People, Purpose and Passion at the Heart of EMG Solicitors’ Client Service

Posted: 12th August 2024

EMG Solicitors are much more than the legal services they provide, but a company that prides itself on delivering outstanding client services and supporting both their people and local communities.

People, purpose, passion and professionalism very much remain at the heart of the business, which has offices across the North including Durham, Newcastle, Darlington, Penrith and Manchester.

But it’s also the business’s supportive culture, deep rooted values and their commitment to the ‘EMG Way’ of supporting clients, protecting assets and changing lives that has aided their incredible growth, leading to high colleague retention and a string of high-profile awards.

Most recently awards have included the prestigious B Corp Certification, Better Health at Work Continuing Excellence Award 2024 and a listing in The Times and Sunday Times UK 100 Best Places to Work 2024. EMG were also proud to be awarded Private Client Firm of the Year 2024 at The Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards in March.

The achievement of B Corp status is an accolade that recognises the business’s holistic offering both internally in how they work and externally supporting the community, environment and their supplier network.

‘Achieving B Corp status is a fantastic achievement and one which demonstrates our commitment to not only what we do, but how we do it,’ says Ian Burke, Head of People and Culture at EMG Solicitors. ‘It’s an incredibly rigorous assessment process, which has made achieving the standard even more rewarding. B Corps, or Certified B Corporations, are companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. They strive to positively impact all stakeholders – workers, communities, customers, and the planet.

‘We were also delighted to be ranked in The Times and Sunday Times UK 100 Best Places to Work 2024, which was independently assessed from colleague questionnaires. To secure a participation rate of 91 percent was incredible, as were the results that showed 94 percent of colleagues acknowledging their pride in working for EMG and that they would recommend the company as somewhere to work to their family and friends. As well as a 93 percent score rating the confidence they had in the management of the firm.

‘Similarly, we were proud to achieve the Better Health at Work Continuing Excellence Award 2024. We gained gold last year but this award credits our ongoing achievements including the health initiatives that we have put in place to directly support the needs of colleagues. This has included workshops covering topics on resilience, mental health, managing stress and the menopause.

‘Whilst it’s incredible to be recognised by the awards we win, all of this is largely credit to our colleagues who take huge pride in working at EMG, living and breathing our values day to day and continuing to deliver the very best client service.’

A Values-Based Culture

Far from slogans on a wall or screensaver, it’s EMG’s values and culture that really do run as the heartbeat of the business. Embedded in the company’s policies, performance metrics and processes, their values centre around cooperation, courage, excellence, integrity and kindness.

‘Our values inform how we work internally with each other and externally with our clients,’ Ian adds. ‘The recognition we receive through our awards and accolades is wonderful, but most significantly highlights the intrinsic link between our strong culture and the high levels of client service we deliver. At the end of the day happy colleagues and happy clients is always our ultimate aim!

‘For me personally, one of the biggest achievements is seeing us retain our strong culture, despite the fast growth we have achieved and the increase in colleague numbers – we remain true to ourselves. We work smart, dream big, produce excellence, whilst doing so in the EMG way. As well as retaining that caring and personable approach that our brand has become renowned for.’

Emma Gaudern, Managing Director of EMG Solicitors said, ‘When Jemma Morland and I founded the business back in 2014, we were very clear about creating a law firm with a difference, a place where people are happy to come to work every day. A company that genuinely cares about each and every client we work with and the local communities we operate in. With this ethos very much growing as the company does.

‘Our commitment to excellence also remains a key priority at EMG. As demonstrated by our outstanding reviews on the Review Solicitors platform where we are ranked 4.8 out of 5 and the top scoring regional law firm in the North East.

‘I’m incredibly proud of our team and the awards we have achieved that only goes to demonstrate their unwavering commitment to excellence.’

Join the EMG Team

Fancy becoming a member of the EMG team? We are always on the lookout for talent, with a number of exciting roles here.