Latest / Unbilled & Unfiltered's Podcast / Risking everything, TikTok Fame & Almost Dying at the office party

Transcript

Risking everything, TikTok Fame & Almost Dying at the office party · Unbilled & Unfiltered's Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the focus of we don't find a job file and real stories.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be able to do it.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm going to find a few languages of all the questions that I'm building.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: So today we're going to talk about that journey.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: What it takes to build a law firm from scratch and sacrifice to accommodate people and culture and how technology and AI change the way law fans actually do business.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Build and Culture.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me on this podcast.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: So lots to get through, lots of questions.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: But really, if you don't mind sort of starting from sort of how your journey into law began and sort of did you always see yourself working in the legal industry?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So from graduating in 2007, we were in the midst of a deep recession.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So training contracts, which is what you need to qualify as a solicitor, you know, was far few in between.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of friends that I went to university with, you know, they dropped out, you know, and pursued other careers.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I persisted and was fortunate to secure a training contract at a local firm in Peterborough.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that then kickstarted my journey, you know, into law.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Property I've always loved.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And something which naturally sticked with me and just carried on building, growing, developing.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And today I'm fortunate to be able to say I run my own law firm, you know, which is a growing law firm and potentially one of the fastest growing law firms, you know, in our region of East Anglia.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So did you as a child think that the legal industry is something, you know, growing up, early teens, is that something that you always wanted to sort of go into, or did you have other ideas?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, yeah, yeah.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you when you're a teenager, you know, you have no idea what you want to do.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I suppose as I was probably coming towards the end of my levels, I started to make a decision as to, you know, which career profession suits me and and law was what stood out.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um but as I was studying law, you know, I I I quickly started to rule out which areas of law didn't excite me.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, criminal law, for example, was it wasn't, you know, exciting enough.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Property stood out, you know, litigation stood out.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: But actually, when I started to train, I enjoyed family law massively.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um and started to l like it and and grow into it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then there was a massive change with legal aid funding.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and the advice I was given is, you know, maybe stick with an area which is consistent, which is property.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's all these people who are buying and selling.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and I've yeah, stuck with it ever since.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: So when did you realize that you wanted to sort of become more than just a solicitor?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, at what point did you think I want to start my own firm and build it?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you yourself have worked in a law firm, you know, the traditional law firm setup, a lot of the partners are, you know, holding on to that partners and and and those young, aspiring lawyers, you know, are hoping and wishing, you know, to take that seat one day, um, which is quite rare in traditional law firms.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to spend a lot of years to be able to get to that position of being a partner.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as I was at my previous firm, uh, prior to setting up my own law firm, the entrepreneur spirit came out.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I was a self-employed consultant lawyer, which is uh a new way of working within law.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, the financial reward of being a self-employed consultant lawyer wasn't enough.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I needed more.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then the next step was, you know, to run and set up your own law firm, which isn't easy.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I needed that satisfaction, you know, the financial reward wasn't enough, you know.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've never been motivated by, you know, the financial success you get.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for me it's all legacy, you know, build something you could look back and and be proud of, you know.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So as yeah, I I would probably say about six years ago, you know, I started to really give this some thought.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And in 2023, um, I took the leap, you know, um, and and opened up Borough Thorpe solicitors.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: So are there any experiences?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: I know you've touched upon sort of your key drivers, and you've mentioned that the financial aspect isn't potentially the key driver.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: But were there any experiences when you were working within a traditional law firm that made you think, oh God, I could do, I could do a better job.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I could I could manage a team far better than sort of how the team has been managed currently.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I hope, I hope, I hope some of my previous mentors aren't on watching.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's all these things you look at, you know, where you, you know, you're sat thinking, I could do that better or that could improve.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the the traditional law firm setup, you know, it's it's a tried and tested formula.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and a lot of those law firms are just sticking with that, you know.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So for marketing being one, the typical law firm marketing is, you know, your your banner posters on LinkedIn, and and and that's about it, you know.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um in terms of hierarchy, obviously, as as lawyers coming through, you know, if you've got ambitions, you want to climb the ladder to become a partner in a law firm.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Partners in a law firm, you know, aren't retiring and and they're not giving up a seat on the table.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got to ask yourself, do you want to work for 15, 20 years before you then get given that opportunity of becoming a partner?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's what you're working for.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um technology, for example, you know, it's it's very old-fashioned.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Law still is old-fashioned.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of it is still paper-based, unfortunately.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um, DocuSign isn't something which is um available with every single type, especially in conveyance and you can use it with some documents, you can't use it with everything.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So there's lots of things I've seen across my journey, um, where I said, okay, I need to be better than what I've seen before.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, staff culture, for example, how staff are treated.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or it it, you know, the relationship you have with your staff.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was at a law firm where I trained where you you weren't able to approach the partners.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you needed a certificate of title signed, you know, you had to wait by the door, or, you know, um, you know, it's it's these little things, but I thought, okay, if I do set up my own law firm, you know, I want to be different.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but still keeping that hierarchy, the respect of working in law, because it's still seen as a very prestigious career, isn't it?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think there is an element of, and I don't want to pigeonhole by saying sort of the younger generation, um, but how staff are currently treated, as you mentioned within law firms, can be often very different to how, you know, when you were in practice starting out.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: So do you think that people do need to be more mindful of that?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think it they, you know, should be more grateful that times have changed so much and that they're being treated in a slightly different way?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it it really, it really depends.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um we have a lot of younger staff, um, so law graduates uh or non-law graduates.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, our I always look one of the things when I the reason why I set up a law firm was to give opportunities to those graduates.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was a graduate once upon a time.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I I came out in a recession, um, but somebody gave me a chance.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: What sacrifices?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: We're moving away from culture slightly, but what sacrifices have you made to get to where you are now?
