Oxfordshire law firm Hedges shortlisted for National Conveyancing Award

Hedges, one of Oxfordshire’s longest serving law firms, has been shortlisted in the Law Firm Innovator of the Year category in the National British Conveyancing Awards.

Now in its third year, The British Conveyancing Awards recognises the changing face of the industry, celebrating standout achievements in the conveyancing sector, recognising excellence and championing innovation. As well as national and regional recognition categories, the awards also celebrate technology enablers and boutique service providers.

One of two other category finalists, Hedges has been shortlisted for The Law Firm Innovator of the Year. The award aims to highlight transformation in a firm’s culture and performance, and rewards changes that have broken new ground and deliver genuine innovation, improving both the working environment for team members, and the customer experience and journey.

Hedges has been selected for its innovative use of technology to help improve and streamline its onboarding process for clients by integrating digital solutions including Perfect Portal and Legl. The bespoke solution provides a purely cloud-based environment which has helped to improve the teams’ workflow and reduce IT downtime, which can be frustrating and cause delays to employees and clients.

These platforms provide a wraparound service for its clients. Combined, it produces quotes electronically that can be signed off at the click of a button and enables clients to instruct the Hedges team in their own time and at their own convenience.

The service puts faces to names so clients can see who will be working on their behalf, enables faster payment processes and also reduces the need for clients to make unnecessary trips to the firm’s offices. As a result, the Hedges’ team has reported that 51 per cent of quotes are now signed off on the first day.

On the new onboarding solution, Claire Hodges, Property Team Leader and Senior Associate, said: “One of Hedges’ core values is innovation, not for the sake of it but because we truly believe that a constant drive to improve our processes and tools ensures that we deliver the best possible service to our clients. Our clients are busy people, and we know that using technology to improve their experience makes a huge difference to them.”

The British Conveyancing Awards Final is taking place on the 21st March at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, and is being hosted by multi-award-winning journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed.

On the being shortlisted for the Law Firm Innovator of the Year award, Claire added: “We’re thrilled to be recognised for our achievements in embracing technology to help improve our client experience, ensuring our clients journey is easy, hassle free and completely confidential is hugely important. We’re looking forward to attending the awards, meeting the other finalists, and learning about their innovations too.

"It would be great to win top spot, but being shortlisted and hearing the feedback from our clients is already proving that we are making the best innovations and service changes for improving our clients’ journey.”

Hedges has been offering clients ‘Advice for Life’ for over two centuries, supporting its clients across all aspects of their lives, including family and property law advice, dispute resolution, as well as advising on wills, probate and inheritance planning. The Employee Ownership Trust-led law firm, has business hubs in Summertown, Wallingford, London and the Cotswolds.