On Thursday 22 October 2020, professionals from across the wills and probate sector came together to celebrate the successes and achievements of the industry is what has been a challenging year, at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2020.
The awards, which was back for it’s third year, took to the virtual stage and was hosted by ex-Royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, alongside headline sponsor Arken.legal (UK), and champagne sponsor Executor Solutions.
500 people watched the winning organisations take the crown this year. The full list of winners is available here. The online event is available to watch here.
Let’s hear from the Highly Commended Community Involvement Award, Oliver & Co
About the Community Involvement Award
This award goes to the firm with an organised approach to corporate social responsibility. The winner will be able to demonstrate a tangible and consistent programme of community involvement over the last 12 months. Judges will look for commitment and passion in making a difference to the winner’s local community and for a strong connection between the activities undertaken and the firm’s values.
The winner of this award must demonstrate:
- The organisation’s philosophy and policy withregards to corproate social responsiblilty
- Evidence the organisation’s activities focused on CSR, community involvement and charity initiatives over the last 12 months
- Positive outcomes resulting from the activities that have had a real impact on the intended groups
- A statement as to planned approach and activities
Oliver & Co were shortlisted alongside:
- Stanford Wills (Winners)
- Simpson Solicitors
During the judging process, the judges decided that Oliver & Co should be highly commended saying:
“The judging panel appreciated the level of detail within the submission and the firm has a real sense of community.”
How did you feel being Highly Commended in the Community Involvement award this year?
We were thrilled to be Highly Commended in the Community Involvement award. We take our Corporate Social Responsibility very seriously and believe that companies have a responsibility to support the communities they serve. Having our efforts in this field to be recognised by the British Wills and Probate Awards is amazing and will spur us on to continue our charitable work and improve where we can.
So, who are Oliver & Co? What do you do?
Our Wills and Probate Department is headed up by Louise Holmes who has a STEP diploma in Trusts and Estates, is a Community Ambassador for the Cheshire Living Well Dying Well Partnership and is a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly. Louise enjoys the varied nature of Wills and Probate and finds helping clients in difficult circumstances to be a very rewarding part of her work.
Sarah Mellor is a solicitor in the department. In addition to her work in Wills and Probate, Sarah is able to do Conveyancing and Equity Release work so clients are able to complete property transactions and get their affairs in order at the same time. Sarah receives excellent feedback from her clients on Trustpilot, with many commenting how knowledgeable, professional and approachable she is.
Hannah Rogers is a trainee solicitor who is due to qualify in November and will begin her career as a qualified solicitor in our Wills and Probate Department. Hannah obtained a distinction in her Legal Practice Course which she completed whilst working with us. She has been training in the Wills and Probate Department for over 2 years and finds that no two days are the same. Whatever her clients’ needs, Hannah strives to ensure they get the best service.
Louise, Sarah and Hannah are assisted by trainee solicitor, Amelia Fearn, Paralegals, Danielle Chandler and Hannah Higson and assistant, Victoria Delaney. Everyone in the team is integral and all aim to provide a professional but compassionate service to all our clients.
In addition to Wills and Probate services, we are able to help with Conveyancing, Commercial Property, Corporate Law, Clinical Negligence Claims, Industrial Disease Claims, Personal Injury and RTA Claims and Family matters.
How has your firm developed in the last 12 months and navigated the added complexity of the coronavirus pandemic?
Over the last 12 months our firm has gone from strength to strength. Thankfully, during lockdown our IT systems meant that we could easily set our staff up to work from home and so for our clients the change was seamless. This is reflected in the many 5 star reviews we received during lockdown.
Our Wills and Probate Department are key workers and so it was vital they were still able to serve clients and get their work done. They worked tirelessly to ensure our clients had everything they needed in place, swapping face-to-face meetings for telephone calls or ‘Zoom meetings’ and putting safety measures in place for those clients who had to come into the office.
We support our local hospice, the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, by putting on a monthly Wills Clinic. Appointments are usually held at the hospice and our legal fees are waived in lieu of a donation to the hospice. Since March, we have been unable to hold these clinics in the usual way but have managed to keep them going by taking appointments on the phone and so the hospice is still able to get the support it so desperately needs right now.
What’s next on the cards for you?
2020 has been a very unusual year and unfortunately we have struggled to support our charities in the usual ways. There have been no fundraising events we can volunteer at or attend and with so many staff working from home, we cannot hold our monthly dress down days and cake sales. Along with many people, we had hoped that by now things would have returned normal, however with various lockdown restrictions returning, we are now going to focus on how we can best support our charities and our community, whilst keeping everyone safe.
For our clients, we will continue to provide them with excellent service and will adapt, as we have already done, to the everchanging world around us.
What advice would you give someone thinking of joining the Wills and Probate sector?
To be adaptable as no day is the same! The work is very varied – there is a lot of drafting involved of very personal documents for clients so whilst one day may be spent in the office the next may be a mixture of home visits or even organising a funeral for a previous client who has died. You need to be very professional, caring and understanding as you are often dealing with people during a very difficult time in their lives but it is a very rewarding sector to work in.
Why is the British Wills and Probate Awards event, which recognises excellence and highlights achievements in the industry, so important to the industry, especially this year?
Our staff work so hard every year, regularly going above and beyond what is asked of them to ensure our clients get what they need. This year, everyone has stepped up even further and we are extremely proud of the effort they have all put into the firm. To have our work recognised by the British Wills and Probate Awards is a huge achievement for us. To be shortlisted for two awards in the first year we were involved is fantastic and to be highly commended is even better. Our staff know how much they are appreciated by the firm but to have recognition from outside confirms that we are on the right track.
Everyone at Today’s Wills and Probate congratulates all those who were shortlisted in this year’s awards.
More information about the British Wills and Probate Awards can be found here.