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, time.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Time.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Time, yeah.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: My wife's not happy.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um still with with time.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean definitely not happy with this how this week's gone.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I could assure you of that.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, yeah, my my time is very limited.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I spend a lot of time, you know, on the phone.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is um so the only time when I'm not on the phone uh is when you're asleep.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um so running the business with the way it's grown now, you know, it's a it's a serious operation.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that that there's there's 50 staff members, you know, where you're responsible, you know, for their wages.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know law firms generate those wages through fee income, you know, but the responsibility does sit on the owners.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um so there there is, you know, and and due to the size of the practice and and the work coming in and our future plans of growth, um, there's a lot of things that are happening uh which then eats into your time.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um so time, yeah, my time has been sacrificed.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm very happy.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know she's not happy, but I have to give the time.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I can't hand over the running of the business to another individual because are they really going to understand what my vision is?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And just spooling back to the kind of balance.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: So do you think that sacrificing time is something that you are just going to have to accept if you want to get to the position that you are in?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, managing partner of your own firm.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, that, as you mentioned, has impacted sort of your family life as well.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: But do you think it is an essential part of getting to where you are now?
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um absolutely.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's successful businesses out there where the owners, managing directors have, you know, assigned another individual to do the day-to-day running, um, which is not, you know, too similar similar from how our setup is.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have managers and heads of department, you know, so uh because I'm not fee earning, um, I don't have pressure of uh transactions where I'm being chased by clients or um estate agents, for example.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um but because it it's my business and because I sacrificed everything I had three years ago to get this business set up in terms of you know my my savings, essentially, uh and and putting everything on the line.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh because if it didn't work, that would then impact my wife and kids.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then obviously I've given so much time to the business over the last three years and and still do because it's my business.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's my vision.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And only be only I really understand where I want to take the business.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so if I don't put time in, it's not gonna it's not gonna go to where I want it to go.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I I'm very happy to sacrifice certain things in life.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it it might have an impact on my social life, for example.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um sometimes it has an impact, you know, in terms of the time I spend, you know, with the wife and the kids.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I tried to find a balance, but could not step away and not give the time.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think that would happen to Borathorpe?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think if you were to take a step back and potentially hand over an element of control to someone else, that it would, you know, not do as well as it is with you in your position now?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, is it very difficult to say.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, a lot of the control is already handed over.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know, we have a uh a head of conveyancing.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she looks after the whole conveyancing department.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, she's somebody I have worked with for over 13 years.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and we we trust each other.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So as much as we are, you know, business partners, uh we're also kind of best friends.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we've supported our journey, you know, um, from when we started in 2020, uh 2012.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you mentioned that you put your own personal savings into this.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: So of course, you know, you have your own vision of how, you know, it you wanted it to go.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, is it currently in a place where you thought it would be sort of three years ago?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I've always been like an ambitious individual.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so prior to setting up, you know, I was a consultant lawyer.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was doing very well as a consultant lawyer.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I've always been ambitious.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've never had a business before.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so this was the first business I set up.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was hard at the beginning when some insurers were refusing to insure because you're a new law firm doing conventing, you know, it was a straight no.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um did I think we were like, no.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I you know, I'll be I'll be honest, you know, I was ambitious that, you know, it's going to be a successful law firm, but did I think that we would be here in within two years?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Probably not.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Our first office, which we started, you know, was a very small office which um could see eight eight individuals.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we moved we took the first floor of that office, and then we completely changed offices, uh, which now has a capacity of 55, maybe.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And did you say European?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, yeah, yeah.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, no, no, but it's it's meeting the right people along the way, um, which helps, you know.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm very fortunate that I've met some really good individuals along the way.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and these are all individuals that are helping me to elevate the growth and scale up.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that helps as well.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just all me where, you know, it's my idea, it's my vision of this is where I want my law firm to be.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but you know, my my senior management, um, you know, they make it possible for me.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: You have over 126,000 likes on TikTok.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Does a law firm really belong on social media?
