2021 HAD MUCH TO LIVE UP TO AFTER THE CHAOS OF 2020. MANAGING PARTNER, MARK DEVERELL GIVES HIS VIEW ON THE YEAR
No one could have expected what 2020 had in store for the world. It became clear early on that there was a new normal for everyone. This new way of doing things created uncertainty and many had questions about how their way of life was going to change.
In many ways, we’re still feeling the aftershocks from 2020 deep into 2021. But in many other ways, we’ve been able to take massive steps forwards and have found a way to thrive in challenging circumstances . The vaccine rollout has ensured that we can get back to some semblance of normality, and we’ve been able to cautiously transition from working completely remotely to a hybrid approach and have seen the benefits in doing so.
In this small blog, I wanted to give you a snapshot of what Gorvins have been doing this year and talk a little bit about our plans for the future.
UNIQUE CHALLENGES
If 2020 was the challenge of trying to work remotely, 2021 was all about finding a balance. There are numerous benefits to remote working. Less time spent commuting and thus more time to spend on the things that matter. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who enjoys commuter journeys stuck in rush hour traffic.
For all its many benefits, there are a few things we miss out on when working remotely. Our staff have been fantastic throughout the pandemic and have been producing great work for our clients regardless of whether they’re in the office or not. However, some level of office working, where everyone can come together, provides real benefits, especially when it comes to preserving and building the firm’s culture.
The Gorvins culture
Here at Gorvins, we’re proud of our culture and want to use it to help our people thrive. This year has all been about finding a balance. Homeworking enabled us to protect our staff and clients so there is no plan to end it as a valuable option anytime soon. But with the added protection that comes with vaccination and covid secure working practices, we had started to welcome staff back on-site to work together within their teams.
Keeping the personal in mind
One thing we have seen great benefit from is physical, in-person, weekly meetings. These meetings have allowed us to bring back the personal, by finding out how everyone is and not just how work is going. This is an incredibly important part of the Gorvins philosophy.
We also have a lot of staff in the early stages of their careers who benefit massively from the close 1-2-1 mentoring that’s much harder to deliver remotely.
A hybrid approach
Ultimately, we care deeply about all our staff. We understand that to keep each other safe, remote working has been an extremely useful tool. We also realise the importance of social interactions that occur non-digitally. To the extent that we’re able to do that safely, we’ll continue to work with a hybrid approach, reacting to new advice from the government and health services as it is issued.
THE SUCCESSES OF 2021
2021 has been a great year for Gorvins. The numbers coming in have risen considerably on the previous year, proving that we’ve been able to thrive in the challenging conditions that have come with the pandemic. This is a testament to the efforts of our Gorvins colleagues to get great results for clients.
Across the business, we’ve made several promotions that recognise the great work many exemplary staff members have been doing. We’re constantly on the lookout for those colleagues who go above and beyond for our clients, and it’s great to reward that hard work.
This year also saw two of the Gorvins team become part of the senior team. Christian Mancier and Claire Beaumont are now equity partners and will be bringing their expertise to help our firm grow and expand.
OUR PLANS FOR 2022
For all the great success we’ve had in 2021, we’re looking to make even bigger strides in 2022. We can’t give everything away, but there are lots of exciting things we’re going to be working on over the next 12 months.
We’re working on initiatives that will build on the fantastic firm culture we have here at Gorvins. These efforts will deliver a more crystallised notion of what it means to be part of the Gorvins family and will help us to offer greater support and benefits to our staff.
This won’t just translate into greater wellbeing and job satisfaction for our staff, but better results for our clients.
It’s been a great year for Gorvins and while there have been challenges to overcome, we’ve worked with the professionalism and grit needed to deliver the high-quality legal services we’re known for.
As 2021 comes to an end, I and the whole Gorvins team would like to wish you all a happy holiday period and a prosperous new year.
Here’s to 2022 and everything it has to offer.
Mark Deverell