Harper Macleod Announces Impressive Growth of Connect2Law

Leading commercial law firm Harper Macleod LLP, Scottish hub firm for Connect2LawR, the innovative referral membership network for law firms, announces the significant growth of the scheme in Scotland, with member numbers more than doubling in the past six months.

Since the appointment of Business Development Manager Anne Macdonald to develop the scheme in September 2008 when there were 25 members, Connect2Law now has 54 member law firms throughout Scotland with referrals from them also doubling to around 25 a month.  Anne's appointment was a reflection of placing the Connect2Law offering at the heart of Harper Macleod's client offering to member law firms.

Through the scheme, Harper Macleod offers its broad range of expertise to the clients of smaller legal firms on a non-poaching, fee share, referral basis.  This enables the smaller firm to retain clients and deliver to them the relevant expertise in areas of law not covered by their services. 

In addition to allowing smaller law firms and their clients the benefit of added expertise in line with rigorous service level agreements, the success of the scheme can also be attributed to member firms' unlimited access to the scheme's CostControllerR, which, through the power of bulk purchasing can save firms considerable sums, often up to 20%, on their overheads.

Harper Macleod Partner, Christopher Kerr who manages the scheme said, "The early success of the scheme has exceeded our initial expectations and ambitions.  We found that many small firms throughout Scotland encountered some interesting and complex cases for which they either don't have the time, manpower or experience to handle alone. The scheme has been a genuine extension of their own services, enabling them to enhance their current offering, retain and attract further clients and increase their bottom line."

Connect2LawR was established by English firm Pannone in 2001.  Harper Macleod became the Scottish "hub" in November 2007. 

Established in 1988, Harper Macleod has 41 Partners, 115 Fee Earners and a complement of 240 staff.  The firm is renowned for its expertise in Public Sector & Housing, Sports, Recoveries, Corporate, Real Estate, Litigation, Banking and Employment and includes The Scottish Government, The Child Support Agency in Scotland, The Scottish Premier League, Forestry Commission Scotland, Whitbread, William Hill, BP, Airtricity, Optical Express and Tulloch Homes Group in its impressive list of clients.