EMG Solicitors operates offices in Durham, Newcastle, Darlington and Penrith, and provides a range of services including residential conveyancing, employment law and family mediation. Jemma Morland co-founded the firm in 2014, along with Emma Gaudern, and now lead's EMG's Court of Protection department.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? My first job was as a checkout operator for the supermarket, Somerfield Stores. I was 16 years-old at the time (a wee while ago) when I started working there and I was a student in school. I recall that I earned around £4 per hour (or whatever the National Minimum Wage was at the time). I actually met my husband whilst working there though, so I definitely bagged myself more than just a pay cheque!
What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? The best advice I could give to anyone working on or within a business is to be open to change. Change breeds opportunity. This is not something (as a former self-confessed control freak) that I always openly embraced, but with great leadership and coaching I started to recognise that by not embracing change I was simply staying in my comfort zone and potentially losing out on new and better opportunities, as well as more effective ways of working. In order to facilitate and breed change I have worked closely with my team to actively encourage new ideas; we operate open monthly agendas to our team meetings, we have implemented work improvement groups and we rotate our meeting leads to provide just a few examples. Approachability is key though, without people feeling they have a safe space and the support (from the top) to voice and trial new ideas, those ideas won’t be forthcoming. It is also amazing to see how much better people buy into any new process, whether it is their idea or not, if they feel included and there has been complete transparency.
Read more: 10 questions for Sean Soulsby of The Children’s Foundation
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? Communication has changed wildly since I first qualified into law (when we used to dictate letters to one another with several days or even weeks between replies). We now have more methods of communication available to colleagues and clients than ever before and people are working more flexibly too (so it is not unusual to make or receive work related emails or calls outside of the typical 9-5). Whilst this is undoubtedly a good thing, there has been a growing trend towards multi-platform communication so you are often monitoring several channels of communication per client (emails/calls/texts/apps/post), and there is an expectation at times that we will provide immediate replies. Managing the volume of communication that we now receive, at all hours of the day and night, is becoming increasingly more difficult, but we are trialling different ways in which we can make it work so that we not only provide unrivalled client care, but we still put our employee well-being at the forefront of all that we do. If anyone has any ground-breaking suggestions though, please do get in touch!
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? We were already operating as a ‘paperless’ organisation prior to the pandemic, a fact which enabled us to send our entire team home prior to any lockdown announcement so we could keep our people safe. However, the increased and widescale use of remote applications, secure software and video meetings has revolutionised how we work, including how we attend upon clients, colleagues and third parties, how we interact with the courts and the execution of legal documents etc. I should add though that the pandemic also reminded us of the real value of people, and that we cannot entirely replace human interaction with a face or voice behind a computer screen or a phone. We now operate on a hybrid basis, utilising both in person and remote opportunities to maximise our client and colleague offering. This has opened up opportunities for people with commitments inside and outside of work to achieve a better balance in their lives and to cut down on some unnecessary travel. Personally, I am still working on what ideal might look like to me and my family, but I am definitely spending more time at home than I did pre-pandemic, something my adopted greyhound, Mikey, is really pleased about (oh, plus my husband and sons too…).
Who is your role model in business? I find the story of Whitney Wolfe Heard incredibly inspiring. As a young, female entrepreneur working in the tech industry, she wanted to create a space where ‘kindness and respect were a requirement’, and not just for those using her apps but within the workplace too. Whitney’s focus was prioritising culture when hiring and this aligns so heavily with our own values, where we appreciate that whilst knowledge and experience are important, skills can be taught and good people are golden. Whitney has managed to scale her business successfully, on a very public platform, whilst co-parenting her two young sons. As a fellow mum, working in what is still a male dominated industry at senior levels (albeit not in our firm), I find this uplifting. I am delighted that there are so many growing examples of diversity in leadership to show the next generation that not only can a great deal be achieved with hard work and determination, but that some of those barriers (actual or perceived) are being eroded for the better.
What would your dream job be? I genuinely can say, hand on heart, that I am doing it. I personally specialise as a Court of Protection Property and Affairs lawyer, working with some of the most vulnerable clients across the UK. Every day is so different and at times, whilst it can be challenging, it can be incredibly rewarding. I get to see and hear about my clients reaching rehabilitation milestones (sometimes something that was believed to be impossible), living fulfilled lives, making autonomous choices and having their voices heard. We also help make their dreams a reality too, despite how cheesy that might sound. I count myself as a very fortunate individual because I not only enjoy my job, but I get to do it with some truly awesome people too. My colleagues are the best of everything, I see them celebrating each other’s successes as well as uplifting one another when needed. There is a real team spirit, although this perhaps leads to us enjoying too many baked goods in the office at times! If I was going to fall into a fantasy though, I do enjoy solving a problem and I love a good crime drama, so I wouldn’t mind having a go at being a serious crime investigator for the day.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Make sure you practise in a specialist area that you feel passionate about. Steve Jobs once said that ‘the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle’. Never a truer statement spoken.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? Not only is the region full of exceptional businesses, but it is full of exceptional people looking to start-up or scale-up businesses too. The North East continues to deliver great promise and potential and I think it is an unrivalled place to live and work within in 2023. Post pandemic a lot of people have also reflected and recognised the importance of prioritising personal well-being and making the most of the time we have with those that we love. We have access to some of the most beautiful beaches, parks and recreational spaces, whilst being within short reach of bustling towns and cities. We truly have the best of everything on our doorstep that enables us to work hard and play hard. Spoken as someone who was not born or bred here, I can also impartially add that the region boasts some of the friendliest and funniest folk you can meet, or ‘canny bodies’ as my mother-in-law would say.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? It is vital. I believe that in particular, our business, as a people led and people focussed business, has a responsibility to not only think about our local community and whether we can do anything to help or enhance the same, but we have wider responsibilities in relation to our impact as well, including on the environment and social issues. As a result, we have invested in our own community fund, which we directly contribute 5% of our profits into every year, and this provides charitable grants and support to those that live and work in the local areas around us. We have also committed to improving our accountability, sustainability and transparency as both a business and employer, and we are currently undertaking the B Corp certification process so we can commit to the high standards that member organisations are expected to demonstrate relating to performance and positive change. Just last year we won a national ‘Investors in People’ award, which we were incredibly proud of, but we do keep striving to do more. If enough businesses buy into making positive changes to working practices, then these things become the norm rather than the exception. This is not only to benefit our generation, but generations that come after us as well.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? Hopefully being a good mum and friend. I love nothing more than spending time with the people who mean the most to me and if this involves hosting and cooking, I am in heaven, even if there is the mess to sort out afterwards. At home, I can often be found dodging foam nerf gun bullets or pretending to be the Callum Wilson to my son’s Nick Pope as he practices in nets in the garden. As a family, we enjoy taking our three year-old greyhound out for walks and we love camping and spending time together doing movie nights using our indoor projector. I also love a bit of crafting (which I definitely get from my mum) and I enjoy making things that are creative and fun, including jewellery, resin art, painting, drawing and baking/cake decorating.
READ NEXT:
'Chief failure officer' among speakers at upcoming North East tech festival
National growth on menu for Fat Hippo burger restaurant chain
Close House Golf welcomes impact of hosting major competitions
- Westbarn Co Ltd beauty business liquidated with debts of 596k, documents reveal
- Read more North East business news here
