Regional Hub - Pannone LLP

Martin Wragg, Managing Partner, Pricketts Solicitors, Stockport

We first joined Connect2Law as a means of increasing the range of specialist services that we were able to offer our existing clients, and also as a means of generating a degree of goodwill within the communities local to our offices by offering prospective clients a solution to their problems, when we and other local solicitors could not provide the expertise that their problems required. That approach also had the beneficial side-effect of generating referral fees! The approach also suited our clients, and the feedback that we have received has always been positive.

As we have become more involved in the scheme, we have come to appreciate the range of other benefits available to members of the scheme. We have sought advice on issues ancillary to transactions we are undertaking (planning matters and tax advice); have used the hub as a "sounding board" in complex litigation; have found firms within Connect2Law which can deal with work that neither the hub nor ourselves undertake; have utilised the continuing education seminars provided by the hub and have found them practical and focussed towards the needs of the smaller practice; and we have recently benefited from a review by "CostController" of some of our suppliers.

We regard all of the above as adding value to our practice, and membership of Connect2Law provides us with backup that cannot be easily found elsewhere.

David Hayhurst, Partner, 174 Law Solicitors

We have been very impressed with our membership of the Connect2Law network. CPD seminars have been excellent and the Annual Conference was most useful and thought provoking. All partners in the firm will be encouraged to attend the next conference. We now have a back up service which we find invaluable, and with "add on" benefits, such as Professional Indemnity Insurance arrangements, we can begin to create real savings for the firm.

Shefali Talukdar, Partner, Clough & Willis

We joined the Connect2Law scheme unsure of how much benefit we could obtain from it, and how much we could give back. I would urge anyone in that situation to at least try it, it is free and we have found the help, advice and CostController invaluable in running our practise. The management seminars run by Connect2Law and the freely given advice by the team at the hub are of great benefit. I found the first Conference of Connect2Law firms, held this year, to be full of opportunity to meet and talk to like firms and the team who were nothing but helpful. I see in the future the umbrella of Connect2Law becoming an invaluable tool to ensure that high street and small regional firms can continue to deliver legal services to their clients.

Peter Bates, Partner, Bannister Bates, Morecambe

I saw Connect2Law as another way of reducing the pressure of being a small practice. The ability to pick up a phone to discuss any area of law has many attractions as does the ability to pass a client to a specialist lawyer. Receiving a fee share, although welcome, was not particularly important in our decision to join Connect2Law

Adrian Berkeley, Principal, Berkeley Solicitors, Manchester

Berkeley Solicitors were one of the first to see the advantages of joining up with the Connect2Law scheme. It has provided us with a good source of colleagues to discuss ideas with, together with regular huge savings in our running costs. The benefits are clear and there is absolutely no downside. Joining Connect2Law was one of my better business decisions.

Martin Turner, Partner, Brown & Murray, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria

A high street firm should concentrate on what it can safely and profitably do. The hub firm provides invaluable backing for us as they have lawyers with expertise that we lack, and they remove the worry that if we tell a client to go elsewhere we might lose that client forever. We get a fee share and a choice as to whether we lead the case with their support or they act for our clients direct. In either case, their aim is to help us to retain our clients. We have referred several matters to the hub and have found them to be professional and efficient. The feedback we have received from our clients is that they have been very satisfied.

Bernard McKenna, B.J.McKenna & Co. Solicitors, Stockport

Since joining the scheme, Connect2Law has not only proved profitable but has been a way of referring our clients to a firm that can deal with their needs, whilst still being able to maintain that client as a client of our firm. We have found the scheme to be very helpful in that way.

Robin Higham, Partner, O'Neill Patient, Stockport, Cheshire

We joined Connect2Law because we are sometimes asked to do work that we are not specialists in or to a timescale that we can’t meet.

We have used our hub firm on a number of occasions (for employment, company and intellectual property law), and on each occasion I have been pleased with their prompt response.

We have been to some of the free CPD training sessions which are a further attraction to us as, is being able to share and learn from the experiences of a much larger firm than ours about how they deal with management, HR, or professional issues.

All in all, we are pleased with the results of our participation in the scheme, and I have personally tried to get other firms to participate in it.

Fiona Reid, Partner, Ascroft Whiteside, Blackpool

Ascroft Whiteside has been a member of the Connect2Law Scheme for a number of years now. Over the years, they have assisted our clients with areas of work we cannot handle and we are always assured that the clients remain Ascroft Whiteside clients. They have also assisted us greatly with cost cutting by helping us with telephone, DX and our Professional Indemnity Insurance. Connect2Law are always very helpful and reply promptly.