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, of course, I'm gonna say yes, you know.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um is that what you think?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've worked in different law firms.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the earlier law firms I worked at, uh, absolutely not.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: They would not um do what we're doing on TikTok.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And they probably wouldn't approve of what we're doing on TikTok because they're quite old-fashioned.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's all they know.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um they're not willing to move away from traditional law firm marketing.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you look at how people do conveyancing, for example, um, your old-fashioned traditional conveyancers, you know, do things in a certain way.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and the upcoming lawyers have a different style.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um we 100%, you know, hopefully, you know, are going to change the way law firm marketing is done.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: We do.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, TikTok only started in in July.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was an idea that I had that, okay, we need to do TikTok.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, we do traditional marketing, you know, on on your LinkedIn and your Instagram and Facebook, which most law firms, most businesses do.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: But in terms of the the TikToks, there's not many law firms that do it.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's it's going really well because we're trying to be different.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're not making videos, you know, to give advice on on conveyance and, for example, you know, buying a house, because that's not what TikTok is for.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we've seen, you know, for example, accountants will make a TikTok talking about how they can save you tax.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that that's not engaging content for TikTok.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: TikTok is about fun.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um, so when you look at a lot of the American videos, it's all fun related.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we started it uh in July, and it yeah, it it's getting better.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm enjoying it myself.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um initially I was a little bit reluctant to be on camera.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: But 100%, yeah, law firms should be on TikTok.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what we're showing is the people behind Boroughthorpe solicitors.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: So clients can see that you know, we're we're humans, but also for prospective staff, new staff, they can get a feel of life at Boroughthorpe solicitors.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and, you know, uh if I could show you, we get tons of applications for jobs.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: 100%, no word of a lie.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: And is that off the do you think that's off the back of the social media?
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: So uh loads of people would um so Zara, who runs our TikTok, um, she gets, you know, messages um how do I apply for a job.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: So she will send the email address.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we we get jobs, applications based just off TikTok.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we we've we've had clients, you know, off TikTok.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we've had estate agents that have wanted to partner up with us as referrals, but we're not doing TikTok um to find clients as such.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: The the purpose behind TikTok is one, our staff can have a bit of fun, uh, but two, to show the world just the culture, the life at Burathorpe solicitors.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: So we're not doing it to gain leads as such.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's not our focus.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say to lawyers or law firms that think social media cheapens the profession?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's because their mentality is is old-fashioned, you know.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been in those law firms.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So because they're just drilling, the message comes from the senior partners in those law firms of this is how things should be done, that's all they know.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so of course, there will be law firms that watch our TikToks and and disapprove of it.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our messages, you know, if you're watching it, you're liking it, you know.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and that's that's all we care about.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone has a right to an opinion.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um but, you know, what we're doing, I believe, is is groundbreaking.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: We are going to do a bit of a uh 180.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: Can you give us the background to the chopping board fiasco?
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh god.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: How did that who have you been speaking to?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh god, I saw how many.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: We have our sources, we have our sources.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, don't judge me, okay?
