Towcester Family Law Practice specialises in giving legal help and advice across a range of family law issues, in areas including divorce, domestic violence and abuse, children related issues, separation and maintenance. Based in Towcester, Northamptonshire, TFLP is friendly, approachable, professional and exclusively home based, meeting with clients to discuss family law issues in their own homes or venues of choice.

Heather Rose set up the practice in February 2008 with a specialist family law legal executive colleague. She is very aware that clients may be in an emotionally vulnerable state and often prefer a home visit. She believes that seeing clients when and where they want is the future. “I have set up a virtual office and rather than people coming to the office, I take the office to them. There is nothing that I cannot do or access when out with a client. I am making legal advice a lot more accessible, manageable and flexible than the average high street practice and I can pass on the savings of lower overheads to clients.”

For her accounts she uses Virtual Practices from Solicitors Own Software (SOS). wVirtual Practices is run online, over the internet – the software and the cashiering service are managed by SOS so that the firm can be sure that all regulations are complied with and can concentrate on its legal work. The service is paid for on a subscription basis so that there is no large up front cost in getting started. (See the article on Software as a Service in the January/February issue.)

I asked Heather Rose a number of questions as to how she runs the firm.

Q. I can see how your method could work for “just you” but how does it work for your colleague?

A. My colleague works from my home; we share the “office” and all facilities. We get on very well together which is helpful. Since the work is conducted largely by telephone and email, that can be conducted from any venue by mobile phone and internet allow clients to contact us and the client does not need to know where we are when we respond.

Q. Is your method really only suitable for “one person” or perhaps two?

A. I see no reason why the practice could not expand, if the right people were found, and the practice can be very family friendly to accommodate family needs. Even if it became office based for space requirements (I am not sure how many more people could fit in the present office) then it could be open plan and could be the base from which we go to visit clients at the venue of their choice, exactly as we now operate. We could maybe have an interview room for the purposes of drop in clients and solicitor meetings, collaborative process meetings etc, but that would not be the main operation.

Q. How do you handle your document production, forms, letters etc – do you do them all yourself, or do you use a local secretary in some way or alternatively a transcription service?

A. At the moment we do our own typing, but as and when we get too busy we will look to outsource to local secretaries to maybe work in the evening or around their own families. At that time we would probably look at a full network that could be accessed over the internet, with suitable security measures.

Q. You must occasionally have to see a client somewhere outside the home (eg if there is a violent partner in the home). How do you handle that situation? Do you have any worries about visiting remote and/or less salubrious areas, particularly in the dark?

A. We have a lone worker policy whereby when I get to the client’s address, I text or ring my colleague. I do the same when I leave and she can (and has) called me when I am there. We always answer the mobile to each other in such circumstances and the clients are fine about it when we explain why we are doing it. Womens Aid workers, social workers and health care professionals all face the same considerations; whether they are termed “client”, “case” or “patient” makes no difference. If we had any concerns about visiting a venue, we would arrange another time or another place or we would both attend. We can have an initial meeting to meet the client for the first time at a cafe, obviously not discussing personal or sensitive issues at that time. After that, once they have been met and assessed, we can make an informed decision about where to meet them in the future.

Q. If you are receiving all phone calls, is this not rather distracting for clients you are seeing at the time? And if everything goes onto answer phone, that must be annoying for clients, particularly if they are in a difficulty state themselves and perhaps cannot easily be called back?

A. As we are a very new practice, we are not busy at the moment. When we get busy enough to need it we will look to a phone answering service but clients do not mind leaving a message and being called back. In a busy office environment, clients don’t always get put straight through to their solicitor anyway

Q. What do you do about legal research services, ie how do you keep up to date?

A. Books and internet, just the same as in a conventional office.

Q. How do you approach marketing?

A. No differently to any office-based practice, except without the “shop front” which rarely, in my experience resulted in many clients. Yellow pages, website, local advertising and school magazines are just some of the ways we are getting the name out there.

Q. For a firm using the Virtual Practices service from SOS, whose job is it to a) send out the bills and b) chase up unpaid bills?

A. The individual fee earner, with clients told at the outset they will be billed monthly. With the Virtual Practices system, we can see at a glance what remains unpaid and can gently remind the client when they call, or the next time we need to write to them, of the amount outstanding.

Q. What sort of training do you look for?

A. I went on the Jordans Family Law Update course this year as I have for the previous four years and I attend the local Resolution meetings, once or twice a year with a speaker, offering one CPD hour. Training over the internet is also a growing and cost effective option.