Hugh James launches innovative business venture

15I 07 I 11

Involegal launch

Leading Welsh law firm and top 100 UK law firm Hugh James has launched a new business venture specialising in the delivery of volume legal services to the banking, insurance and corporate sectors. Wholly owned by the partners of Hugh James the new venture, Involegal, is the culmination of 12 years' experience of delivering legal process solutions to a range of institutions across the UK.

Speaking at the opening, the First Minister said: "The Legal Services Act 2007 when implemented in October 2011, will set in motion huge changes to the legal profession. Regional law firms in Wales will be affected by the Act - due to increased competition from new players. Firms which are responsive, agile and innovative will survive and thrive. Hugh James through its establishment of Involegal is at the forefront of the changes to the legal sector."

"The Welsh Government fully supports the growth of the welsh legal sector and I recognise the extremely important role that providers like Involegal will play in the development of the Cardiff Central Business District. This development will be attractive to welsh companies and inward investors looking for a high profile location – close to London, taking advantage of the skills base and a dynamic business community."

Hugh James Senior Partner Gareth Williams responded by saying: “The legal market is changing rapidly and clients are looking for more streamlined and efficient legal solutions. In Involegal we have brought our huge experience of delivering high quality and cost effective legal process services into a single business entity. The ongoing collaborative working relationship with Hugh James means that we are also able to offer the specialist legal expertise that other volume providers cannot. This means that unexpectedly complex cases can remain within the process system."

Involegal is already working on a number of new major national contracts with Hugh James. Santander Corporate Banking recently awarded Hugh James a contract to provide the security taking function on all their commercial lending transactions up to £2.5m. Whilst Hugh James' expert banking lawyers review the facility letter and security instruments, the firm outsources to Involegal the management of the end to end processing of the security taking function. Working together in this way, the two operations provide the rapid, seamless and cost effective service demanded by Santander to channel transactions along an optimum route between expert processors and specialist lawyers.

The two organisations also have contracts to carry out wills and probate work for a number of high street banks. Under these contracts, Involegal undertakes the document creation and production via its automated will-writing platform and Hugh James lawyers supply the specialist legal advice. The allocation of specialist tasks between Hugh James and Involegal utilising their linked systems and common IT platforms delivers proactive volume management and efficiency with no compromise on legal expertise or quality of service.

Hugh James and Involegal also currently provide solutions to several other major blue-chip clients including FTSE 100 companies such as Aviva and Peacocks.

Involegal recently moved into new premises at Fusion Point2. Involegal Chief Executive, Matthew Tossell commented, "We chose Fusion Point for its central location and for the fact that the modern design offers precisely what we require to enable us to deliver the technical, streamlined and highly customised service that our clients demand. There is also scope within the building to accommodate our people as we expand. One of Involegal's corollary objectives is to bring more good quality jobs to Wales."

The lease of Fusion Point2 to Involegal on behalf of developer, Fusion Point Development Limited, was handled by joint letting agents DTZ and Fletcher Morgan. Involegal were advised by Emanuel Jones.

Contact

Marketing department

T 02920 224871

E sally.baker@involegal.com