Cassandra McCarthy, Solicitor & Operations Director for Lovetts, this week spoke at a Business Women in Surrey (BWiS) event, as part of a panel discussing the topic ‘Change Works – How Flexible is YOUR company?’ Hosted at the Surrey Business School on the University of Surrey Campus in Guildford, the well-attended event attracted leading male and female business practitioners from a wide variety of industry sectors.

Joined on-stage by Sally Pritchett, Co-Owner of Something Big, Amanda Shovelton, Business Growth Enabler at NatWest, Jenni Riley, Business Director & Co-Founder of Itarmi and Abi Bradbeer, School Manager at Surrey Business School, the panel discussed the implementation of flexible working practices within business.

“It’s important to facilitate development,” said Cassandra McCarthy, Solicitor & Operations Director for Lovetts. “My request at interview stage to work 4 days a week, as a solicitor, was granted.  I was swiftly promoted to a manager of a team and was able to do so within my flexible working arrangement. My Managing Director, Michael Higgins, had no doubts that I would be able to carry out the role, as I had demonstrated that flexible working can be successful and that there was never any impact on either staff or clients.”

The panel shared practical experiences and examined pragmatic approaches to how companies can physically implement more flexible working patterns for their staff. Additionally, they looked at wider issues of fairness and equality in the workplace and adapting to social and technological change, inclusive interestingly of the next set of challenges now being faced by a new generation of individuals coming into the workforce.

“There is generational change,” says Abi Bradbeer, School Manager at Surrey Business School. “And that’s because so many things in our society are changing. Increasingly we have digital natives who are exposed to social media, and wider broadcast media. They come to us at 18-19 every year I’m not saying it’s tougher these days, but the pressures are different and maybe more complex and student mental health for example is a big issue. But equally, we have a generation that is more able and willing to talk about their health, which I think is a tremendously helpful thing.”

The panel emphasised that businesses are no longer solely adapting to traditional gender issues like opportunity and equality, but seeing an overall shift in employee attitudes and working processes.

“This is not just an issue that is related to flexible working hours around women or even parenting in general,” said Cassandra McCarthy. “At Lovetts, we see examples of flexible working across the company. We have a number of younger staff members for example who are currently undertaking legal training, and have approached us to schedule their hours around that. Some people come early to avoid traffic, or find it helps to work from home on certain days. It’s about evolving past that more traditional view of a 9-5 working structure and encouraging a level of flexibility through which people feel they are performing at their best.”

You can find out more about the Business Women in Surrey (BWiS) network here. 

Lovetts Solicitors has become a trusted partner of Woking Football Club, displaying both a stand banner and a traditional advertising hoarding at the Club’s Kingfield Stadium in Surrey. In addition to displaying a ground presence, representatives from the firm will also be in attendance at a series of Woking events including fundraisers, and selected match days. 

“Lovetts’ partnership with Woking FC highlights our commitment to local business and the local area,” said Michael Higgins, Managing Director for Lovetts. “Over the past two years, the firm has experienced a period of growth both nationally and internationally, but local-based businesses and those based in the wider South-Eastern region still make up a strong proportion of our client base. We are proud to be affiliated with such a longstanding and recognisable institution within the local community, and as a season ticket holder at the club myself, I look forward to seeing the Lovetts brand on display at the Woking ground!”

Woking FC currently plays in the National League South, which is the sixth tier of English football. Founded in 1889, the club has won the FA Trophy a joint-record three times. The partnership also provides Lovetts with a season-long presence in the match day programme, which is available at all Woking FC home games, as well as a presence on the official club website.

In addition to corporate partnerships, the football club also plays a significant role in local area initiatives, with its Woking Football in the Community scheme having been formally launched in 2004 to consolidate and grow the interface between the Club and the local community.

Lovetts Solicitors has this week been featured in the Evening Standard newspaper, in a special supplement looking at Financial Services. In an article examining how businesses can better optimise their cash flow Lovetts Managing Director, Michael Higgins, provides his ‘Top 5 Tips’ on avoiding bad debts. 

The dedicated financial services supplement was given out alongside the main newspaper across London yesterday, and the firm was extremely pleased to offer its insights into the changing world of dispute resolution and debt recovery. 

Michael Higgins, Managing Director for Lovetts, wrote: “All businesses rely on cash flow to survive. At Lovetts Solicitors we specialise in helping businesses recover debts. Above all, taking a measured but proactive approach to cash flow is key. This is the lifeblood of your business, and putting a professional recovery process in place can enhance business growth and success.” 

It’s not the first time that the company has been featured in the business press in recent months, having spoken in August to James Caan’s Your Business magazine about the recent advancements that have been made in cash flow management and dispute resolution. Lovetts is committed to providing first class, transparent advice on all aspects of the debt recovery process, and this extends to the information that we as a legal and financial institution are allowed to put out into the public domain. 

