The Scottish Legal Referral Network
Refer your clients, keep their business
Introducing HM Connect, the leading support and referral network for law firms in Scotland. Driven by Harper Macleod, we provide additional legal resources for those areas of law you don't practice, and support for those that you do.
Its free to join and non-exclusive with collaboration at its core. HM Connect ensures you keep your client and maintain your position as their trusted, local law firm – with the support and expertise of Harper Macleod at your side. And to ensure your peace of mind, all of our members are protected by a written non-poaching agreement, so we truly can work together to give you an edge over your competition.
We have a special members page called ConnectExtra with further information and exclusive deals for HM Connect members.
We work with you to agree the best way to deal with a referral whether that be Harper Macleod engaging with your client directly for the specific piece of work, a partnership referral where Harper Macleod works alongside your firm, a consultancy referral with Harper Macleod in the background or you may simply wish to discuss a file with one of our fee earners via the free "colleague down the corridor" service.
Over 330 law firms have already elected to join the network, are you ready to give us a try?
What are the other benefits?
- Written non-poaching agreement ensuring that member firms retain their clients
- Atrractive fee share
- Free fortnightly legal updates and research papers
- An annual programme of free CPD for all fee-earners within a member firm
- Invitation to our members only, highly lauded, Annual Conference – 7.5hrs CPD
- Access to Harper Macleod's fee earners and management team to discuss any client or operational issues
- Assistance with marketing including free LinkedIn and Twitter training
- Free enquiry line
- Exclusive supplier deals as part of ConnectExtra offering – a carefully selected group of specialist suppliers to the legal market.
We have a full team of solicitors listed below, led by Anne Macdonald, devoted to our HM Connect network. For further information on joining HM Connect please contact Anne.
HM Connect ensures you keep your client and maintain your position as their trusted, local law firm – with the support and expertise of Harper Macleod at your side.
Meet the HM Connect team
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Anne Macdonald
Partner
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Amy Walsh
Associate
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Stephen Vallance
Sector Development Lawyer
Some highlights
We've assisted in relation to over 4,500 client referrals since launch of network
Also assisted member firms with over 1,100 enquiries
24% of Scottish Legal Profession choose to work with us
HM Connect team were runners up for Best Business Development Team 2013 at The Lawyer Management Awards in London.
"I consider the success of HM Connect to be of the most positive developments for High Street solicitors. HM Connect has been a breath of fresh air and has dispelled much of the depression in the marketplace. Solicitors now know that they have a trusted solution to many of their issues."
Douglas R Mill, DM Consulting Limited
"HM Connect is a valued extension of our client offering and provides our firm and our clients with access to the wide range of expert legal advice which Harper Macleod offers."
Leandro Franchi of Franchi Law, Glasgow
Some of our recent work
Banking & Finance Referral
In a recent case referred to us by an HM Connect firm, the father and brother of an individual who owned and managed a private limited liability property development company were required to provide personal guarantees to the UK arm of a large commercial lender and a Luxemburg based fund before either would provide funding to company. The father’s guarantees were also supported by security over certain commercial properties owned by him. Neither the father nor the brother had any direct involvement in the day to day running of the company.
We were able to use our extensive banking expertise and experience and knowledge of the lenders’ respective standard form documents to ensure that the father and brother were fully advised on the guarantees to be provided by them and (in the case of the father) the supporting security over his commercial property. We were also able to call on our familiarity with the lenders’ respective internal sign off requirements to ensure that the whole process to completion ran smoothly (including, without limitation, satisfying the lenders that the requisite independent legal advice had been provided).
From the HM Connect firm’s perspective, they were able to carry out work on the transaction to the extent that they felt comfortable doing so, tapping into our expertise and experience as and when required. They were also able to maintain the majority of the direct contact with the clients.
From the clients’ perspective, they were able to maintain contact with the firm they were familiar dealing with, with limited need for them to leave their immediate locality in order to receive the legal advice they required.
Corporate / Investment Referral
In a recent transaction referred to us by an HM Connect firm, the seller had built up a successful business in the healthcare sector over a number of years and was seeking to sell the business with a view to continuing to work for a few more years before retiring completely. An employee of the practice was keen to purchase the business; however, his funders were only able to provide a small proportion of the consideration meaning that the seller was left with a problem.
Recognising the issue, the HM Connect firm approached us early in the transaction which allowed us to consider the sale and the payment of the consideration. Getting involved in the transaction at an early stage was beneficial as it allowed the HM Connect firm and Harper Macleod to consider their remits and develop a working relationship with each other and the client. It also allowed Harper Macleod to suggest alternative ways to structure the deferred consideration which minimised risk for the seller.
As the HM Connect firm had expertise in property law the property law aspects of the transaction were dealt with by the referring firm, whilst Harper Macleod’s corporate and banking team dealt with all other aspects.
Working closely with the HM Connect firm and the client, our banking team drafted and negotiated a loan agreement for the deferred consideration. As the initial consideration being paid at completion was funded by a bank, the security package put together for the deferred consideration protecting the buyer had an added layer of complexity as the bank, as you would expect, wanted to ensure the funds they lent were secure in preference to all other creditors. However, despite this we managed to obtain a security package for the deferred consideration which minimised the seller’s risk which was our key driver.
Whilst no amount of security is as good as getting all the funds on completion, having the HM Connect firm and Harper Macleod work together allowed the seller to take a step back from the business with the comfort that risk relating to the deferred consideration was minimised
IP referral
One of our more ‘high profile’ firms found themselves with a range of enquiries from their website from members of the public looking for advice on areas of law, many of which fell out with that firm’s areas of expertise.
Rather than wasting these potential leads the member firm referred these enquiries to HM Connect and we have been able to offer advice on a range of matters resulting in both referral fees and retained and satisfied clients for the member firm.
One in particular related to intellectual property (IP) rights for a range of products designed for a company and never paid for. Our IP team have assisted with advice and action against the administrators of the Company who has been attempting to sell, amongst other things, our client’s rights to the IP for the unpaid for designs.
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