Twenty five years at CW from being a newly qualified solicitor

25 years ago on 6 September 2024, Duncan Morter, our Managing Director, started as a newly qualified solicitor at Crombie Wilkinson. Here we discuss with him how the last 25 years have been and what his thoughts are for the future.  

What were your aspirations when you started as a NQ 25 years ago at CW? 

I wanted to get to know people in the firm and the wider community, learn my trade as a newly qualified property lawyer and hopefully make a good impression!  

At what point did you know law was for you and that CW was your home? 

I did a music degree as an undergraduate but had always had an interest in law. As soon as I started law school (the College of Law in York) I found it really interesting and I was glad I had made that decision. After completing my training contract at a firm in Oxford I moved up to York to live with my partner, and immediately felt at home working at CW. 

Who inspired you at CW? 

The senior people I worked with, including Andrew Faulkes, Neal Porter and Graeme Matthews, taught me a lot. This included property law, how to run files, how to manage clients and how to network and bring more work in. They were generous with their time back when I knew very little, and I will always be grateful to them for that. I hope that I, along with other senior colleagues, are having the same positive impact on our junior colleagues now as we support them during their career progression.   

When did you decide you wanted to be involved in the running of CW? 

As I became more experienced in my practice area I started to develop an interest in the firm as a business. This progressed further when I was made a salaried partner and appointed head of the property team.  When the 2007-2008 financial crisis arrived we really did have to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the business. After working with colleagues to help navigate the firm through that time, a few years after that I was lucky enough to be asked to become the managing director of the firm which was, and still is, a great honour, and a role I really do enjoy doing every day.  

What gets you out of bed each day to manage a law firm? 

Because of our continuous improvement value, we are never content to rest on our laurels. Even though the business is doing really well, there are always things we are working on, things we want to change or improve, new areas to explore or problems to solve. In the past few years this has included the introduction of our values, our career progression programme, the CW Academy, new IT projects and many other things. So there is a never a dull moment and the to-do list never seems to get any shorter. That motivates me to keep pushing on and trying to improve. 

What is your advice for a long term career in a law firm? 

Try to find your niche, and then work hard to get really good at it. Be genuinely client centred, build positive relationships and find fulfilment in what are you are doing at every stage of your career. I am lucky that I was just as happy when I was a newly qualified solicitor as I am now as the MD. Life was different back then, but just as good.  

What are you personally most proud of from your time so far with CW? 

I feel it is an achievement to have worked my way up from a totally unknown NQ, through the various career stages to become the MD. I hope this demonstrates that CW is a place where career progression is open to all. I have benefitted from those opportunities, and it is nice to be in a position now where I can offer the same opportunities to others. 

What would you say is the firm’s biggest achievement in the time you have been here? 

Without wanting to sound too old, when I started at CW in 1999, I didn’t have a computer on my desk. So I have seen the firm grow, change and modernise in many ways. We are now more than twice the size we were then. During my time here I’ve seen the advent of the internet, the iPhone and, in 2020, the move to remote working and video calls. All of this is standard now, but the firm has been very good at adapting and changing over the years where other firms have struggled. This is definitely one of our strengths. 

But none of what we achieve personally or what the firm achieves can be done on your own. We are lucky to work at a firm with a good, supportive environment and a great team of people. This is the CW citizenship value. I certainly couldn’t do what I do without the skills, knowledge and support of all my colleagues, and the firm as a whole is stronger because of this team effort, seen in action on a daily basis. 

What would you say has been the firm’s most challenging experience in your time at CW? 

 At the time, the 2007 credit crunch was a huge issue for us. But the first COVID lockdown of 2020 was certainly the most challenging. Apart from the obvious health concerns, the shutting down of the residential conveyancing market in particular was very concerning, and the directors had to work hard at navigating the business through some very difficult times. I think we not only managed to do this successfully, but we emerged even stronger than before. This is truly down to our team spirit, listening and supporting each other and admitting when we need help to get through the challenges we may face. 

Where do you envisage CW will be in 25 years’ time? 

The year 2049 sounds a long way off, but I would like to think that the business will continue to adapt and change, as the world around it changes, to remain a thriving and successful business providing legal advice and assistance to clients who need us and a great place to work for our staff. And hopefully one of our current trainees or newly qualified could be our MD in the future!