Lisa Bell has worked at Cumbria-based legal firm Progression Solicitors for ten years. Initially she worked on a part-time basis as a solicitor who specialised in family law, but the scope of the role quickly evolved as she became Head of Family Law before being made Director.
It isn’t just Lisa’s role that has changed, the structure of the business has as well. When the founders of Progression Solicitors decided to step down after 25 years running the business, they wanted to ensure its continuity and protect its values. With this in mind, the company of 28 staff decided to become an Employee Ownership Trust in 2024.
“Employee ownership was discussed and seemed like a logical route for us to go down. It fits with our values and our culture and having an open-door policy where staff can come to us and have an opinion on what we do and how we do it.”
Now that the employees owned the business, Lisa’s role as director had more far-reaching decisions. She had a larger voice in the future of the company as a senior member of the team, but she wanted training to make sure that she was successful.