TWM solicitors

Leading law firm embrace new ways of working

Due to company mergers, TWM solicitors, one of the south west’s leading law firms, had ended up with two offices in Guildford, one of which was a rabbit warren of small offices and corridors above a retail unit.

So when this traditional law firm made the decision to move down the road to modern, angular building with a distinctive glass and brick facade, it was a good opportunity to design a contemporary office that would suit a successful and growing firm.

The project was tendered to three companies with Morgan Lovell winning the bid based on our open plan office design and green considerations. These included an air conditioning system that utilises heat recovery technology and lights that are activated by movement sensors.

At the start of the project not all members of staff were sold on an open plan workspace. After all, they had been used to working in a certain way for many years. So the team at Morgan Lovell had to work hard to communicate the concept to all staff members clearly. We did this using detailed visuals and spending time explain the benefits of open space working, such as greater and easier communication between departments. Getting staff buy-in at an early stage was critical to the success of the project.

Now the project is complete what does Patrick Steward, managing partner, think of the new office layout?

An open plan office makes discussing work within and across teams easier and means a more efficient delivery of our services to clients. We’re very pleased with what has happened; it came in on time, on budget and to a very high spec.