North West Solicitors Association (NWSA) is a group of 19 law firms of different profiles from sole practitioners focusing on conveyancing and private client work to 12 partner multi disciplinary city centre firms.
NWSA began in 2005 when Steve Battarbee of KBK Law called a meeting of 13 conveyancing practices in Souh Sefton in Merseyside to discuss ways in which high street firms could protect themselves against the danger of corporate HIP providers entering the residential conveyancing marketing and using HIPS as a market capture exercise for conveyancing and other property related work.
As we now know that threat didn’t materialise because of changes in Government legislation but NWSA continued to work together and now advertise together, market their services jointly, produce a HIP from a single supplier and have worked with each other to streamline the conveyancing process in order to reduce transaction times and the risk of fall-throughs.
11 of the original invitees to the meeting joined NWSA and invested time and money in its development.
In early 2008 NWSA was joined by a further 8 firms from the North Sefton area. NWSA continues to be a valued institution for local practitioners. The group meet quarterly and enjoy the benefit of excellent professional and personal relationships which the formation of the group has brought about.
NWSA proves to the doubters that solicitors can all work together.
In 2008 both Steve Battarbee and Tracy Thompson of Morecrofts Solicitors in Liverpool, who are both still active on NWSA’s Management Committee, formed NSA to expand the principle and take their initiative nationwide.