Once upon a time…

there was a group of very disillusioned employment lawyers who had spent many years of their lives working in large international law firms. They were at various stages in their careers but they had one thing in common – they weren’t happy.

In mid-2012 some of the team had jokingly discussed doing their own thing. Would Sue set up a firm and could they join her in the venture? It has to be said this conversation was after they had drunk a couple of large jugs of Sangria whilst on holiday together in Spain. Sue laughed assuming they were mad? She was too old; it was too risky; and there was not enough Sangria in Spain to convince her and so the challenge of finding a new employer continued.

By November 2012 Sue was in the final stages of discussions with a very large international law firm and some of her colleagues had been independently discussing options for their own futures outside of their current employer.  There she was with all negotiations concluded with a nice, secure, package agreed and contract in hand. Pen poised at home ready to accept and return the documents. Why did she feel so sick at the thought and so reluctant to sign?

At that point Sue’s husband, Nigel, who can read her like a book, said; “you don’t want to go there, do you?” Sue had to admit she definitely did not (nor any other firm like it). Nigel suggested Sue speak to her colleagues and if they were interested in setting up a boutique employment law firm, it would have his complete support. This time, Sue did not dismiss the idea out of hand. It might actually work. The joint venture with colleagues was formed. The attraction for all was that the venture offered everything that the alternatives did not.

That was 2nd January 2013 and we have not looked back since.

This is just a small excerpt from Sue Morrison’s reflections on her first year in business. For the full version of events please visit the ‘our first year’ blog post here