January 17. It has been a busy start to the year for me with new requests for annual leave and a new training year to organise. We operate a twinning scheme so that no office or role is left without cover even during the busy summer holiday season and during school holidays. If one “twin” is away then the other is working. In this way things carry on smoothly but one consequence is that everyone wants to get their requests in first!

As for training although the SRA have consigned the CPD requirements to history we still run an extensive and compulsory policy so that all fee earners receive ongoing training. They have to do 16 formal hours of training each year on top of monthly and quarterly sessions here at the firm. Guess who has to organise it all?

I am also catching up on miscellaneous calls which involves asking people about their experience with the firm. We know that being the best we can be requires that we regularly ask the people who know best; our clients. What is pleasing is how many people are genuinely pleased to help and share their experience with me. That must show that they have a good feeling for the firm.

I better get back to it. I will write again next month.

Mel N.

It will be a busy January for Will Raine and his team. Will is overseeing the new LEAP case management system which will bring greater flexibility to our fee earners in their work. The system allows us to do all sorts of clever computing things at home, on location or even at Court. It is being rolled out now and we are very pleased to be able to give the staff even more modern technology to assist them in servicing clients’ needs. HRS believes that investment in technology is essential for the future growth of the firm and will make us even more efficient. Training is underway for all staff who are receiving in-house guidance from a LEAP specialist.

It’s always a treat when all of the offices can get together and dress up for a big night out. The last occasion was the hugely enjoyable day out at the Nottingham races but that was in the summer and so we were all ready for another excuse to get together. This year the renowned HRS Christmas party was at the ICC in Birmingham which involved a 1920’s theme and cabaret.

Apart from a lost phone and some sore heads a good time was had by all. There are photos on the HRS facebook page. You can’t miss the boss in his top hat.. Thank you to Mel for organising a wonderful evening.

Do you have any books or films that you have read and seen too many times! If so, Molly at our Dudley office would like to hear from you. HRS have sponsored “Ella” an elderly dog at the Dogs Trust for some years and raise additional funds by selling second-hand books and DVD’s so that we can make some extra cash for this most worthwhile of charity’s. Please pop in and browse through the selection which is in our reception area.

HRS are pleased to note that work has started on our sixth office which we hope to open in March 2017. Watch this space! It has been a long time coming due to planning and complicated lease matters but we are pleased to be bringing our brand of helpful free first interviews to a new area in the West Midlands. With plans to open four more offices before 2020 we are aiming to create a further 16 new jobs. Good quality legal advice should be delivered locally by local people.

The new office initially creates four new jobs with more expected if all goes to plan. That will be 37 new jobs created by the firm in just under 10 years. This includes 8 new Solicitors to date with four more people currently training to qualify soon. Clive Rebbeck, the company MD, when asked about this approach said;

“I believe in practising what we preach. Many local firms do not want to invest in young people because it takes effort and can be expensive. We do not see it that way. Because our Solicitors are largely trained here we know that they have the knowledge and skills we require. I suppose a mark of our success is that some of our staff have been headhunted by other firms. We believe our training to be the best in our field. We will continue to hire paralegals with a view to offering training contracts for the best who will then go on to run our offices in the future.”