Law firm commits to 40 pledges to mark four decades in business

Some four decades after opening its doors in 1983, law firm Nelsons has celebrated its anniversary by unveiling 40 pledges to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to empowering clients, colleagues, communities and the wider environment.

As CEO Stewart Vandermark mentioned when we spoke to him last week, the pledges will be achieved through a range of deliverables in key focus areas: enhancing environmental awareness and action, supporting charitable causes, strengthening staff wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and improving client accessibility.

The whole team celebrated reaching the firm’s 40th year with photo booths in each office, complete with 1980s themed props. The printed passport style snaps were collected in a book alongside the team’s memories of their time at Nelsons to date, with branded cake and prosecco topping off the celebrations.

Nelsons began as a small start-up firm with one office above a shop in Nottingham, with a team driven by big ideas to push the boundaries of the legal sector. From three partners to three offices, it is now a recognised regional heavyweight in Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester, offering a broad range of services to the SME and private client sector.

Vandermark said: “With such a major milestone, it seemed only right to celebrate where we’ve come from, as well as where we’re headed, by furthering our goal of helping people to feel empowered. These pledges will not only create memorable moments for our employees but will help us make meaningful changes to our team, our working environment and local communities.”

Activities will include making sustainable swaps across the business and helping to reduce waste as well as encouraging young people into legal careers, by offering more work experience opportunities and linking up with education providers.

Employees at the firm will benefit from a raft of wellbeing pledges such as massages, mental health support and menopause awareness, as well as having access to talks to understand diversity and unconscious bias.

Clients will also benefit from the positive impact the firm will make during its anniversary year, with the team dedicating time to promoting accessibility through deaf awareness sessions and dementia friends training.

Tim Hastings, Nelsons chairman, said: “We are all extremely proud to have reached 40 years and to now be looking back at what has been a real journey for anyone that has either worked for or with the firm.

“For the first few years, Nelsons relied on its own momentum but steadily, we expanded our reach and adapted to new challenges. We replicated what we had created in Nottingham with Leicester and Derby and then continued to grow through mergers and acquisitions – completing more than 20 since 2000.

“Appointing Stewart as CEO signified a new era for Nelsons back in 2017, bringing fresh energy and ideas – being able to work alongside each other since then has worked incredibly well.”

On 4 May, the day after its 40th anniversary, Nelsons announced it had been acquired by Lawfront.

Hastings added: “The acquisition by Lawfront will rapidly accelerate Nelsons’ growth strategy making acquisitions possible, expanding services and increasing recruitment. Our new three-year vision is also now finalised giving the business a clear focus. This combined with everything we have learned along the way makes the future look very exciting.”