Posted on 7 October 2022
I’m delighted to say that I’ve been your local solicitor for a year now! My consultancy business, acting across the length and breadth of the West Midlands and East Midlands (and further afield!) celebrated its first birthday this week. I’m delighted to be able to share with you my highlights from the year, and have a few people to thank too.
Commercial Property Work
It’s really busied up in the last month or so, and I’ve had lots of new enquiries. With all the gloom in the news recently, I’m pleased to say that plenty of people are still buying, selling and leasing, so it’s good to see people continuing to invest in their businesses via their commercial property assets. Often people are looking for a good solicitor, local to them, and in a nutshell that’s me!
Here are some of the highlights from my first year:
- Acting for a large local marketing consultancy on the disposal of their former site on the Hoo Farm Industrial Estate, Kidderminster.
- Providing property support on the corporate disposal of the entire issued share capital of an instrumentation business in Leicestershire.
- Acting for a new lender to fund the purchase of a former hospital site in Bromsgrove for redevelopment.
- Advising local landowners on an option agreement for purchase and redevelopment of a large piece of land in the West Midlands for a major redevelopment scheme.
- Acting for multiple landlord and tenant clients across the West and East Midlands in relation to the grant of new leases, lease renewals and other commercial lease transactions.
It’s really been great to have such a breadth and depth of work. I’ve been a local solicitor to the West Midlands and (with the wonders of electronic signatures, Zoom and all the rest of the tech) the East Midlands. Thanks to the national reach of Nexa, I now also have clients as far afield as South Devon.
The First Year
When you decide to go it alone as a Consultant Solicitor, a key concern is being able to generate enough work. I’ve been delighted with my first year. I’ve had clients new and old say to me “yes, but people buy people John” and I’ve been a little humbled that lots of people are willing to put their faith in me. And come back to me, time and time again. I mean, it’s not just me, I’m backed by the fab folks at Nexa, so I have all the PI cover, client accounts and other systems you would expect from any law firm. But I’m very grateful for all my clients, and I’d like to say a massive thank you for the support you’ve shown me over the past year.
Look, it’s not all been stress free. There have often been times I’ve been working at the pipeline, trying to flood it with new jobs, and only garnering a trickle. But I’ve kept going. And kept going. It’s been bloomin hard work. But it’s working. The first year is through, and I’m ploughing into the second feeling confident about the direction of my business.
If anyone would like to join my happy band of clients, then please get in touch on enquiries@mcleanlegal.co.uk or on 01384 872069 or via my Free Enquiry web page. I’m always happy to have a free, no obligation chat, to see how I can help you.
Consultant Life – Your Local Solicitor
And honestly, because of the flexibility of consultancy life, I’ve never enjoyed my work so much. I can work when, where and how I choose. When you have young children, and want to be an active father to them, this is so important. My clients get their work delivered, and delivered well, but I don’t lose myself in the process.
I think one of the biggest items is control of workflow. I was chatting with one of my solicitor friends this week, who was bemoaning the pile of work they were getting given from various sources. They felt they couldn’t say “no”. I’m never in that position. If I have too much, I won’t just take it on anyway (or be forced to by an unthinking boss). I’ll find another Consultant Solicitor within Nexa who will be able to assist.
Employed solicitors, unfortunately, often don’t have that choice. I was talking to another friend of mine, who was having issues with their solicitor. I talked about the piles (yes, literally probably teetering piles of files) that are probably on that solicitor’s desk. It’s no way to work, but unfortunately it’s how so many solicitors are forced to work. I honestly think that the consultancy model solves a lot of the issues with how legal services are often delivered – both for the client and the lawyer.
Free Range
One of my great fellow Nexa consultants has put it so well recently. As a Consultant Solicitor, you are like a free-range chicken. You can range over the entire field, pecking at whichever jobs you wish to target. You are happy, your output is good, and you produce good quality. Ok, you might cost a little more than the cut-price competition, but you get what you pay for, right? Employed solicitors are so often like battery chickens. Chained to their desks and rarely seeing the sun. Rushed and stressed, and producing poor quality work. I know which chicken I’d prefer to have, given the choice. Steven Mather thanks for coming up with this analogy – I think it is apt.
