How law firm is continuing to set the bar high

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate magazine, we meet Fiona Moffat, the inspirational managing partner of Timms Solicitors.

As well as leading the firm, which has practising for 130 years, Fiona also heads up Timms’ family division.

And Innovate finds out why, that after 40 years in the law, she still remains deeply in love with her profession and the opportunity it affords her to help people – those who work with her, the clients she represents and those in the wider communities.

Timms was launched in Swadlincote in 1892. Today, its near-70 staff also now work from offices in Ashby and Burton and a stunning Derby HQ in the former St Michael’s Church, in Queen Street, which was converted by architect Derek Latham.

Key to Timms’ longevity has been its ability to adapt and innovate with the times, none more so than when the pandemic hit.

Fiona told Innovate: “You know, pre-pandemic I had never used Teams or Zoom and had no idea what they were.

“Now, I do court hearings on them regularly. It was quite strange to begin with, taking the formal environment of the court and doing things remotely, but we are into the flow of it and one of the judges was saying to me the other day that this will never change now.

“I love that Covid forced change. It would have taken us five years to do this otherwise.”

Despite the challenges of Covid, Fiona and her team have managed to maintain Timms’ turnover at around the £3 million mark, and they are well-positioned for future success.

Speaking to Innovate about what makes her firm stand out from its peers, Fiona said: “Everybody will say we are really lovely people; we are personable, we know our jobs and we’re good at them, and I think we’d say all of that, but that’s just the baseline these days.

“If you still think that saying that is enough, you’re misguided really. I think it’s a lot more than that.

“It’s really hard to encapsulate what our culture is but, honestly, for me, it’s about trying to treat people the way I’d like to be treated myself.

“It’s alright being a lawyer and knowing everything about your area of work but you have to be human, and you have to be able to empathise with a client and understand they have human needs and anxieties alongside their legal problems or as part of their legal problems.”

To read the full feature in the latest Innovate magazine click here.