DALE LEVER Owner, Lever Law Solicito
What did you set out to achieve this year ?
I wanted to grow the business organically focusing primarily on bringing in talented staff members to ensure our service levels remained high. We are still recruiting and are eager to develop the business further.
Has everything gone according to plan?
Certainly not! The impact and ramifications of the Coronavirus were unexpected. The conveyancing side of the business took a huge hit when lockdown was announced with lenders withdrawing offers and local authorities closing their doors etc. Fast forward a couple of months and the unprecedented conveyancing boom took everyone by surprise. The surge was difficult to keep up with and trying to manage clients expectations proved tricky. How has the ongoing Covid crisis affected your business and how have you mitigated this? As I’m sure is the case with many businesses, Covid has presented many obstacles for us and the running of our usual day-to-day tasks. These have mainly been delays which are out of our control. Of course, this is often frustrating for our clients but we do all we can to ensure matters are dealt with to the best of our abilities and reassure our clients that we will do all we can for them during this uncertain time.
What are you most proud of this year?
Our growth and resilience. This year we have taken on three brilliant new members of staff to cope with the growing demand for our services. For Lever Law, to be able do this at a time when so many other industries have had to cut back makes me very proud and the long hours worth it. We have members of our team who have joined us from various professional backgrounds that were put under great pressure by the changes Covid presented, and they now couldn’t imagine a career outside the law.
What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received this year?
Don’t forget to take a holiday! I had not realised how important it is to take a break and recharge your batteries. As solicitors we often forget to switch off as we must be constantly on the ball analysing every little detail – we really do forget how taxing this is on our mental health and wellbeing.
How has your team changed?
As previously mentioned, the team is growing which allows us to keep up with demand whilst maintaining the standards expected by our clients for the various services we offer. One of our newer members of staff is solicitor Nicola Sharp who deals with private client work including wills and probate. Her sole focus on this area ensures great service levels and ensures clients are guided through what can often be a challenging time. Our conveyancing team worked incredibly hard through the stamp duty holiday period which saw our record level of conveyancing cases, whilst again ensuring our service levels were in line with expectations and our company values. I am focusing more on commercial work which is really taking off and is an area I really do enjoy. The team as a whole work so well together meaning we can all work to our optimum potential by supporting eachother through the good, the busy and the stressful times.
What have you learnt about yourself this year?
I have learnt that I am able to manage stress, or I should say that I have had to learn how to manage stress given the demands placed on us throughout the Stamp Duty Land Tax deadlines.
What’s been the most enjoyable business social event you have attended?
I am the chairman of the Dunelm Foundation, a company who raises funds for charitable and worthy causes. In the first year we were able to attract Kevin Keegan to the Dunelm Foundation Dinner as the guest speaker which was a huge draw – Keegan was a hero when I was growing up so to hear him speak at the event was fantastic. We managed to raise £25,000 on the evening and this was distributed to several diffident worthy causes. Describe 2021 in three words… Busy, exciting, memorable!
What does the remainder of the year hold?
We are looking to bring in an experienced solicitor to head our conveyancing department in the new year and hope to find the ideal candidate who will maintain our high standards and share in the firms ethos.
