Simpson Jones is a new virtual legal practice management service established by Louise Jones, a legal administrator with in excess of 25 years legal experience, 20 of which have been spent supporting barristers from their time as Junior Counsel, through to taking Silk and appointment as a High Court Judge.
Louise has an in-depth understanding of the different administrative needs of barristers, and she and her team would be happy to organise and manage your practice behind the scenes so that you can spend your time working in and developing your legal practice.
In addition to offering our practice management services, we are also sole distributors of Barrister CMS, a fantastic new legal case management software that will streamline the management of your practice in an organised and time efficient manner.
Although there are a wide array of legal PAs/VAs and executives, many of these are generalists. Simpson Jones specialises in working with barristers. Louise has worked for many barristers over the last two decades in a wide range of practice areas and at different stages of practice. She has a keen understanding of life at the Bar and uses her skills and expertise to support her barrister clients.
Practising as a barrister can be a very lonely profession. Working late into the night and weekends researching, drafting and preparing for consultations or for Court is a job in and of itself. Remembering deadlines and juggling multiple requests from solicitors in the digital age, where information is instantaneous, and turnaround expectations are increasingly shorter, can be draining. Adrenalin can only get you so far.
Nowadays, barristers, aside from practising law, are carrying out roles traditionally occupied by secretaries/PAs and bookkeepers. Ironically, very few have training in these areas. This can be easily managed when you are starting out in practice, but it is difficult to maintain in the long term. Ultimately, something will give. Whether that be a reduction in instructions from a solicitor due to continued delays in meeting deadlines, missing multiple billable pieces of work when submitting a fee note due to inadequate recording or less time with family and friends, there is a loss. The work-life balance can tilt too far.
Simpson Jones’ services are designed to meet this need by offering their services to barristers who are not quite in a position to employ a permanent secretary of PA.
Due to the nature of the barristers’ profession all testimonials have been anonymised. All testimonials are verified.
“I have worked with Louise Jones for over 20 years and I can honestly say that her input and assistance has been, and continues to be, essential to my practice. Louise understands, both instinctively and through experience, how a barrister’s practice functions and develops over time. Louise is resourceful and proactive.
I cannot count the amount of times over the years that Louise has suggested an innovation or improvement in practice management. Following this advice has led to very substantial time saving and increased efficiency. This has allowed me to concentrate on practice rather than administration which, truly, is the key for sole practitioners. In recent times, with the advent of remote briefing platforms in particular, it has become ever more essential to have in place a secure, reliable and efficient office management system. Louise also manages the everyday financial aspects of my practice. After decades of experience, Louise is familiar with the rhythms of barristers’ practice and knows how best to organise time and marshal resources. For my practice, Louise’s wisdom and assistance was, quite simply, indispensable
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Louise for over 15 years. She has accumulated considerable experience in her field over the years which shows in the quality of her work. Louise is extremely dedicated and utterly dependable. Her turn around is extremely quick and efficient. She has been a considerable asset heretofore and, I hope, into the future”.
“Louise was an excellent help to me as my practice grew. She enabled me to delegate mundane tasks so that I could focus on what I came to the Bar to do. She also put systems in place to allow my practice to run more efficiently.
On a personal level, she is very personable, flexible & trustworthy. She was always there to provide a pragmatic way forward to administrative problems I encountered. She also has the capacity to work fully virtually which is vital in a post covid world. If you want to grow your practice with ease, I would highly recommend getting Louise on board.”
“Louise has an in- depth knowledge of the legal profession and in particular the Bar. As a result, she has been able to completely transform the running of my practice.
She has put in place systems that ensure that I can focus on fee earning tasks and be more productive with my time safe in the knowledge that my administrative tasks are being well managed. This has allowed me to both grow my practice and ensure that I have a better work- life balance.”
“Louise has been assisting me for many years now. As a typist she is the best I know of, very fast turnaround, so thorough when it comes to the use of complex legal language – she seems to check and correct everything!
Louise is very responsive, giving me a clear idea when I can expect typing back and so on. She is also a wonderful practice organiser, she seems to be friends with everyone on the administrative side of life at the Bar, and knows how to solve all manner of problems that would have defeated me without her! I cannot recommend Louise enough and I know many barristers who feel the same way.”
We have been working with Louise for over 15 years while she prepares accounting records for barristers and sends them to us to produce accounts for the Revenue or banks.
Some of the barristers she works for are very substantial indeed. Her work is always excellent and this means that all parts of the job – from basic records to tax returns to bank applications and even Revenue Audits can be approached with conformity and confidence. Louise, good luck for the future!
“Louise worked with me for over 15 years and was indispensable. Her typing was of a consistently high standard, delivered in a very short time frame. Her bookkeeping skills were excellent…
and she was particularly skilled at making sure all expenses were included for recovery and that all work done was billed systematically and recovered in a timely manner. She liaised with the accountants on an ongoing basis, thus removing this administrative burden. This approach resulted in a significant increase in fee income.
She has a deep understanding of practice at the Bar, and the organisational requirements of barristers, having been immersed in the world of practice for over 25 years. In particular, Louise understands the time constraints barristers are under and is very flexible to deal with it. She is professional and pragmatic at all times. I highly recommend Louise”
“She has a deep understanding of practice at the Bar, and the organisational requirements of barristers, having been immersed in the world of practice for over 25 years.
In particular, Louise understands the time constraints barristers are under and is very flexible to deal with it. She is professional and pragmatic at all times. I highly recommend Louise”
“Louise Jones worked with me for a number of years. She is a powerhouse of efficiency and organisation. I could not recommend her highly enough to anyone looking for thorough..
and reliable support with their administrative and billing issues. Louise’s new business will fill I think a much needed gap in the market and I have no doubt that it will be a great success”.
“I’ve witnessed Louise Jones in action for over fifteen years now in the Law Library. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have keeping an eye on my practice than her.
I’ve seen her first hand deal with every possible issue that can confront a busy barrister. The best thing I can say is that without any doubt, anyone she has worked for has got an easier life in return, less of a need to focus on administration, more time to focus on work and most importantly of all, time to focus on things other than life at the Bar”
“Louise Jones has carried out bookkeeping and billing services for me for the past 5 years. I have found Louise excellent to deal with. She is efficient, reliable and very responsive…
and her services have been of great benefit to my practice. Louise is also very personable and easy to deal with. I have no hesitation in recommending Louise”
“Since 2015, Louise Jones has provided me with much- needed secretarial support, bookkeeping and billing services. She is attentive, courteous, efficient and organised.
She has a natural ability with accounts and bookkeeping. Above all, Louise is a really decent person to deal with: she is generous with her time, reliable, friendly and very hard working. Her help has made a huge difference to my practice. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Louise to another practitioner”
“We have worked with Louise Jones for many years across a number of clients that we have in common. Louise is proactive, very detail focused, and easy to work with, and there is no doubt that her involvement contributes in a huge way to making our clients’ practices run smoothly”.
“Louise worked with me for 2.5 years before she started her business. I found Louise during this time to be very personable to deal with. She has a sound knowledge of life at the Bar and knows the business very well.
She has excellent communication skills. Her book keeping and typing skills are fast and accurate. She was particularly effective at putting in place systems which helped to organise my practice on a day to day basis to include diary, email and billing management systems which were efficient in picking up all fees payable . These systems were easy for me to manage. I have no hesitation in recommending Louise and her services”.
Due to the nature of the barristers’ profession all testimonials have been anonymised. All testimonials are verified.
Copyright © 2023 Simpson Jones | Design By Mamma Marketing