Lovetts Solicitors has been featured in Your Business magazine. The James Caan-backed publication provides insights and practical advice on all aspects of running a business from accountancy to law and social media and marketing.

In an article looking at modern approaches to debt recovery, Lovetts provides information on the debt recovery process, recovery costs, and fixed-sum compensation.

“As solicitors, we have found that correspondence from us is far more effective in moving a late payer to action,” Michael Higgins, Managing Director for Lovetts, told Your Business. “Reminder letters from businesses that are owed can often be ignored, while notifications from debt recovery agents are not always welcome. So when looking at late payments as part of a wider accounts cycle, solicitor assistance can be extremely useful. Furthermore, thanks to the Lovetts business model, obtaining the added impetus to pay that comes from a Solicitor’s involvement has never been more cost effective.”

The two page feature also includes information on CaseManager, the company’s unique software system, which allows clients to directly track the progress of their claims in real-time.

Lovetts has secured Lexcel accreditation once again, having first achieved the Law Society’s top accolade in 2012. Lexcel recognises excellence in law management and is the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for the highest standards in legal practice management and client care.

Lexcel sets the required standard in seven different areas, including financial management, people management, risk management and client care. Assessment includes conducting background checks and a probing on-site visit from an experienced, trained Lexcel assessor.

Our clients’ needs and interests lie at the heart of everything we do at Lovetts. Lexcel accreditation recognises our commitment to providing a personal and ethical service.With this mark of quality from Lexcel, our clients can be assured that Lovetts operates best practice, supported by a dedicated team of professionals.

The Lexcel assessment stated, “Once again, Lovetts has demonstrated excellent adherence to Lexcel requirements. Its policies and systems are considered and sophisticated and are applied diligently and consistently. In addition, the people at the firm display high degrees of compliance and client focus. In short, Lovetts covers a single area of law – debt collections – and performs it expertly. Only the very best firms gain and maintain accreditation, helping clients find legal practices they can rely on.”

Lovetts, the commercial debt recovery law firm based near Guildford has appointed Michael Higgins as Managing Director, with immediate effect.

Michael joined Lovetts in 2007 and has played a significant role in its growth and the launch of innovative solutions to support the cost-effective and speedy recovery of bad debt. Michael, a qualified solicitor, joined the Lovetts management team in 2012, with responsibility for the Commercial Litigation Department and in 2014 he was made Operations Director. Michael will continue to report to Charles Wilson, the continuing Chairman of Lovetts who has, for the past 20 years acted as both MD and Chairman of the business.

Charles Wilson says “Michael has the right leadership qualities, client focus and legal expertise to take Lovetts from strength to strength. With some years of paralegal practice prior to professional qualification, he has the passion and determination to grow our reputation for innovation, thought leadership and superb customer service. We are delighted he has accepted the role of Managing Director and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him as Chairman.

Michael Higgins adds, “This role offers a fantastic opportunity for me to help shape our business, working alongside Charles and the rest of the team to ensure we not only deliver great products and services, but that we take responsibility for helping businesses understand their legal rights and the ways they can reduce their overall exposure to commercial bad debt. This is an exciting time for the business as we push ahead with our Claim the Unclaimed campaign and promote our newly-launched email LBA service, giving our customers cost-effective solutions to recover the money owed to them.”

Sarb Dhaliwal, Chartered Legal Executive at Lovetts spent a day with an Enforcement Officer at the beginning of September. Here is Sarb’s interesting summary of the visit: 

“Collecting Judgment debts does not just involve attending properties and demanding payments as I realised when I spent a day with an Enforcement Officer late last year who had been doing the job for over five years.” 

 I was very eager to make contact with all the Judgment debtors that we visited but it was clear when we visited some properties that no one was in despite looking through windows and trying to see if anyone was avoiding us. We made a point of looking around the Debtors grounds if they weren’t in (and even in the bins to see if there were any letters with a name and address) – we could have potentially levied on anything we thought may be of some value. We then spoke to neighbors to establish whether the Debtors did live at the property and also asked when the Debtor was likely to be home. Where no contact was made, a notice of seizure was left, with a telephone number to call; listing the items that had been levied on (usually a car/garden furniture etc). 

We then made a visit at a property owned by the parents of the Debtors, and the mother claimed he did not live at the property (where the warrant address is the parents’ address; parents often shield the Debtors or pay the debt on their behalf), the mother then went on to say he was out of the country and refused to give us an alternative address. As a prior visit had been made at this property, the officer who had previously levied on a vehicle in his last visit, threatened to remove the car even though the mother claimed it belonged to her daughter. The Officer asked for proof and when not produced he made a telephone call in their presence and requested a removal truck to remove the car. This sent the mother and daughter into a panic and they then managed to produce the log book showing that the debtor was not the legal owner. When threatened to remove other goods, a partial address for the debtor was finally produced. 

