Family First Solicitors has opened its second office with support from the Virtual Practices (VP) hosted legal software and outsourced cashiering service.
Managing director Ursula Rice, who formerly led the family law and private client practice at Hedges Law, set up Oxford-based Family First Solicitors in 2013.
The firm provides advice on a full range of family law services such as divorce, Children Act matters and cohabitee disputes and plans to open offices across the country in the coming years.
The firm has now launched its second office in Reading – and Ursula Rice says Virtual Practices has played a crucial role in its growth.
“Opening our second office would have been impossible had we not had a top-class cloud-based data management system, and indeed the decision to go with VP has really been vindicated by the way that cyber security has come to the fore since we launched,” she says.
“VP is a one-stop shop for data management, as well as financial management and everyone we deal with combines technical expertise with a great personal touch. It’s a great partnership.
“Our model requires us to keep our overheads down so as to be able to deliver a great service in a way that is affordable for people, and back office costs are a major part of that equation.
“We aim to roll out more offices across the country in the coming months and years, so having a superbly organised, outsourced back office function will be of huge benefit during this process.”
Natalie Colbourne, who heads up Virtual Practices, which is a division of legal software supplier Solicitors Own Software, said: “Family First Solicitors is a great example of the type of ambitious, niche law firms which are turning to VP.
“The beauty of the system is that as the firm’s locations and headcount continue to grow in the coming years, Virtual Practices can adapt and grow with that process.”
