Reaching the platinum mark: A review of our 70th year in business

In 2017, Willans celebrated its 70^th year in business.

After wartime service in the Navy, Alec Willans founded the firm in 1947 as a small practice. 70 years and eight mergers later, today we employ around 75 people in four office buildings across Cheltenham’s Imperial Square.

Steered by fourteen partners, many of whom are nationally recognised as leading practitioners in their field, we have enjoyed steady expansion over the years across both our commercial and private client practices. Renowned for the approachable, clear communication style favoured from the very start by founder Mr Willans, we are consistently commended in national legal directories for our ability to “compete with larger regional players”.

We have marked our special milestone with a campaign of activities, the highlights of which have included:

• A celebratory gathering at Chapel Arts for a few clients, friends and business contacts in September.
• Ongoing sponsorships of county events such as Gloucestershire Business Awards and Cheltenham Festivals.
• A series of fundraising initiatives, including a ‘Big Biz Birthday Quiz’ in aid of our local chosen charity of the year, The Nelson Trust (now Winston’s Wish for 2017-2018). Over the last five years we are proud to have raised around £70,000 for local charities.
• Supporting the next generation of lawyers by partnering with the University of Gloucestershire’s law school to provide legal masterclasses and career talks.
• A staff summer party at Pittville Pump Room.
• An extra day’s holiday and new benefits for all staff.

Our managing partner, Bridget Redmond, commented: “We’re extremely proud to have celebrated Willans’ platinum anniversary this year. The hard work, dedication and commercial awareness of the staff who have been involved with Willans during its 70 years, along with the loyalty of our clients, has shaped it into the firm it is today.”

“The firm has continued to evolve over the years, and the calibre of our lawyers has enabled us to specialise in a number of niche areas, including renewable energy and intellectual property.  Even though we now operate on a much larger scale, we take pride in delivering the same quality of client care and attention to detail as we did in Alec Willans’ day.”

This year, we have once again enjoyed a strong showing in prestigious legal guides, Chambers and The Legal 500, with our lawyers described as ‘knowledgeable, meticulous and extremely personable’.

Our multi-disciplinary legal team provides a range of services to clients, from wills, family law and conveyancing through to commercial matters, litigation, property and employment.