Another very positive visit which was also one where a property was owned by the parents produced great results where the father of the debtor agreed to pay the debt and made an immediate payment of £13,000.00 with assurance that the remaining £10,000.00 would be paid within 2 weeks. 

Overall I had an interesting day which made me realise what lengths the officer has to go to so that secure payment is made. It can be disappointing when driving a long way to find no one is at home or is avoiding contact. However, the Officer does not give up and will make out of hours visits if necessary. 

Things can only get better… 2013 Court Services Satisfaction Survey paints grim picture ahead of 25th CCUA Annual Conference, 15th October 2013
www.lovetts.co.uk

One year after a damning report on the state of the court service in the UK, a new satisfaction survey conducted by the CCUA (Civil Court Users Association) with the support of Lovetts Plc, the debt recovery law firm, has painted a similarly grim picture with either no improvement or a further deterioration in service levels. An overview of the findings has been released ahead of the CCUA’s 25th Annual Conference taking place at the Leicester Marriott Hotel on 15th and 16th October 2013.

The survey was completed by 49 major corporate and legal firms representing the UK’s largest users of the court service – the majority of whom use the court services on a daily basis. Their participation in itself demonstrates the depth of feeling about the service levels being experienced.

Respondents were asked to rate the quality of service provided by the CCBC (County Court Bulk Centre), local county courts and the CCMCC (County Court Money Claims Centre) over the 6 months from January to June 2013 and whether they had improved, stayed the same or deteriorated.

Brian Havercroft, Chairman of the CCUA said: “Last year we conducted the first ever satisfaction survey amongst court users. The findings were so shocking we wanted to repeat the exercise this year to establish whether any improvements had been made. To say this year’s survey responses are disappointing is an understatement. Feedback suggests there has been very little improvement and in some areas service levels have actually declined further. Staff knowledge at the CCBC is identified as a particular area of weakness with a marked deterioration in service levels compared to other aspects of the service. Just as an example, 2-5 minutes is the typical waiting time for phone calls to be answered by 24 of the firms and 12 of the firms who answered the survey typically wait over 5 minutes.”

The picture isn’t any better from the feedback on the local county courts. Just over 60% felt the speed and efficiency of services had worsened. Furthermore, 71% had experienced lack of response to correspondence and emails and over 60% had been inconvenienced by lost documentation.

Users of the CCMCC faced similar issues with problems experienced across all areas, however most worryingly the biggest concerns surrounded Claims and Judgments – the core purpose of their service.

Charles Wilson, Chairman of Lovetts adds: “Last year in a speech at the CCUA Conference, I reported on the dismal findings of the first survey – it was a very clear call for action and prompted a great deal of debate. It seems abundantly clear that the court service has failed to grasp the nettle and the reputation of many UK businesses continues to be unfairly damaged because of the failings of the system. It’s about time the court service got to grips with the management challenges it faces and acted on this damning feedback.”

Lovetts Solicitors, the debt recovery law firm, has been shortlisted in the 2013 Law Society Lexcel Awards in the category of Excellence in Practice Management. Lovetts first secured Lexcel accreditation in August 2012, being shortlisted for this important award clearly demonstrates the firm’s commitment to putting its clients’ interests and requirements first in order to provide the best possible service.

The prestigious Law Society Excellence Awards attract entries from hundreds of Lexcel accredited law firms across the UK, with the Excellence in Practice Management Award bestowed on the firm that above all others has shown new and innovative ways of implementing Lexcel. In particular the judges look for the practice which has most effectively incorporated the Lexcel framework into its business and driven new strategies to enhance performance and generate continuous improvement.

Charles Wilson, Chairman of Lovetts, says “We have always received excellent feedback from our clients, but wanted to raise the bar even further through the rigour of Lexcel when Outcomes Focused Regulation was introduced in late 2011. We have found that our first Lexcel accreditation in August 2012 has opened up fresh thinking in this area and allowed us to introduce initiatives to further enhance our systems and service.

For example, we have improved our in-house cost-estimating software, to give better visibility of all estimates through our bespoke CaseManager client extranet. We have also enhanced our operational manuals to be more user-friendly and got closer to our customers through a number of initiatives including director-led client visits with paralegals. We’d be delighted to win but to be shortlisted is a fantastic endorsement in itself. It’s good to have the external acknowledgement that the initiatives and changes we have all worked hard to implement in the past year have been recognised by Lexcel as worthwhile and beneficial to our clients.”

Winners will be announced at a prestigious black-tie awards dinner on Tuesday 22nd October 2013 at Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge.