Lewis Silkin – Winner 2018, Cityparents Best for Innovation Award

A new fixed-fee HR and employment law support service from top-ranked law firm Lewis Silkin has allowed experienced lawyers looking for a better work life balance to work from home with part–time hours of their choice. It’s also creating new business opportunities for the firm. 

Key Points

• Top-ranked law firm jobs with home working and part time hours. 
• High quality exceptional value service for clients. 
• More control over work life balance for lawyers. 

Lewis Silkin launched rockhopper to provide more cost-effective advice to clients via a helpline and fixed-fee defence of Employment Tribunal claims. 

While other law firms tend to use paralegals or junior lawyers to keep costs low, Lewis Silkin found a better way to get value for money and still provide the highest quality service. 

rockhopper now employs 13 lawyers who work exclusively from home on part-time hours they choose themselves. They are all senior, experienced employment lawyers and clients regularly report how much they appreciate the team’s commercial and strategic approach to HR and employment queries.  

rockhopper gives lawyers a level of control over how they work, the type of work they take on, where they live and how much they earn that is not normally possible in a traditional law firm, allowing them a work life balance that suits their individual circumstances. 

rockhopper then passes on savings from its reduced overheads to clients, making the service exceptional value.  

The new service has allowed Lewis Silkin to retain clients they might otherwise have lost on cost and improve the profitability of its fixed-fee arrangements. 

Crucially, it has also attracted new clients to the firm, most of whom go on to buy services from Lewis Silkin’s ‘core’ business too. 

rockhopper delivers a profitable, top quality service that clients are happy with while the firm retains valued, talented staff who continue a rewarding career and a healthy balance between work and family. 

One of our core team lawyers moved to rockhopper earlier this year. She told us that if rockhopper had not existed she might have left the firm and given up her legal career. She has 14 years’ post-qualification experience and is a very talented lawyer.  She now works from home on hours she chooses for herself which fit with her family commitments.  From a business perspective we are incredibly fortunate to have been able to retain her.

Laura Farnsworth, Partner, rockhopper