can make a big difference to those you advise. By giving clarity over wishes and recording the reasons behind decisions disputes and legal problems can be prevented and you can quite literally “keep families together”.
Why is the British Wills and Probate Awards event, which recognises excellence and highlights achievements in the industry, so important to the industry, especially this year?
This has been a year where the positive impact of good quality Wills and Probate advice has been felt by families up and down the country, so the British Wills and Probate Awards event has been more important than ever to bring the industry together (albeit by Zoom) to recognise each other’s achievements in very difficult times.
Everyone at Today’s Wills and Probate congratulates all those who were shortlisted in this year’s awards.
More information about the British Wills and Probate Awards can be found here.
