What a year!

I think it is safe to say that 2017 has been the most exciting and dynamic twelve months in Eric Robinson Solicitors’ 53 year history. We have extended our geographical reach from the Southampton area, initially with new offices in Basingstoke and Portsmouth, then breaking out of Hampshire with premises in the Berkshire town of Bracknell, and finally entering into the London market by opening a branch in the centre of Richmond. A new location also had to be found in Winchester to accommodate our growing business in the city, so for those who know how much work is involved in opening a new office, try five in a year!

In addition to our programme of expansion, Eric Robinson Solicitors was delighted to become a patron of Wessex Heartbeat and help celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Members of staff took part in skydives, marathons, zip wire challenges and the firm sponsored both the charity’s Golf Day in Goodwood and a Gala Dinner at Romsey Abbey which raised £37,500. We were proud to be a sponsor for the New Forest Business Brilliance Award’s ‘Young Person in Business’ category, (congratulations to the winner, Ellen Stokes and her company ‘Be Exhibitions’), the first year of the Lymington Seafood Festival and the spectacularly successful Winchester Half Marathon. Eric the Owl made appearances at numerous events throughout the year, including business exhibitions, ‘Help to Buy’ events, school fairs, carnivals and county shows and the firm continues its support for the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity. We held our first ever recruitment fair in our Southampton city centre offices and were delighted with the response. It resulted in a number of applications and offers of employment to join teams across the firm. One of my personal highlights of the year was welcoming the broadcaster and business-woman, Michelle Dewberry, to the beautiful Southampton Harbour Hotel as guest of honour at our event which marked the rebrand of Eric Robinson Solicitors’ Corporate & Commercial department to become ‘ER Business’. For 2018, we will be concentrating on making a success of the first year in our new offices and look forward to welcoming new clients, staff and associates to our thriving community.

Catherine Maxfield, Managing Partner

ER Business Launch a Great Success Over 100 guests gathered at Southampton’s latest hotspot, The Southampton Harbour Hotel, on Wednesday 1st November to celebrate the relaunch of Eric Robinson Solicitors’ Corporate & Commercial Team as ‘ER Business’. Attendees heard television broadcaster, businesswoman and past winner of BBC’s The Apprentice, Michelle Dewberry, deliver an inspiring account of her career and success to date before enjoying cocktails and pizza on the hotel’s rooftop terrace bar.

Nick Khaira and Mark Amey

Jon Patrick and Louis Lawrence

Partners Catherine Maxfield, David Lawrence,

Thomas Hunt and Emily Taylor

with Michelle Dewberry

Phil Henly and Guy Carruthers

Craig Hoyland, David Floyd, Debra and Colin Zaczyk Aaron Devitt, Wayne Loom and Josh Williams

Eric the Owl and Michelle Dewberry

‘It was a fantastic evening,’ said Managing Partner and Head of ER Business, Catherine Maxfield. ‘Michelle was absolutely enthralling and we were overwhelmed by the support from clients, both longstanding and new, and members of the local business community. We were thrilled with both the response and the feedback from the event.’

Basingstoke On 23rd June, The Mayor of Basingstoke along with representatives from Basingstoke and Deane Council and the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce joined staff at Eric Robinson Solicitors to officially open the firm’s new office.

‘Our decision expand outside the Southampton postcode with our seventh office was very much client-led,’ says Partner, Thomas Hunt. ‘An increasing number of enquiries were coming from North Hampshire, so we looked into possible locations that would best serve them, followed by market analysis to assess what opportunities physical expansion could bring to the firm.’ And the firm’s innovation didn’t stop with new premises, as Eric Robinson Solicitors introduced new opening

hours, 7 days a week, which has proved increasingly popular with both private and corporate clients. ‘Since the Basingstoke office is at the entrance of Festival Place, we felt we should embrace the opening hours of our new neighbours in retail and be available when a lot of people have the time to come in for legal advice.’ ‘We have received a great deal of interest and praise from SMEs and family businesses who appreciate the flexibility of coming to see us at weekends so they can concentrate on their customers, suppliers and earning activities Monday to Friday. Whilst many firms say they are available whenever they are needed, we find this important demographic of business still values having someone physically present to talk things through in person.’ Bracknell

Also in the summer, Eric Robinson Solicitors opened its first office outside of Hampshire by taking residence in the town of Bracknell in Berkshire. ‘We wanted to expand our reach and explore new territory outside of Hampshire,’ says Managing Partner, Catherine Maxfield. ‘After being given a tour of the regeneration programme Bracknell has undertaken since the start of the year, we were left feeling inspired and excited at the opportunities such major investment in The Lexicon shopping complex and surrounding business parks presented.’ ‘It is clear that the town has a fantastic future that we are delighted to now be part of.’

Winchester In November, the firm welcomed its second Mayoral visit of the year, along with clients, local dignitaries and press to celebrate the successful move of its Winchester team to new premises on Southgate Street. After a phenomenally successful three years in offices on the outskirts of the city centre, the firm has proved its worth in Hampshire’s historic capital city and needed a new location to house its expanding team and client base. ‘We are so proud that after just three years in Winchester, we have needed to move to bigger premises that can accommodate our expanding team and growing demand for the services we offer,’ says Emily Taylor, Partner responsible for firm’s Winchester branch. ‘We were delighted to have received support from so many local clients and businesses, and excited to unveil our new Legal Lounge that we welcome other companies to use for offsite meetings, training and away days.’

