Blake Morgan: We continue to invest in technology and people

Blake Morgan Business Development Manager Rebecca Whitehead delves into the subject of the company's sponsorship of the Large Deal of the Year category for the Solent Deals Awards 2022. She discusses what they look for in a winner, and what the general trends in the legal sector are.

The Solent Deals Awards, taking place in March 2022, will bring together corporate finance advisers, lawyers, bankers, private equity investors, accountants, and funding specialists to celebrate their recent achievements in the Solent and South Coast.

What has been your main motivator to sponsor the Solent Deals Awards?

Blake Morgan has been a long-standing supporter of the Solent Deals Awards. We are keen to help amplify the fantastic businesses and the work they do in our region and are proud sponsors of this category.

What kind of qualities does a team need to take home an award from this event?

Transparency, honesty, trustworthiness, tenacity and good business acumen.

What were the challenges your company faced during the pandemic and how did you overcome them?

COVID-19 brought many challenges including a change in our working patterns and environments. Like all businesses, the pandemic caught us by surprise and with the speed at which it evolved, we did have concerns about how it would affect us and our clients. For Blake Morgan, our quick adoption of new practices encouraged smarter working and collaboration both within the business and with our clients.

We had already invested in new tools and practises to enable us to work flexibly before the pandemic so the situation acted as a catalyst to test this out. It has transformed the way we work for the better.

As well as investing in technology, we continue to invest in people. This has been part of Blake Morgan's ethos for decades and we continue to invest in staff, nurturing high-quality talent and growing teams of experts to meet increasing client demand.

One of our greatest achievements in recent years has been our significant investment in learning and development. The Blake Morgan Academy gives all staff, particularly our new lawyers, access to continual training and development materials. This is driven by them and fits flexibly around their diaries.

In addition, we have also announced a new Menopause Mentors scheme in partnership with Over the Bloody Moon, a specialist menopause consultancy, who provide training via its CPD-accredited programme. Once trained, the Menopause Mentors will be on hand to provide support and advice.

These policies are complemented by a close focus on equality, diversity and inclusion. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone can reach their fullest potential, and are driving forward a range of initiatives to support this within the firm, through our ethnicity and beliefs, social mobility, gender, family, and LGBT+ groups. The team are proud signatories to the Race at Work Charter, the Social Mobility Pledge, and the Women in Law Pledge and were delighted to appear in the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers list for 2021/22, for the fifth consecutive year.

We have also signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are committed to honouring the Armed Forces and Services communities. We recognise the value that Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

Can you name some of the recent trends in the legal sector in the South East region this year?

The South East is thriving with innovation, entrepreneurship and inspiration. We are proud to have roots in maritime cities and work closely with Hampshire’s famed maritime expertise. The region is also host to logistics hubs, top universities and growing tech firms and boasts a productive environment for these to flourish. The region’s core growth sectors which we work within include technology and infrastructure as well as health and social care.

Following the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the UK Government’s commitment to combating climate change, more businesses are putting sustainability front and centre of their operations, and the Blake Morgan team is actively supporting clients on this.

With recent investment in a market-leading team of environmental lawyers, led by Anita Kasseean, we have brought a team together to focus on working with clients around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

This focus is also reflected within the firm, we are committed to being a sustainable and environmentally conscious business – a commitment which was recently boosted by being awarded the prestigious ISO 14001 Environmental Standard certification in August this year.

What do you expect in the short and medium term?

Our growth forecast is looking strong and we expect our income to grow. The firm has pulled together to face the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, which puts Blake Morgan in good stead for the future. We aim to grow by pursuing the right opportunities in the right places.

The Solent area provides plenty of opportunities for businesses to benefit from its distinctive identity and strong, cohesive community. Along with the Southern Policy Centre, we have been looking at the future of city centres and how our region’s city centres can thrive. Blake Morgan is very much part of the Solent family and we are committed to continuing to invest in, and serve, the community.

When the situation allows, it is important to strike the right balance between working remotely and from our offices – we all want to achieve greater collaboration, better productivity and a positive work experience, however that works best for us together.