INTERVIEW
“We're seeing more and more investment at Gateley in
technical solutions that enable us to work more quickly and efficiently. “That's an absolute necessity, because you have to keep
pace with technology, but also you have to consider how you can use those technologies to deliver an ever more efficient service to clients. “At Gateley, we will often have a cross-office team
working on a project, so our technology has to be seamless to break down the geographical boundaries between our offices and enable that great collaboration to happen. “It’s also great for our attracting and retaining staff. It’s
an absolute war for talent in the legal industry, so if you can offer people the work-life balance of living in, say, Nottingham, but the opportunity to work on national projects, it’s a big plus.” With Brexit finally being concluded and more short-term
uncertainty on the horizon as the UK attempts to negotiate a trade deal with the EU during the 11-month transition period, what does Andrew see as the longer term implications of the UK’s exit, especially on issues such as workers’ rights? “At the start of my career, the volume of employment
law was actually quite limited,” he said. “It was really the European dimension that led to an explosion in employment laws and rights. “Although currently there are no significant planned changes and all the mood music says that things will stay as they are, depending on the type of deal that we strike this year, we could see an increased appetite from Government to, at the very least, nibble away at employment law protections if not make wholesale changes. “The Government, I think, is going to be feeling very
pressured to strike a different balance between convenience for companies and employees’ rights. That's something we’ll obviously need to keep an eye on quite carefully. “I also think some of the developments closer to home,
with the diversity and equality agenda, will continue to have an impact on business here in the UK. “Over the past 18 months or so, a significant part of our
work has been delivering training to not only HR managers, but also board directors and line managers on how to navigate this area, particularly on the back of the #MeToo movement. “And it’s interesting to note that although the law hasn't changed, the focus on these issues has changed massively.
66 business network March 2020
“There are a lot of studies that show that discrimination
and harassment in the workplace, whether on the grounds of religious beliefs, gender, disability, age, or whatever, is far more prevalent than you might expect. “In some studies, for example, more than 50% of women
say they've encountered what they described as sexual harassment in the workplace, but the trend is that only a very small proportion of them actually report it. “From that, you can draw the conclusion that there may
well be issues in your workplace even if they are not being reported. And so, you can't be complacent about this.
‘Some of the developments closer to home, with the diversity and equality agenda, will continue to have an impact on business here in the UK’
“Increasingly, what we're seeing companies doing is
investing time in reviewing their policies and procedures and also delivering training to help in educating line managers about the law, to help them realise things like why saying ‘it’s only banter, I didn't mean any harm’ is rarely a good defence in an employment tribunal. “Again, where Gateley is concerned, our link with Kiddy
& Partners and t-three means that not only can we deliver this type of training, but we can dovetail it with the work of our experts in cultural change to offer a complete solution which covers both the legal and the behavioural aspects of the problem.” Brexit aside, what does the future hold, for both Gateley
and the wider legal sector? “I think it's a very interesting time,” said Andrew. “Our
business continues to grow considerably. Even in recessions, we’ve posted year on year growth and last year we broke through the £100m revenue barrier for the first time. We’re a very entrepreneurial business and I think our flotation has really energised us, so it genuinely is a really great and exciting place to work. “For the sector as a whole, we are seeing more
consolidation and a new breed of listed law firms which presents a challenge to the old partnership model. “I think we'll see further development in that space,
which is a potential threat to the traditional law firm model. “It’s becoming a fast-changing environment and one that's ripe for disruption.”
Andrew (centre) with senior members of the Gateley Legal team
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