Anne Irwin, Partner, Cottrill Stone Lawless, Manchester

I cannot recommend Chris Flanagan and his team at CostController highly enough. Chris has provided us with invaluable help and support, both in terms of recommending suppliers and negotiating on our behalf. His most recent triumph was to achieve a huge saving for us on our DX renewal.

Belinda Butt

Manager, Connect2Law Administration

Belinda joined Pannone in January 1995. During her time at Pannone she has worked in both the Employment and Marketing Departments. In 2002 she took on the full time role of managing the day to day administration of the Connect2Law scheme. Her role is to ensure that the administration side of Connect2Law runs smoothly. Belinda is also responsible for organising the Connect2Law training seminars. Belinda is a keen walker and enjoys the great outdoors, particularly the Snowdonia/Wales regions. She also enjoys as much travelling as possible!

Phone: 0161 909 6429
Email: belinda.butt@pannone.co.uk

Kerry Aldcroft

Connect2Law Member Liaison Manager

Kerry joined Pannone in 2002. She previously worked in the Private Client and Employment departments and currently works in Connect as the Member Liaison Manager. Kerry deals with the referrals in and out of the firm together with any enquiries that the members of the scheme may have. Kerry lives in Middleton with her fiancée John and their daughter Ava May and enjoys spending time with family and friends, shopping and socialising in general.

Phone: 0161 909 6412
Email: connect2law@pannone.co.uk

Claire Leeming

Connect2Law Administrator

Claire joined Pannone in November 1998 to work on Reception. She has since filled various roles in several departments including Financial Services and the Accounts Department before joining the Connect2Law Team in 2007. Claire lives in Blackley with her husband Drew and her two sons John and Daniel. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and when she finds time, enjoys Long distance running!

Phone: 0161 909 4295
Email: claire.leeming@pannone.co.uk

Bernie Walsh

Connect2Law Business Development Manager

Bernie qualified as a solicitor in 1983. She practised in south Manchester and became a partner in an Altrincham firm until starting her family in 1993. Having previously covered a broad spectrum of work, she returned to practice mainly in the family area, until joining the Connect team in 2005. She presently looks after members in parts of Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales and Stockport. Bernie lives in Mobberley with her husband and four children. Her hobbies include horse riding and caring for the family's two ponies.

Phone: 0161 909 4571
Email: bernadette.walsh@pannone.co.uk

Katie Hutchinson

Business Development Manager

Katie is a Business Development Manager and her principal responsibilities include:

• Helping existing members take advantage of the full range of benefits of the Connect2Law scheme, including CPD training and access to our CostController buying group.
• Hosting various training seminars across the region.
• Keeping members fully aware of new Connect2Law products and services.
• Promoting the Connect2Law scheme to potential new members in the region and introducing new firms to the scheme.

Katie is also responsible for handling the relationship between our Connect2Law members and our Independent Financial Adviser at Pannone, ensuring that all members are aware that their clients are able to access a range of Financial Services through their Connect2Law membership. She is also involved in co-ordinating the Professional Indemnity Insurance offering that we provide for our member firms.

Prior to working for Pannone, Katie completed her LLB Law degree with French before working as a Recruitment Consultant within Banking and Financial Services.

Phone: 0161 909 4959
Email: katie.hutchinson@pannone.co.uk

Chris Flanagan

CostController Manager

Chris joined Pannone LLP in 1995 and Managed the Archive Department for the majority of that time leading up to the move into his current role within the buying group of CostController. He currently lives in the Northern Quarter in the City Centre and his main interests include playing the Guitar, a wide range of musical genres, and also music production/engineering. He is a qualified Amateur Boxing Association coach, follows from boxing past & present, and has an interest in various other sports. In his spare time he enjoys as much travel as possible and spending time with family & friends.

Phone: 0161 909 4299
Email: chris.flanagan@pannone.co.uk

Mike Filson

CostController Business Development Manager

Mike studied a sports degree at Durham University before converting to law at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he also completed the LPC in 2005. He joined Pannone LLP in September 2005 as a Trainee Solicitor and became a qualified Solicitor in September 2007. Mike spent 10 months in Residential Property before moving to Connect in August 2008. Mike has dual role within Connect being the Business Development Manager for around 60 Connect members as well working with Companies to promote our CostController Service. Mike enjoys playing any kind of ball sports particularly football, cricket and rugby.

Phone: 0161 9091557
Email: mike.filson@pannone.co.uk