Freedom Day? For Many Lawyers it Marks the END of Freedom

The British prime minister has changed the rules. Today marks a big turning point. Pandemic restrictions are being eased. Full faces will be on display everywhere. People will sit next to one another on trains. Colleagues will greet each other in offices up and down the land and head towards the water cooler for the BIGGEST CATCH-UP EVER. But while the name Freedom Day sounds pretty exciting, we predict few lawyers will be dancing in the streets today. Here’s why…

Well, to begin with, we know not everybody agrees that Freedom Day is such a good idea. This insightful article, published just last week by the prestigious nature.com, highlights the reasons Freedom Day alarms some researchers.

Why risk going into work?

Chief among the experts’ concerns is that Freedom Day raises the risk of new variants of coronavirus emerging. And new variants may affect even those who have been vaccinated, let alone the 34% of the UK’s population yet to receive their second jab.

No doubt the nervousness being felt by public health experts is resonating with those who do not wish to return to their offices. This article reports on research showing that one in four employees in the UK said they would rather resign from their job than be forced back into the office. It is very difficult to imagine many within that group of 25 per cent being happy with the term Freedom Day.

Business as usual

If there are any experienced solicitors among that group, we’d be very happy to hear from them. They would undoubtedly be happy to learn that Freedom Day for Setfords means, pretty much, business as usual.

Our consultant model means none of our over 400 solicitors are expected to be clogging up the roads today to get into an office. They will work, as they did even before lockdown began in March 2020, from wherever they choose. Whatever suits them best.

Remote control

Because of the way we work, lockdown was far less disruptive for us than it was for traditional law firms. Every one of our consultant solicitors was completely accustomed to remote working. So, unlike many others, they were all familiar with Teams.

Needless to say they hit the ground running while lawyers in other firms were floundering.

It’s not that we have a crystal ball. In tandem with virtually everyone else on the planet, we really did not see coronavirus coming. We never predicted a lockdown.

Home work

What we have known since we began in 2006, and what other law firms have been learning over the last 16 months, is that most lawyers can work remotely.

We don’t mean our team can merely get by on Teams. We mean they positively thrive on remote working. This is largely because they can work wherever they want to work from. And they can set their own routines. Collectively, and in non-technical terms, they are as happy as Larry.

This is how David Middleburgh, one of our commercial litigation experts, puts it:

“Setfords is a breath of fresh air. The firm prioritises lawyers’ wellbeing. We’re supported by a central hub of services that includes everything I used to do myself and more, including marketing and business development. This means us lawyers can focus on what really matters: our clients.”

David is not alone. You can gain more insight from members of our team here. And read the thoughts from some of our clients, here.

Monday 19 July is a bit special for some. But at Setfords, every day is Freedom Day. If you want to know how that feels, get in touch.

Is consultancy for me?

Get in touch to find out more about becoming a consultant solicitor with Setfords. Don’t worry about traipsing into our office to find out more. We’ll chat to you on Teams if it suits you better. If we agree we’re a good fit for each other, you’ll be joining a firm that was created for lawyers to do their best work.

Call us on 0330 058 4011 or email [email protected].

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