Richmond In October, the culmination of Eric Robinson Solicitors’ plan of strategic growth saw the firm break into the London market by opening its tenth office underneath the clock tower in Richmond town square ‘In the past year we’ve moved up the M3 corridor by opening offices in Basingstoke, Bracknell and now Richmond,’ explains Craig Petrie, the Partner who is responsible for Eric Robinson Solicitors’ latest venture. ‘We did our research and felt there was a gap in the market for the modern legal services that we are proud to have developed and now offer.’ And the firm is bringing all its innovative ideas and new ways of working including fixed fees across all its services, weekend opening and, of course, ‘Eric the Owl’, which all make Eric Robinson Solicitors stand out from the crowd. ‘Our history and reputation allows us to arrive with services that have proved popularity and success,’ says Craig. ‘We can’t wait to be part of Richmond’s local and business communities.’

2017 was certainly the year of property, and not just for Eric Robinson Solicitors’

award-winning conveyancing team. The firm celebrated

the opening of FOUR new offices in three

counties across the South.

Over £50,000 raised for Wessex Heartbeat

In 2017, Eric Robinson Solicitors was proud to accept the invitation to become a

special patron of Wessex Heartbeat in order to celebrate the charity’s 25th year.

In less than twelve months, the firm has raised over £50,000

for the charity, which is dedicated to supporting the Wessex

Cardiac Centre located at University Hospital Southampton

NHS Foundation Trust, by sponsoring and taking part in a

number of fundraising events throughout the year.

While staff from across the firm took part in skydives,

marathon runs, zip wire challenges and quiz evenings, the firm

itself sponsored a charity Golf Day at the award winning

Goodwood Course in West Sussex which raised £9,670.50 and

a Gala Dinner at Romsey

Abbey which raised

£37,500—a figure which

was more than any other event organised by the charity!

‘The support from Eric Robinson Solicitors has been outstanding,’ said

Tina Richardson, Events and Community Manager for Wessex

Heartbeat. ‘We are delighted to be working with them and are grateful

for them making such a fantastic contribution to our cause.’

‘We are very proud of our efforts and the financial contribution we

have been able to make towards the fundraising for Wessex

Heartbeat in its 25th year,’ says Managing Partner, Catherine Maxfield.

‘So much so, that we have decided to continue our association with the

charity in 2018.’

E ric Robinson Solicitors Wins Conveyancing Accolade

There was cause for celebration for one of the region’s largest legal property teams when Eric Robinson Solicitors was named ‘Conveyancing Firm of the Year for the South of England’ at the Modern Law Conveyancing Awards 2017. Professionals from across the UK property industry gathered for a black tie ceremony at the stylish Rum Warehouse in Liverpool to celebrate their nominations for the annual Modern Law Conveyancing Awards. From a shortlist of five specialist firms from across the South of England, a judging panel of experts chosen from across the property industry chose Eric Robinson Solicitors as winner of the category in recognition of its client service, commitment to staff of over 20 fee earners and members of the department’s support team, and innovation within the sector. ‘Of all the awards to win, I think this title best sums up what we have been working to achieve over the past twelve months,’ says Partner and Head of Conveyancing at Eric Robinson Solicitors, Paul Sams. ‘We strive to keep one step ahead of developments in the industry. We introduced a 24 hour, 7 days a week phone service a few years ago, then opened our

offices at weekends and most recently caused a stir when we introduced a ’28 day guarantee’ earlier this year.’ ‘Our evidence shows this is what our clients want and appreciate. Things change, move forward, so any conveyancing firm wanting to be part of the future cannot afford to ignore it. We have made the conscious effort to embrace technology, innovation and progress, so it feels really satisfying to win this particular award.’

E ric Robinson Solicitors Recognised as Leader for Corporate Crime

The Criminal Defence Team at Eric Robinson Solicitors is proud to have been listed and praised in one of the most prestigious annual guides to the legal profession, The Legal 500, for a second consecutive year.

After an incredibly busy twelve months which has included the winning of contracts, opening of new offices and substantial increase in work from the corporate sector, it is with great satisfaction that Criminal Defence Team at Eric Robinson Solicitors learned it has once again been named as one of the leaders in its field by The Legal 500.

The team, which comprises 15 fee earners plus support staff, is the only one to represent Hampshire in the South East region after clients gave testimony to ‘the attention the team affords to each case and client, which is undoubtedly the reason it receives so many repeat instructions’.

The guide highlighted the firm’s work on a

range of fraud cases with examples including the defence against accusations of conspiracy to defraud and launder money in a £12m carousel fraud scheme, a company director in a £1.7m VAT matter and a six-week trial at Southampton Crown Court concerning the avoidance of duty paid on imported tobacco.

‘Of course a lot of our work is supporting individuals who have been arrested and police stations which need representation for those in custody, but an increasing number of business people are calling us when they find themselves facing accusations of wrongdoing,’ says Senior Associate, David Franklin, who leads the team and was noted in The Legal 500 for being ‘impressive in his preparation of cases and client care’.

‘There is a stereotypical view of criminal activity and a stigma that can inhibit people asking for help, but it doesn’t take much for someone in business to find themselves under investigation and in need of robust defence to explain their circumstances.’

In response to winning a new contract for the region, the last 12 months have seen the Criminal Team operate from new offices in Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Bracknell.

‘We are very proud of the team, all their hard work and the industry recognition they have received for another year in The Legal 500,’ says Managing Partner, Catherine Maxfield. ‘They have achieved a great deal in promoting how important the services they provide can be to a wider range of people than most realise.’

It has been another busy year for Eric

and his friends - from top left, clockwise,

sponsoring the Lymington Seafood

Festival; meeting new friends at the

Countess Mountbatten family fun day;

joining in the fun at the Winchester

Half Marathon and cuddly Erics

donated to school children of Kashmir.