Scott-Moncrieff & Associates innovates with Advanced hosted ALB

Roland Watt, practice director, on how Advanced has helped support Scott-Moncrieff’s growth by attracting new practitioners who can work easily and efficiently from remote locations.

In the 1980s, the UK’s legal landscape was very different from what it is today. Traditional law firms had worked in the same manner for decades and work-life balance was rarely, if ever, considered a topic of interest.

Working for a firm that didn’t offer flexibility was the trigger for Lucy Scott-Moncrieff to establish Scott-Moncrieff with two other partners. Following the birth of a son, and with childcare responsibilities now a consideration, she decided that a very different approach to the established working structure in law firms was required. This led to Scott-Moncrieff being set up as one of the very first virtual law firms, a brave and leading-edge concept at the time. In subsequent years, several other firms have established successful practices by using the same business model.

This spirit of innovation has continued, and today Scott-Moncrieff Associates is represented by 60 experienced legal professionals who work with clients throughout England and Wales. Each works independently from home, with access to meeting rooms when they are required. A centralised team manage all of the practice’s administration from a hub in Temple, London. Originally focused on legal aid work, the firm has now expanded into private client and commercial areas of law and they continue to add new lawyers and areas of expertise.

In this case study, Roland Watt, practice director, speaks about the ways in which Advanced has helped support Scott-Moncrieff’s growth by attracting new practitioners who can work easily and efficiently from remote locations.

A growing practice

“We put a lot of effort into attracting the best lawyers to work with us. We have learnt that they have to be very experienced, well established and disciplined to make remote working suitable for them and the firm. Having a supplier like Advanced has really helped us, as this software is something we can offer potential practitioners. Before they join, they invariably ask what tools they will have to work with. They are always concerned that remote working might have a negative impact on efficiency.”

The Advanced hosted desktop environment with Microsoft Office, email and ALB for the case management system, helps alleviate its concerns. New joiners can see that we are a very well run firm with the right tools and resources available to help the firm get its work done and keep its clients happy.