We are an Employee Ownership Trust
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A forward-thinking future championed by our team
For 25 years, sister and brother, Melinda and Philip Giles, have taken their small, but perfectly formed boutique law firm from strength to strength, building a team that is now ideally positioned to embrace an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
It is well known that those organisations where all employees, at whatever level of seniority, have a stake and a shared sense of responsibility, work together as one team, serve their clients better and are a more resilient business model primed to move forward.
With the help of an excellent internal and external team, they have brought the culture of the business to a point where transferring it into an EOT is a natural next step. Neither Philip or Melinda plan to retire despite having transferred 100% of their business to the newly formed EOT.
EOTs are more well known in other areas of business (think John Lewis for example), and are still relatively new for highly regulated law firms, who have to become an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) before they can transfer to an EOT.
We are looking forward to a bright future where we can lead and mentor those team members who have worked so hard and been so engaged with our organisation, and who themselves are excited to take this business on to the next generation.
The partners of Giles Wilson are no strangers to being at the forefront of innovation, particularly in their corner of Essex, where they have led the Leigh-on-Sea based boutique law firm to win national awards for their Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, and exceptional brand marketing. They are particularly proud of their focus on developing young potential and providing a flexible, modern working environment for everyone to flourish.
Led by Melinda Giles, named in the Legal 500 as a Leading Individual for Private Client work, having been on the very first panel of Court of Protection deputies, and now leading an outstanding, award-winning team in Private Client work, and by Philip Giles, who alongside an exceptional reputation as a contentious probate and family lawyer, now also sits as a part-time Deputy District Judge, the firm has grown enormously in its reputation in the 25 years since it was born from a small sole practitioner firm originally established in the 1950s.
Plans for the future
The 2 founders are supported by a strong management team that will remain the same through the inception of the EOT, and they have always seen the value in external advisors, like business coaches, too. Asked if there were any specific plans for the future:
Our 25th anniversary party on 1 July will be extra special, as we launch ourselves into this new generation. After that, it will be business as usual as we focus on our client service and consolidating, as we continue to develop our growing team and work with them, looking at the horizon to be sure we see what is coming ahead and how we can best meet it.
What does this mean for our clients?
In simple terms, clients will officially engage Giles Wilson Law Limited instead of Giles Wilson LLP.
In other respects, nothing changes!
