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Watson Woodhouse has developed a reputation as one of the region's most trusted law firms. Peter Barron talks to one of their commercial property experts about the company's ethos

BORN and bred in the North-East, Alex Riordan grew up with a simple ambition – to find a career that enabled him to help others.

Now well-established as a director at Watson Woodhouse, and having developed a reputation as one of the area’s most respected commercial property experts, Alex is doing just that.

Indeed, he is the personification of Watson Woodhouse’s core principles of investing in local talent, and building professional, lasting relationships based on trusted personal service.

Watson Woodhouse, which has been offering dedicated, quality legal services for over 30 years, merged with Macks Solicitors in September last year, and both firms share a common belief in the value of having a high-profile presence in the High Street.

“I always wanted to be part of a High Street law firm, where people can find you easily, and relationships can be forged,” says Alex.

Growing up in Stockton-on-Tees, the son of two National Health Service workers, Alex loved the idea of a profession in which he could make a difference. He studied law at Leeds University for three years and then took a one-year Legal Practice Course. He took a training contract with a law firm in Gateshead for two years and joined Watson Woodhouse at their head office in the grand setting of York House in Borough Road, Middlesbrough, as a newly-qualified solicitor in 2007.

“I always wanted a job where I could feel I was able to offer support to people and working for a law firm with such close connections to the community fitted the bill.”

It is clearly a philosophy that’s working because Watson Woodhouse’s partnership with Macks goes from strength to strength. They now have 10 offices – located in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington, Redcar, Northallerton, and Harrogate.

There’s a pride in the fact that all of those offices are in town centres and in a position to be the first port of call for anyone needing legal advice.

As Head of Conveyancing, Alex has a special expertise in commercial property matters and heads up an expert team focused on six key areas: • Sales and purchases of businesses

• Drafting commercial leases

• Advising tenants on leases

• Sales and purchases of business premises

• Commercial remortgages

• Asset purchases In the 11 years he has worked for Watson Woodhouse, Alex has played an important part in the company’s organic growth by following a simple formula for success.

“If you meet people, build a rapport, try as hard as possible to do your best for them, they’ll not only come back and use you again, but they’ll refer associates, friends and family to you,” he says. “That’s the essence of our business. We know that if we do a good job, we’ll be trusted to do more work for those clients in the future.”

Alex gets particular satisfaction from helping fledgling businesses get started and seeing them stick with Watson Woodhouse as they grow into bigger, more influential companies.

“Having been involved with Watson Woodhouse for 11 years now, it’s really nice driving round and seeing all the businesses that you’ve helped along the way,” he says.

As that first port of call, Alex often gets an early feel for economic trends and the good news is that the Tees Valley is going through a positive period.

“We are definitely seeing a lot of activity in this area – it’s pretty vibrant at the moment,” he says. “When I came here in 2007, it was the time of the crash and that was obviously tough, but we are also the first to see it picking up again and it’s feeling good out there at the moment.”

And it’s fair to say that Watson Woodhouse and Macks are playing their part in that vibrancy. Having started the year with 130 employees, they now have 160 staff between them.

Experienced solicitors have been added to the ranks but there is also significant investment in young talent, with five training contracts being offered per year. This year has also seen the introduction of a partnership with Teesside University to offer Degree Apprenticeships in business management.

It is a great way to launch a career and study at the same time. The apprentices are employed on a starting salary of £11,500-a-year, attend the university on day-release during their three-year degrees, and their assignments are based on real-life scenarios at work.

When the apprenticeships were advertised on social media, they attracted 320,000 hits. The business was looking to take on two apprentices but was so impressed with the applications that it ended up employing four. Such has been the success that the apprenticeship scheme will be expanded into law next year.

“We want to invest in this part of the country, give our people a clear career path and treat them well so they stay with us,” says Alex. “That’s certainly been my experience – everything I need is here, so I never felt the need to go elsewhere.”

One of the new apprentices will join Alex’s conveyancing team to further strengthen the customer relationships and make sure that clients get the best possible all-round service from start to finish.

“What we always have to remember is that we are often dealing with people who have put their livelihoods on the line to start their businesses and they should, therefore, expect complete confidence in the legal advice and support they receive,” says Alex.

“We have a ‘no stone unturned’ approach and we will never sign off a file unless we are 100 per cent happy. Setting up your own business or taking on a commercial premises can be a minefield and it’s our job to use our expertise to guide people through that minefield.”

Asked about his priorities for the future, Alex is quick to say that he wants to underline the message that the importance of High Street community solicitors remains undiminished.

“There’s no shortage of online offers these days, promoting cut-price services, but I’ve seen plenty of evidence that it can come back to bite you further down the line,” he says. “One of the negative sides of this job is having to sweep up the problems left behind when corners have been cut.”

Corners are never cut at Woodhouse Watson or Macks Solicitors because they know that repeat business depends on getting it right first time for those staking their futures on starting new businesses.

In the end, it all comes down to relationships – and relationships are built on trust.