7 minute read
Putting the Client First
Wilson Nesbitt has successfully established itself as one of the top law firms in Northern Ireland, boasting a large portfolio of clients across the Real Estate & Construction, Banking & Financial Services and Individual and Family Life sectors.
Having started in 1948, the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners ranked firm is a trusted advisor, and is well respected for both its corporate expertise and personal client service. Partners Lenore Rice and Natasha Adamson outline how the firm has developed and discuss their team culture and the responsibility of their leadership roles.
During the pandemic, the company reinforced its worth as a Northern Irish law firm at a time when both its commercial and private clients needed it most.
Private Client Partner Lenore:
“Our Business Continuity Plan was ready to implement before the pandemic struck. This plan outlines instructions on how to respond to unplanned incidents such as natural disasters, power outages, cyberattacks etc. This made the working from home transition a relatively seamless one. We were able to dial up our systems very quickly to facilitate homeworkers.”
ADAPTABILITY
There were unavoidable circumstances where documents needed to be signed in person. Lenore describes how a surge in will writing inspired adaptability:
“We had a wills pandemic. Many clients either wanted to make their first will or review and update an existing will. We used Zoom, met clients in our car park, attended clients in gardens, hospitals, residential and nursing homes. We held consultations through windows and even accommodated signing documents by appending wills to cars with windscreen wipers, stepping away so the client could sign, then coming back and lifting the document. We just got creative.”
Lenore’s anecdotes demonstrate the value the firm places on its high level of client care and service, a priority which the firm has become synonymous with:
“We put the client first, we enjoy what we do and it shows. We’re easy to deal with and we’re open to new ideas. To us, that is doing things differently and making sure our clients achieve a better result. The values we rely on to guide our work ethic and team culture are respect, collaboration, excellence and innovation.”
NI PROPERTY BOOM
Wilson Nesbitt advises the real estate sector including housing associations, property developers and individual private clients in both complex development and regeneration schemes and the acquisition of high-value residential properties. The combined knowledge makes the team one of the largest real estate-focused clusters in Northern Ireland. The property market boom kept the firm at its busiest with an increase in residential prices of 10% during the pandemic, driven by people wanting better surroundings in which to accommodate their new hybrid working model. That activity has also been spurred on by those wanting to upgrade to more outdoor space, which became a commodity during lockdowns.
Finance Partner Natasha:
“The residential property market really picked up in the summer of the first year, due in part to the stamp duty tax holiday, and has been quite strong since. The NI
property boom can be aligned with the stamp duty holiday – but equally it can be aligned with the need to expand. Families needed more space at home and chose to either extend or upgrade. Both buying and lending has remained buoyant with a surge in residential-led development and regeneration schemes being brought forward to increase supply.”
“It’s been such a strange time. No-one could’ve anticipated how well the NI property market would’ve done out of the pandemic!”
FINANCE
Wilson Nesbitt’s banking and finance work embraces both high-value corporate lending and high-volume residential lending. Both sides of the business work for the largest and highest profile lenders in Northern Ireland.
Natasha: “Finance kept going throughout the pandemic. We were asked to advise one of the major local high street banks together with UK Finance, acting for all the residential lenders, following the closure of the Land Registry during the pandemic. We advised a number of lenders on the setting up and the implementation of their CBILS loan scheme as to how they could continue lending. Our work with banks has continued to grow, with the increasing borrower referrals being the biggest growth area for new work over the last 24 months.”
CBILS
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was designed to provide financial support to smaller businesses across the UK that were losing revenue and seeing their cash flow disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Natasha: “Lending to the hospitality industry would not have been possible but for the CBILS loans. The hospitality industry saw revenues dry up. The bank’s ability to grant a CBILS loan to the borrower was a real success story.”
An example of how this scheme showed its effectiveness was when granting a £2million CBILS facility to the owners of the Lough Erne Resort in County Fermanagh. They also act for a number of other short-term bridging finance lenders. The most prolific has completed 50 transactions over the last three years since they commenced operating in Northern Ireland. Instructions have included short-term bridging finance secured against a range of commercial, residential and development properties.
TEAM GROWTH
Lenore describes how the team has expanded to meet the needs of clients, while simultaneously offering training schemes to newcomers:
“We are continually growing and getting busier. At the moment we have a 75+ strong team across two offices. We are lucky that as a business we are big enough to be able to offer team training. It’s something we are very proud of; we welcome new candidates with no previous experience. As partners, we consciously take the time to invest in and progress our teams.”
Every February, Wilson Nesbitt recruits at least five new trainees to its in-house trainee solicitors scheme:
“We have helped train some of the best minds practising in Northern Ireland to take their first steps in their legal career. We offer responsibility, high-quality work and top clients to help shape trainees’ expertise. Trainees work with top lawyers and they follow a programme that is designed to give them the best start in their career.”
Lenore: “Our door is always open and we’re certainly very busy, but we are also very aware of our competition and we are always aiming to enhance our offering accordingly – to both our teams and clients alike.”
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2022
Partners Lenore and Natasha are acutely aware of their important leadership roles. They continually provide valuable input into the firm as business leaders and offer their teams support and guidance, and hope that by doing so, they inspire the next generation of female team members, demonstrating that they can succeed and progress to the highest level. Both partners and nine other female figures at the firm are members of Women in
Natasha: “I believe we all have a responsibility to the next generation of solicitors, to show them you can succeed without having to sacrifice. My advice to my team is – always strive to do your best, never give up and accept no limitations on your own potential.”
On International Women’s Day, Tuesday 8 March, they will be celebrating their female teams’ achievements through events and talks. The firm’s 71% female workforce demonstrates an incredible example of how the progressive legal firm is continually evolving.
Lenore: “Natasha and I, and indeed all the partners, are family-focused and we as people understand the importance of getting that balance right.”
“We’d like to move towards a more equal balance but in the meantime, we’re very proud to have reversed the roles a little in an industry that was, up until recently, so heavily male-dominated.”
WORLD CLASS BELFAST
In 2021 the firm began hosting a new series of business-based webinars branded World Class Belfast. The series will continue to grow and evolve in a hybrid format throughout 2022. Natasha, who hosted two of the webinars, explains the concept behind the series:
“World Class Belfast looks at how the city, its businesses, its organisations and locale frame it as the best place to work, invest and grow. We have been talking to some of Belfast’s most successful business pioneers to find out their insights. The majority of the interviewees have either worked abroad or travelled extensively, so this helps bring a wealth of experience to the table.”
LOOKING AHEAD
The firm says service consistency is the focus, while dealing with challenges including tax hikes, minimum wage increases and tightening purse strings as a backdrop:
Lenore: “Yes, there are financial challenges on the horizon, but we always develop, strategise and manage to overcome, like we had to with many of the pandemic challenges. We are a business as well as a legal firm. We are aware of the opportunities in front of us and the objectives of our clients. The next steps in our development are key. However, framing that, it’s important we meet the needs of our private clients – we want them to know, in their time of need, we’re there. We will support them through every stage of life.”