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um judgment.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So Victoria Hodder is our head of residential convention.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: She's a director of the firm.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's been a friend of mine for over 13 years.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: We joined, uh, we worked together at our previous firm.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I can't remember which birthday.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Was it her 30th birthday?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not, I'm not sure.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she recently had a new kitchen fitted.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was a birthday, and I thought, you know, chopping boards.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Why not?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Why not?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: As a gift.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not just any chopping boards.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there were the expensive ones from John Lewis.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it didn't go down, she yeah, it didn't go down well.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what do you mean?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, she didn't she didn't like it, she hated it.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: She absolutely hated it.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we um yeah, her birthday lunch um was at a a restaurant in Peterborough, uh, and that's where the chopping boards were presented.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, I I think she walked off.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: No, she walked off back to the office, um, and then she sent her assistant, Daisy, uh, to my desk with the chopping boards.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: With the chopping boards.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, well, hold on.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, she can't she can't return the chopping boards, a gift.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: So she took them back and um I think she gave them to her mum.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: 13 years because like she's had a brand new kitchen fitted.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, like, you want a nice looking, like a set of chopping boards.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I can't remember the make of them, but no, clearly not.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't go down well.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: She's 40 next year.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: We just thought we'd drop that in.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: Probably get uh ste steam wide or something.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I thought.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and who'd you tell us about the summer party a few weeks ago?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: And did you nearly die?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: I did, yeah.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, I did nearly die.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Try not to laugh.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Please explain.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I I choked on a piece of steak.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Never ever happened before.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the group of individuals I was um sat with, we were just like in the flow of a conversation.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I can't remember what I was explaining to them.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, yeah, the steak piece got stuck.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I tried to wash it down.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: That didn't work.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I I thought I'm not gonna die in front of my staff.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I, you know, without making a scene, you know, walked down.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um try to um yeah this is quite graphic, yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, please do share, please share.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I thought, okay, let's let's puke it out, I guess.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right, okay, yeah.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um I thought it was working, and then as I stood up, uh that's where I lost breathing.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And um and then I could feel someone's tapping on my back, um, and that wasn't working.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then Kyle, Kyle Woods, yeah, um not sure we want to shout him out after this.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh came running.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's a trained paramedic, and um he did the uh uh the Hi McRene.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think so, yeah.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: He did that on me, and I don't know whether the state came out or it went down, but I was absolutely, you know, I I was back to my normal self.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh as a result of that, he won employee of the month.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, every everyone voted for for Kyle uh to win the August um Employee of the Month.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean saved the life.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: He started on the 3rd of August, I think.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, so he won Employee of the Month in his first month, and um that's because everyone that voted for him, the reason was he saved my life.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it's quite quite uh yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'll never forget that.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: But also saving your life and winning employee of the month.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: In your first month.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, he's a he's a really sound guy.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I'm very happy to uh that he joined us.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, we've got big things planned together.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, he saved my life.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I I uh uh yeah, he knows I I will uh repay that debt whenever.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Naveed, it's been absolutely brilliant hearing not just about what you've built, but what actually goes on behind building a law firm, the risks, the people, the pressure, and the decisions that don't necessarily make it um onto LinkedIn.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Naveed, you have very kindly given us your unbuild time.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, do you have any unfiltered advice that you can share with our audience?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I would say whatever you do, um, all is give it your best.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, try to be the best.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um I believe I'm a man of the people uh in my role.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um I want everybody, I'm not about the fame.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um some might say, you know, I am, but you know, just as an example, you know, where we put ourselves in for some awards, you know, in in the next couple of months.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I've already said, you know, I won't be attending the ceremony, you know, even though our firm could win an award.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm I passionately believe that I want those around me to succeed and thrive.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not in this for an award.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I'm in it for a legacy.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: So my my beliefs are, you know, those around me, you know, if you're giving me the same energy, you know, I will help you to be the best in in whichever role you're doing, you know, at our firm and and and take you along with the journey.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh quite often business owners um uh don't share the journey, you know, with their staff.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's it's just about them.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and this is this is a completely different different setup, you know.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying it's a unique setup, but for me, it's it's I don't care what role you do at Borough Thorpe Solicitors, um if we win, you everyone wins.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and that that's the culture that I'm trying to embed is that we're all in it together.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this is not just a case of, you know, with businesses, owners get rich, staff are unhappy.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is this is you know, my wins are their wins, you know, and vice versa.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Navee, thank you so much for joining us on Unbuilding Unfiltered.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Where can people find you?
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if people want to really know about life at Borough Thoughts, then find us on TikTok at Borough ThoughtSolicites.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Fantastic.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.