This month we speak to Setfords Solicitors to find out more about the business
Business name: Setfords Solicitors
Office location: National, Pool Innovation Centre, and Truro Cornwall, Chancery Lane London, Jenna House Guildford.
When was the business founded: 2006
How many employees: As well as a team of full-time lawyers based in our Guildford office we have over 170 consultant lawyers based across the UK. Each one is supported by a 50-strong central team. It means they are empowered and free to work in a more effective way.
When you employ one of them to deliver legal services that is who will deal with your case from start to finish – you won’t be handed off to a junior member of staff.
And because we aren’t housing all of our lawyers in one place, our costs are lower, which means you get that expert advice at a more competitive price than you might expect to pay at a traditional firm.
How is the business best described?
At Setfords our aim is simple: to provide the best legal advice by creating an environment where lawyers can do their best work.
Provide expert advice at a competitive price.
Ensure all our clients get the dedicated service they deserve.
In many firms lawyers have billing targets, meaning they’re encouraged to take on as many clients as possible, and that can mean the service suffers. But that’s not how we work. Our lawyers are focused on one thing: providing the best possible personal service. Our lawyers are thinking about you, not us.
As a firm we offer national coverage on all aspects of personal and commercial services with in depth experience, local knowledge and a business focus.
At Pool Innovation Centre, Verona Cocks, senior consultant solicitor, leads our operations focusing on Commercial Dispute Resolution & Insolvency (CDR&I). Verona offers specialist advice on all forms of commercial disputes and all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency to clients throughout Cornwall, the south west and London, including but not limited to:
Partnership, company and contractual disputes, banking and finance disputes, shareholders’ actions, commercial property litigation (including commercial landlord & tenant), agricultural disputes, intellectual property disputes, commercial defamation, disputes in the utilities sector, warranty claims, commercial debt recovery; and all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency – administration, liquidation, and bankruptcy.
With a pragmatic approach we aim to resolve disputes without Court proceedings being issued. The efficacy of doing so very much depends on early engagement as well as quality advice. Disputes affect all commercial enterprises at one point or another and can unnecessarily take up too much time, proving to be costly and potentially damaging to the business. We partner with you to understand your business drivers to find the appropriate resolution. If, however, Court proceedings are required we have the experience in managing high value, complex disputes over a variety of sectors.
Our business model described above allows us to be flexible on pricing structures so that the costs are transparent and manageable.
Verona grew up and went to school in Truro leaving to go to university to read law. She practiced in the Midlands for 12 years culminating with her appointment as partner and head of the commercial dispute resolution and Insolvency department in the Midlands offices of a now top 45 national firm, having qualified in 1998 and undertaken a legal internship in Virginia in the USA. Verona then was a partner in a niche banking and finance firm based in Watford and London acting for major city banks and financial institutions before returning to the south west.
Verona returned to Cornwall in September 2014 joining Coodes as a partner heading up the commercial disputes before joining Setfords in 2016.
Described as “tactically astute” Legal 500, 2010 Edition.
Fellow of R3 Business Recovery.
Why was the business founded?
Setfords was founded by cousins Guy and Chris Setford to improve the standard of legal services, whilst at the same time addressing the frustrations felt by lawyers within the industry. By creating a better way of working Setfords is able to deliver a better legal service.
How does the business compare to competitors in the industry?
From humble beginnings ten years ago when the firm had just one lawyer and one secretary, Setfords Solicitors has grown into a multi-million-pound business with 11 offices, dozens of staff and over 170 lawyers across the country working in multiple disciplines. Along the way the firm has helped reinvent how lawyers work and how legal services are delivered. The firm has consultant lawyers working on a fee-share basis, who, through technology, innovative ways of working, and a market-leading support team, are able to deliver a more personal, dedicated service at a price people can afford. Clients deal only with senior lawyers, not office juniors. Lower overheads mean lower fees. And because Setfords’ lawyers are not under pressure to reach billing targets, they have only the right number of clients, each and every one getting the service they deserve.
What are the business’s plans both short-term and long-term?
Setfords’ short-term and long-term plan is the same, to continue to improve the experience for legal clients, continue to improve the working life of those providing that legal service, and continue to grow the number of consultant lawyers within the firm.
How does the business define success?
Setfords defines success as knowing clients have received the best possible legal service at a reasonable price, whilst at the same time providing a way of working that enhances the lives of the lawyers providing that legal service.
For more information please visit:
http://www.setfords.co.uk/our-people/profile/a_e_verona_cocks/
Contact: e: vcocks@setfords.co.uk
dd: 01209 708 651 tel: 01209 708 650
