Law firm Family Law Group has announced that it will transfer ownership to its staff in order to become an employee ownership trust (EOT).
Three-quarters of the group, which currently has more than 130 employees across 10 offices, will now be owned by the EOT. All staff, regardless of seniority, will receive equal annual bonuses based upon the firm’s performance.
The day-to-day running of the business will remain with the existing management team, with any future decisions made being done for the benefit of all of the workers.
According to the firm, which was established in 2005, this is the first step in empowering the firm’s lawyers to drive the business forward and to support its strategic growth plan.
Simon Leach, director at Family Law Group, commented that he was “delighted” to have been able to finalise the transfer of ownership to, as he argued, the most important people within it, with the firm intending to become 100% employee owned as the firm grows.
He explained that the move is about empowering the lawyers to take ownership of the business in respect of its direction and commitment to its core values and purpose, as well as having a greater input in to the day-to-day running of the firm and decisions that are made.
“I can think of no better application of such principles than a firm of solicitors whose product is the very people who will benefit from the EOT, namely our lawyers and those who support them in their work,” Leach said.
“The move to an EOT is a way of ensuring the longevity of our firm, as we really value our staff, and this was one way of demonstrating that. We are confident that these changes, and our whole ethos, will ensure that we continue to grow within the family law world,” he added.