Monday Interview: James Smith, director and co-founder at Holden Smith

A law firm founded in February 2019 turned over £500,000 in its first 12 months and was well on track to reach a turnover of £1.2m this financial year before the COVID-19 crisis struck.

James Smith, director and one of the three founders of Holden Smith, said he was optimistic that the fast growing business could come back strongly once normality returns.

He explained Holden Smith was launched just over a year ago with himself and his two co-founders – David Bancroft and Jamie Megson – but already now employs 21 people.

It is based in Denby Dale, Kirklees, but has now also opened a second office in Crossgates, Leeds.

Smith said the firm specialises in using technology such as apps and online portals to speed up and improve the client experience.

He studied law in Manchester, initially working as a paralegal in Leeds then joining Ison Harrison once he had qualified.

He became a partner at this business, running its property arm alongside Bancroft and expanding its team from six people to 30.

Smith was at Ison Harrison for seven years but said he decided he could take advantage of better technological products by setting up his own firm, together with his two other co-founders.

“The opportunity arose to do this and we just went for it,” he added. “David and I spent a lot of time putting a business plan together.”

He said high street law firms can often be quite old fashioned in their approach, whereas his practice has deliberately set out to embrace the latest technology while not losing the personal touch.

“We’re reaching a new market of young professionals who want something different to what most high street law firms offer,” he said.

“For us it’s all about the client experience. We’re young, approachable, energetic and we take the jargon out of things.

“At the moment about 70 per cent of the firm involves residential property law, with about 20 per cent commercial property. But we’re now expanding into other areas, including litigation and family law.

“We get a lot of our work via referrals from estate agents and mortgage brokers. So keeping those relationships going is extremely important.”

Smith said the virus pandemic has posed a difficult challenge for the company. Instructions for residential properties have fallen, and because of the lockdown it is currently impossible to carry out property valuations.

“I am trying to be optimistic,” he said. “I think there will be a spike in business as soon as the lockdown ends, but then a slow down after that for a few months.

“We are ambitious and we’re still looking for opportunities to grow.

“I think there will be a lot of people who will want to move home when the crisis finishes, because they’ll have spent so much time stuck in houses which they feel are too small for them.

He noted that people had little or no money during the recession which followed the 2008 slump, whereas people furloughed but still earning during the current pandemic should have some cash available to spend once trade can resume.