The senior partner of DWS Legal describes how the firm overcame the recession
Sameer Karim is the senior partner and owner of DWS Legal. The firm recently opened a new office in Leicester.
What was your root into the profession?
Having studied the LLB (Hons) at Leicester (my home town), I did my LPC at the College of Law in Chester. My training was done at a firm in the Midlands where I qualified in liitigation and went on to work for a niche specialist litigation practice in central Birmingham.
I joined Douglas Wemyss Solicitors (now DWS Legal) in 2006, became a partner in 2008 and subsequently took over and purchased the firm in April 2008.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
Biggest challenge so far has to be the recession, becoming a partner and then the sole equity owner of the business in 2008. So in effect—going from the security of a wage to effectively being the last to get paid.
When we purchased the business the recession hit towards the end of 2008 wiping off a significant amount in terms of our turnover. At that point we went into survival mode while looking for innovative ways to operate and open the legal services to the general public. This experience has been our most valuable lesson to date and the core reason for our ongoing success.
We recently moved into our new offices in Leicester following an investment of £300,000 and this has been another challenge ensuring we are servicing existing clients during the move but also planning for the next growth phase of our company.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?
Easy. I would have chosen to become an entrepreneurial business owner.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
Harvey Spector from Suits and this is because of his demeanour and positive enthusiasm and his willingness to find a solution to a problem and his approach to making every case turn into a successful outcome, which is very similar to my approach, especially in terms of business and also in terms of what I seek to achieve for my clients in that no matter what issue arises or how bad the situation may seem in terms of business and client situation.
What change would you make to the profession?
I would seek to make the profession more accessible and open to the masses at a more fixed rate/fees and would also like to find more lawyers embracing commercial realism with the view to combine both commercial acumen and legal knowledge.
How do you relax?
My family is my core focus and I find ways to relax by spending time with both my children and wife, and look forward to organising weekends and days away. We have an office in Mayfair and I tend to spend a lot of time in central London with the family exploring the capital.
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