Your Voice

The latest Your Voice feature, giving LBV members a platform for their views on the current business landscape in Leicester.

Richard Osborn is Midlands Regional Director and Real Estate Partner with national new-model law firm, Excello Law, at their Leicester office in the heart of Leicester at Gresham Works. In voluntary roles, he is also Chair of Leicester Business Festival and a Director of BID Leicester and Team Leicester.

How would you describe what your business does?

We are a national, new-model law firm – a disruptor in the legal market, set up in 2008 as a technology-led, hybrid law firm, but with a national office network. We are free of traditional constraints around hourly rates and billing targets experienced by lawyers and their clients in traditional firms. Our 200+ partner-level lawyers have a freedom to engage with clients as they wish, providing quality advice to our clients, whilst having flexibility and control to manage their working lives exactly as they choose.

What are the biggest opportunities for your business?

We have been set up for flexible/agile/hybrid working since our inception in 2008 and can see the legal services market developing with more and more firms adopting our model of working, which benefits clients and lawyers alike. As an early-adopter of the model, hopefully we will be well-placed to recruit more lawyers looking for something different from the traditional model.

What are the biggest challenges for your business?

Other than the economic headwinds and cost-of-living challenges that everyone is facing at the moment, I think our biggest challenge is recruitment of new senior lawyers. We have a real appetite for growth, particularly in Leicester and the wider Midlands so, if you are an experienced, entrepreneurial lawyer looking for the next move and something different then we would definitely like to speak to you!

What would you identify as the key strengths of Leicester and Leicestershire?

There are so many – but our collective support and encouragement for each other in the Leicester business community (not least through LBV) is undoubtedly one as are the range and diversity of our businesses and business people. Also, I have to mention our three world-leading universities, University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Loughborough University, promising such a bright future with the next-generation of business leaders in Leicester and Leicestershire.

What are the top three ways in which Leicester and Leicestershire can develop to support the business community?

1. A constant focus on skills and development of the next generation of business leaders.
2. For us all to support our fellow businesses in Leicester, even our competitors – we should all be embracing and welcoming competition. I am always very happy to see new competition coming into our city and sorry to see any businesses leave (not that that happens too often thankfully!)
3. I would like to see even greater partnership working with our public sector colleagues, particularly in the City and County Councils. Having a strong, open, honest and transparent relationship between public and private sector is so important to positive development of our city.

Why is LBV important to you and your business?

As a relatively new business in Leicester (18 months) we are keen to grow our profile and contribute to the Leicester business community and LBV has been a great platform for us to do just that and also to play a part in shaping the future of the city.