By Sujany Baleswaran
We are committed to excellence.
Farhan Farani and Amer Rahman – the Managing Director and Director of Farani Taylor Solicitors take pride in their workplace ethos, providing diverse and accessible legal advice, with a mission to achieve social justice and equality for those in need.
With creativity, transparency, and excellence at the forefront of their mission, Farani Taylor Solicitors have established themselves as a well-renowned law firm and one of the UK’s leading specialists in Corporate Law, Family Law, Criminal Law, Housing Law, Immigration Law, Employment Law, Wills and Probate.
The legacy began in 1962, when Barrister M Farani was called to Bar at Lincoln’s Inn and 40 years later, Farhan Farani, Managing Director, traced the same footsteps as his father and was called to Bar in the very same great hall.
Director at Farani Taylor, Amer Rahman however, has a very different story, starting his journey with a degree in Psychology and Political Science, before pursuing his interest in law by completing an LLB degree. With a vision to create a positive impact in people’s lives, Amer Rahman went on to specialise in Human Rights Law.
We believe that creativity and connection are two anecdotes to any problem.
As a voice for the ethnic community, Farhan decided to recruit lawyers from different communities.
“I hired lawyers who spoke Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Russian and from numerous other communities and started to assist their respective communities” And like any business, growth is vital – “this really helped the firm to grow, and resulted in us offering advice in greater areas of law”
The topic of diversity and inclusion in law firms has been discussed to some level, however, the existing programs and policies are not enough. The reality is that the composition of the legal industry remains widely populated by a largely identical gender and racial group. Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of the company culture at Farani Taylor. Director, Amer says “diversity and inclusion does not stop at offering women and ethnic minorities with opportunities, but it requires leaders to take one step further by supporting their employees in respect of their personal and professional growth”.
Nurturing young talent is essential to creating the next generation of lawyers. Farhan added, “We started taking on board people from middle-ranked universities and trained them; many of them are now successful qualified Solicitors”
Many view the legal sector as a cut-throat world, and one thing that discourages many from engaging a solicitor is legal fees. Farani Taylor, places transparency as one of their utmost priorities, whether that is information or cost. To supplement this, Farani Taylor also provides pro-bono to vulnerable clients.
People are at the heart of the firm.
Farani Taylor’s innovative out-of-the-box legal thinking is core to the firm’s approach; whether it is achieving victories for clients in the Supreme Court, which changes the landscape of commercial negotiations or supporting a family through a complicated divorce. With an important focus on results, the team at Farani Taylor delve into various legal solutions before taking it one step further with their ‘thinking out-of-the-box’ strategy to achieve results. “We are very much commercially pragmatic, and we look at the problem, and we see how we can navigate the legal arena to produce the required results.” But as we all know, everything comes with a challenge and as Amer says, “every case has its own challenges which one must address, and with a positive, determined and committed approach, any challenge can be overcome.”
The firm’s relationship-driven approach, not just with their clients, but with the wider community is fundamental to the firm they have built. Not only do they offer solid advice but a human comprehendible approach to legal problems.
Farhan says, “We ensure that we connect with our clients on a human-level; if one is not a good human being, he cannot be a good lawyer. The relationship with the client is paramount”.
The English legal system is one of the most powerful in the world, however, there are still many changes that need to be made. The rule of law demands that justice be separated from politics. We discussed the issues of the UK’s legal system, as Amer elaborated on the declining budget. “I see a demise in the Legal Aid, and consequently people are facing difficulties to have access to justice. According to a report in The Times, ‘UK’s legal aid budget has shrunk by 36% since 2010, falling from £2.6 billion to just £1.6 billion last year. And since then, there have been more than 67,000 Crown Court defendants with no legal representation at their first hearing’.” With an increase in budget for legal aid agencies, Amer believes the disadvantaged will have access to justice.
With the decline of the legal system and the acceleration of changes triggered by the pandemic, the legal world is constantly changing; changes that go beyond digitalisation or working from home. The legal industry is changing with new innovative technology, and the global pandemic has clearly changed how organisations operate. With the increasing normality of virtual meetings, clients at Farani Taylor “have accepted the changes rolled out during the pandemic and accepted the shift over to Zoom meetings.” Amer added, “however, our firm does still interact with clients in-person as we acknowledge and appreciate certain clients prefer face-to-face human interaction”.
With the changing world of law, we explored the future of the legal industry and the next generation of lawyers. Flexibility will increase, says Amer, as he notes that there will be better arrangements for working from home due to a number of firms gradually becoming paperless, and conducting the majority of client meetings on Zoom. Going from strength to strength, with legal experts that are best within their field, Farani Taylor Solicitors is always investing in their future. Farhan Farani and Amer Rahman leave us with three pieces of advice for the next generation of law firm leaders – great client service, invest in good lawyers and focus on excellence…
