Andrew Gray – The Fifth Anniversary Interview

Q – With Truth Legal approaching its fifth anniversary, tell me how do you feel about the project?

A – I’m immensely proud of what we have achieved in a short period of time, and yet I feel that we have only just begun. There is so much more that the firm can achieve; so many more clients that we can help out.

Q – When you founded the firm it was just you. How many solicitors and staff does Truth Legal engage?

A – I often lose count! There is Georgina, John G, Navya, Mirek, Henry, John T, Emily and David. Shortly the talented and experienced Helen Beaumont will be joining us. We have an awesome team.

Q – When you started, the focus was exclusively on personal injury law. Have you branched out into any other areas of law?

A – Yes, we no longer focus just on personal injury law. We also deal with clinical negligence, employment law, professional negligence and general litigation, as well as undertaking some commercial work. Primarily, though, we are litigation solicitors and pretty good litigation solicitors we are too! We don’t do all areas of law and don’t plan to.

Q – Looking back, what was your greatest fear?

A – Without doubt my greatest fear was that we were going to get out-lawyered by a bigger firm of solicitors, but this hasn’t happened. Being smaller, and with our lawyers having fewer cases, I would like to think that we have in fact out-lawyered some of the bigger law firms.

Q – When you established the firm, you committed to being ethical and affordable. How have you lived up to that ideal?

A – We have taken on some very difficult cases – cases when we know that we will not be paid – or paid very little – for our work. This is because we believe in providing access to justice. It’s a scandal that legal aid has been significantly reduced and that Employment Tribunal fees have made it more unaffordable to pursue justice. We continue to offer a free consultation and will always do so. We must provide hundreds of free hours per year. One of the reasons why I want to grow the firm is so that we can help more people to obtain excellent legal advice. In addition, our fees remain modest (for solicitors). We offer No Win, No Fee agreements whenever possible.

Q – What have been the highs?

A – There have been so many! In terms of personnel, it has been a privilege to train two trainee solicitors, both qualifying as solicitors. We’ve also had two talented apprentices complete an apprenticeship with us. In terms of the cases, the “highs” haven’t been so much the results, rather it has been the building of really strong relationships with our clients. And being recommended by other solicitors has been the icing on the cake.

Q – There must have been some low points. What were they?

A – Given that we are litigators, we live the sword and die by the sword. I distinctly recall a few case outcomes at trial that were tough to take – that I didn’t and still do not agree with. When lawyers refer to “litigation risk” this is what we mean: trial can be most unpredictable.

Q – What does the future hold for Truth Legal?

A – The future is very exciting indeed. We hope to grow the firm tenfold. We want to achieve this by continuing to give away our time and skills – and doing this not just to new enquiries but also by the launch of our Legal Library of legal documents which can be downloaded for free! I’m unaware that any other solicitor has done this before. As I said above, I find it a scandal that many people cannot afford a solicitor – so we are going to help these people by putting some of our legal precedents online – for free. We will also be giving our YouTube channels – in English and Polish – a good go. We want to educate people on the law.

Q – Finally, a law firm is just a business. Do you have any tips for any budding entrepreneurs?

A – Plan for the long term. Stay away from people who are interested only in the short term. Be lucky – we certainly were fortunate. Surround yourself with good people: I’ve been blessed to work with such brilliant people – and people that have stuck around, too. And remember that all mistakes are good mistakes in that you’ll never make them again.