Monday interview: Tim Halstead, managing partner at Shulmans
Law firm Shulmans is very close to employing its 200th team member. As that milestone approaches, Tim Halstead, managing partner, shares his thoughts on how he believes growth of the business is down to its culture and relationship building.
Speaking at the firm’s first real estate networking event, which was attended by around 200 people from across the region, Tim said: “I have been at Shulmans since 1984, when there were just ten people here. We are about to hire number 199. We have a very strong culture, we focus on making it a great place to work.
“It’s not all about making money. We want to give clients a good service and we enjoy doing transactions with them. We talk in terms of buildings relationships with people; so we like people to work for us who buy into that culture.”
The firm has a single site in Leeds and conducts many transactions on behalf of regional, national and international firms from its hub, now in Wellington Place.
Halstead said that it was very important to contribute to the wider business community in order to stay connected and to build towards the same combined goals. Its employees are encouraged to participate in regional bodies such as Leeds BID and West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. The firm has supported the Leeds City Region’s MIPIM delegation for several years for this reason.
Asked about the relevance of the Northern Powerhouse and whether Leeds could compete with London, Halstead said while the capital had its obvious importance and dominance, he saw no reason why Leeds and Yorkshire couldn’t continue to thrive and be a central point for law firms – as well as other sectors.
He said it was encouraging that Leeds will soon host senior legal figures from across the globe, putting Yorkshire on the map in terms of the knowledge base and services available. “Leeds is doing a lot to promote the county,” he added.
At the real-estate networking session, agents, surveyors, landowners, investors and developers were introduced to one another. Halstead added: “This event further cements our reputation as a firm that brings people together and creates opportunities.”
The firm saw revenue rise to £13.2m for 2016/17 following an uplift in fee income of 7.5% last year. Clients in the region and nationally include BetFred, Greggs and Barratt Homes, with the addition of motorway service station operator Extra MSA and Avant Homes in the past 12 months.
