Paris Smith: We had to be very mindful of the mental wellbeing of our staff

Richard Atcherley, Partner in the Corporate Finance team at Paris Smith LLP, discusses the company's sponsorship of the Small Deal of the Year category for the Solent Deals Awards 2022.

Atcherly delves into the company's challenges of getting staff to work remotely and being unable to see their clients first-hand, as well as taking care of staff wellbeing during the pandemic.

The Solent Deals Awards 2022 is a ceremony that gathers the Solent region's corporate finance advisers, lawyers, bankers, private equity investors and accountants to award those making a difference.

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

We want Paris Smith to be involved with celebrating the Solent region’s entrepreneurial and deal making spirit and highlight the fabulous business activity in the region which has been supported by the region's lawyers, bankers, accountants and other professionals. These awards are a fantastic opportunity to draw attention to the region's successes even in the face of a global pandemic.

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

Like any team, they must have clear goals and plans and must be led by strong and responsive leadership. They also cannot be focused solely on looking inwards at their own business, but they must show that they actively look to help and support their clients and the wider Solent community. 

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

In common with all companies, when the initial work from home instruction was given by the government our immediate concern was how we were going to get our staff working remotely and productively as quickly as possible. This did involve us sourcing and distributing a substantial amount of IT equipment as we made sure that all members of staff had the IT that they required to set up their home offices. It is here that the non-client facing teams of our business really stepped up and played a crucial role.

This is why we, as a firm, decided that we would not furlough fee earners unless they asked to be placed on furlough. We also had to remember that just because we were working from home, this did not mean that we could not provide our clients with the level of service that they required.

As we were not in the office during the initial stages of the pandemic, we have had to utilise different IT solutions and platforms in order to execute deals. We can now safely say that we are a paperless department!

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

There will no doubt be further consolidations within the legal market and all law firms will no doubt be looking at their office space requirements and probably looking to divest themselves of some of it as they move towards fully flexible working.

What do you expect in the short and medium term?

Pandemics permitting, we expect to see increased growth across most business sectors, although we are mindful that consumer confidence may act as a drag on certain sectors.

For further information on the Solent Deals Awards 2022, please visit our event page.