“Once I was seven years old, my mama told me
Go make yourself some friends or you’ll be lonely”
BH&O opened our doors 7 years ago today. And over that time, we’ve certainly made a lot of friends, and definitely never been lonely!
We’ve been very fortunate to have a great team throughout. We started with a team of 8, which grew a few weeks later to a team of 9. Of that original team, 6 of us are still here. We are now a team of 14.
To celebrate, here are 7 things we have done in that time:
- We have trained our own trainee solicitor, Beth Hancock, who is now more than 1 year qualified and is part of our wonderful team of solicitors. Beth is one of our dedicated team of children and care solicitors and is committed to continuing the firm’s specialism in this area of work, and to providing Legal Aid for those clients, where it is available.
- As well as training Beth, we have also trained two business admin apprentices, and supported, through arrangements with two other firms, two more trainee solicitors. We remain committed to training the next generation of lawyers. More of that later this year…!
- We have launched our in-house family mediation department, which is headed by Ruth Hawkins, who has recently become an Accredited Mediator through the Law Society. Our matrimonial team, led by Helen Bishop, are also able to do ‘one couple, one solicitor’ work where that is appropriate.
- We have continued to support many charities and community initiatives. We fundraise for charities, but we also support them in a number of practical ways, including; Providing pro bono legal advice to Flag DV, Alana House/PACT, various other domestic abuse charities; being the drop off/postal address for prom outfit charity Madrina, and later this year helping them to organise their first fashion show; sponsored a therapy room at The Abingdon Bridge; been the drop-off point for the last 7 years of Abingdon’s annual Christmas toy drive; hosting a bra bin for Against Breast Cancer; sponsoring a cog in the Blue Skye Thinking art installation at the Oxford Children’s Hospital; volunteering at Abingdon Carousel, Flag DV, and other charities as trustees. Our commitment to charity and community is constant. And something that runs through the whole firm and team.
- Taken part in 5 out of a possible 6 Heritage Open Days since opening our doors. The next one takes place on Saturday 13th September. Come along and take a look around our beautifully restored Georgian offices and learn about the previous occupants. And buy a cake for charity!
- Represented many vulnerable clients, often experiencing the most traumatic situations, always with compassion and sensitivity. We have continued to explore ways of helping our clients, whether that is through expanding the availability of non-court dispute resolution to our clients, of by taking cases to appeal, where we believe this is necessary. Or simply by providing them with food, baby clothes or facilitating therapy, when they need it, or WiFi and confidential space during the Lockdowns to enable them to participate in remote hearings or meetings.
- Remained committed to providing Legal Aid to clients where it is available and where they are eligible, and if not, to provide affordable solutions or signpost them to services who can assist.
Emily, Ruth and Irena are delighted that the ideas and culture they started 7 years ago, have been embraced by the team, and developed. Here’s to the next 7 years…and beyond!