Proud to be discrete, traditional and serving bespoke needs

Yorkshire firms have reported that they continue to gain new business at a healthy rate and are starting the recovery process by hiring new staff and making further investment, according to the Yorkshire Economic Index, a research project my firm has been running for two years.

Expectations of future activity were also positive - a marked turnaround from the start of 2013, when many economists feared the UK may have fallen into a triple-dip recession. The index, which measured data from June to October 2013, revealed that at least 1,376 private sector jobs have been created in the region and that new investment totalling more than £14.65m has been made by businesses throughout Yorkshire.

So, what does this mean for the legal sector? While many firms are changing, with "nearly a third" of Yorkshire firms looking to merge within the next three years, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, the general picture was strong. The report found that 2013 has been a watershed year for the legal sector in the north. Merger activity and internal restructuring are consolidating the market. If some are struggling, many firms are growing.

My practice has a robust stream of transactional and project work, both contentious and non-contentious, and we do not expect that to change. Our firm's recent experiences are similar to those in other sectors. We completed more transactions between April and June this year than in the preceding 12 months, and commercial litigation and private client departments are performing soundly. Demand for property services is starting to pick up as well, bolstered by the tentative recovery in the construction and housing markets.

We enjoy long-term relationships with most clients - many of whom have been with us for decades. We pride ourselves on our low staff turnover, at all levels. Some of our peers call us "secretive and old-fashioned". We prefer to call ourselves "discrete and traditional". I am sure that we are not alone in this approach.

I think there will always be a place for a law firm that prefers to build long-term trust and loyalty by delivering a reasonably priced service rather than a fixed-price commodity where too often the client needs are neglected or glossed-over in an attempt to make one size fit all. There is nothing wrong with challenge or change, but all too often those proposing change have an agenda of their own, more to do with return on investment than client needs.

Whatever the trappings of legal practice may be, however, I remain convinced that continuity of service, frankness and honesty in advice and giving real value for money remain the keys to meeting the challenges posed by the diversity of client needs, irrespective of who the client may be.

Stephen Newman is a senior partner at Baxter Caulfield