The residential property team at leading Yorkshire law firm Banner Jones has been recognised for its dedication to its clients and its quick response to remote working at this year’s prestigious Yorkshire Legal Awards.

The accolade was announced at a well-attended awards ceremony which was live streamed on Tuesday evening; bringing together the region’s legal community to recognise and celebrate its many achievements.

One of the largest and most experienced conveyancing teams in South Yorkshire, the Banner Jones Residential Property team has worked tirelessly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to manage a huge influx of property matters.

Tackling the challenges brought about by lockdown and the firm-wide shift to remote working, the department responded to a 28% year-on-year increase in enquiries, fuelled in part by the current Stamp Duty Holiday, in a ‘calm, collected and client service-led way’.

Commenting on the award Banner Jones’ Chief Executive Simon Wright, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received such a prestigious award, particularly given the quality of the other firms nominated for this award.”

“It is testament to the hard work and dedication that the residential property team has shown over the past 12 months – both before lockdown was announced, and throughout the pandemic. “

“They have been supported during this exceptional year by the wider Banner Jones family including our Marketing department, our IT division and our customer care teams and it’s with great pride that we receive this accolade on behalf of everyone at Banner Jones.”

Earlier this year Banner Jones implemented its new online client portal which allows a client to receive and accept an online conveyancing quotation, before moving on to complete all of the initial property information forms and ID checks securely on their phone, PC or tablet.

Every step of the transaction can now be carried out from the comfort of the client’s home, removing the necessity to attend any of our offices or to visit the post office to send completed forms back. The portal, known as ‘Flying Start’, has helped us to cut an average conveyancing transaction by as much as two weeks.

Simon of Banner Jones added: “We are very proud of the fact that we have maintained full continuity of services throughout the lockdown period. Our Residential Property department maintained staff cover throughout, ensuring that our clients could rely on us still being there for them to deliver the usual levels of service.

“Many of our clients feared they would be stuck in ‘limbo’ when the lockdown measures were first introduced, having already agreed house purchases and sales prior to the pandemic. Several were worried they would no longer have a home at all.

Kate Skelton, Head of Residential Property in Sheffield said “It has not been easy but we have tried to work with clients every step of the way, adapting to the ever-changing rules and restrictions to ensure that as many transactions completed as possible.”

Launched in 2000 to recognise the outstanding talent across the region, the Yorkshire Legal Awards categories cover firms of all types and size, from the regionally recognised firms such as Banner Jones, to some of the national corporate firms.

Judges hail from a myriad of backgrounds and are made up of an independent panel of experts from across the Yorkshire legal community. Representatives from local business groups and local public bodies then lend their expertise and experience to assess the entries and to decide the winners.