'Staying close to people is important'

Latimer Hinks has been settling disputes, wills and property transactions in Darlington since 1872.

It moved to a site in Priestgate, Darlington, close to the town centre in 1953 and has remained there ever since.

The past 20 years have seen a major shift in the focus of law firms, which are seen as not just a profession any more, but increasingly as successful businesses in themselves.

Many have abandoned their traditional town centre sites and seized the chance to move into high-rise, modern offices.

Latimer Hinks, while offering many of the same specialist services, has so far chosen to remain in Priestgate.

Partner Anne Elliott said: "We have toyed with the idea of moving the offices.

"You agonise about it, and wonder if you are doing the right thing staying in town, or if you should be in modern offices, thinking does image matter to that extent?

"But many of our clients say they really enjoy coming into reception because they find the atmosphere relaxing."

Ms Elliott, who has been with Latimer Hinks for 30 years, says the changes in the profession go way beyond image.

"When I started, there were manual typewriters and we had an innovative partner who loved gadgets, and kept updating us all the time. But we are very much a computer-driven practice now."

The ratio of men to women has altered dramatically, particularly in the past ten years, Ms Elliott says.

"We only have ten men in the whole practice now, out of more than 50 people.

"We have seven trainee solicitors, with only one man among them, and eight assistant solicitors with only two men among them.

"That is symptomatic of the profession. There are more women than men qualifying as lawyers now.

"I think initially it is because of academic achievement.

"To do a law degree at some of the more popular universities, you have to get straight As at A-level, and certainly girls are higher achievers at A-level."

The firm has a large agricultural client base - in part left over from the days when it represented the National Farmers' Union - which forms the core of much of its business.

And with farmers diversifying more, finding different ways to make money such as barn conversions and selling land, Latimer Hinks has prospered.

The practice no longer deals in criminal law or takes Legal Aid clients, but deals in commercial, residential and agricultural property, as well as probate and other private client work.

Ms Elliott said: "We deal with capital gains and wills, and we have a big trust department, which is very unusual for a practice like ours.

"Often, only the big firms do that, but we have got accountancy-trained people in-house to offer advice."

After seven years, the firm is currently winding down its property shop.

"It was never perceived as central to what we did," said Ms Elliott.

"And I think the introduction of home information packs next year will revolutionise property buying and selling.

"It was not that the property shop wasn't successful, but we looked at our business plan and realised it wasn't core business for moving forward, and with the introduction of the new legislation we were going to have to make a decision on that."

Ms Elliott says she believes Latimer Hinks does well because of the number of long-serving employees it has.

"You get to know your clients, then their children and their children's children, and because in some cases you have been dealing with them for so long you can actually pre-empt problems or issues before they come up.

"I think that is where our strengths lie. We have a personal touch which you don't get in the huge firms."

The practice keeps its profile high within its core area in Darlington by sponsoring the Civic Theatre, as well as a ladies football team and the Darlington Choral Society - all organisations their employees are involved in.

Ms Elliott says the Darlington client base is key.

"Darlington people tend to support Darlington business," she said.

"They are more likely to come to a local law firm like us than go to Newcastle or Leeds."