If you’re a solicitor, and feel like a battery chicken, give me a call. I promise you, there is a better way. Drop me a line on enquiries@mcleanlegal.co.uk or on 01384 872069 or via my Free Enquiry web page, and we can have a totally confidential chat.
Business Owner
Being a Consultant Solicitor means being a business owner in my own right. I see the issues that my clients are grappling with in my own business:
- Cash flow.
- The importance of time, and deadlines, and why keeping to them is so important.
- VAT returns.
- Corporation Tax.
- Running an office.
Even after 11 years at Eversheds and 5 at Thursfields, I think my affinity with my clients’ commercial situation has rocketed tenfold in the past year. I’m not lulled into a false sense of security by the constant conveyer belt of work that my firm provides. You’re not just another file in a pile. Every job matters to me. I have to find it, deliver it and bill it. If I don’t finish it, I most likely don’t get paid – I’m as invested as you are in getting your job done. I think that really shows itself in the reviews I’ve had this year:
Reviews for John McLean Solicitor
I’ve been so happy to get some great reviews this year. Here are some personal favourites:
“We do have a new #warehouse, which is great, but the best bit was actually working with John McLean at Nexa Law. Truly a 5* experience! If you’re looking at #commercialproperty, do contact John (he is awesome).”
Alexander Irving – Managing Director, AC IFM | Acted for Tenant on Lease | Unit 4, Pytchley Business Park, Orion Way, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN15 6NP
“I thought your service has genuinely been outstanding throughout this transaction. Your thorough explanations where necessary and prompt responses at all times are certainly the reason we were able to progress this so quickly.”
Joe Dodd – Surveyor, Andrew & Ashwell | Lease Transaction
I wanted to give a particular shout out to John McLean for his expert help on the property side of things, which could potentially have saved tens of thousands of pounds.
Steven Mather – Consultant Solicitor, Nexa Law Limited | Provided Property Support on Business Acquisition | Purchase of Lawncare Franchise Business
There are lots more here: Reviews – McLean Legal .
Thank You
Thank you to all those who like and support my LinkedIn and Facebook pages without fail. It does not go unnoticed, and I appreciate every single click and “like”. You know who you are.
Thank you, again, to my clients. Without you, I would not have a business. I’ll continue to strive for the best outcomes on your commercial property transactions, and get your deals done. Thank you to all the Nexa consultants who send me work, and take my referrals. It’s been really great working with you. Particular shout out to Steven Mather who I’ve worked with from day one at Nexa. Thanks to Nexa – your innovative, flexible offering is so refreshing.
Thank you to all the suppliers I’ve worked with over the past year. There’s too many to thank all of them, but real thanks to:
- Daniel James for some great photography and getting my website kickstarted;
- FM Branding for my lovely office signs;
- Country Kate and Winnie & Olive for those finishing touches to the office you can’t just get elsewhere;
- TYPERWRITER & EQUIPMENT COMPANY for my contemporary office furniture; and
- Tim Oxendale for revamping my web pages.
I like to work with local suppliers where I can, just as people often prefer a local solicitor. Also delighted with the big guys IKEA who’ve enabled me to put a fresher, more contemporary look to my client meeting area and my favourite business podcast The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett which gives me constant inspiration on my business journey.
Thank you, finally, to my wife Pippa and lovely family. It’s a big step, leaving a well paid and stable job, and although I thought I could do it, it was a leap of faith. A leap that you took with me, and I will be forever grateful for.
Conclusion
Well, if you’ve got this far, thanks very much for reading. Do like, share and comment on the socials, and I’ll be in touch again soon! Here’s to the next year! Take care.
As ever, if you’d like to have a chat with your friendly, local solicitor, then do get in touch enquiries@mcleanlegal.co.uk or on 01384 872069 or via my Free Enquiry web page. I’m always happy to have a free, no obligation discussion, to see if I can assist. All work is carried out through Nexa Law Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the SRA.
Thanks
John
