An Oxfordshire law firm is celebrating three years of employee ownership.

Hedges Law, which has offices in Chipping Norton, is now encouraging other businesses and law firms to consider following suit.

The employee ownership model offers employees a significant stake within the business and a portion of the company’s shares.

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The law firm adopted this approach in 2020, making it one of the earliest law firms in the UK to do so.

Of the more than 5.5 million registered companies in the UK, only around 1,600 are employee-owned, and of these, only 20 are law firms.

This places the firm in a unique group of businesses that includes well-known names such as Abel & Cole, Hush, and Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace and Gromit.

Zoe Rose, head of family law, said: "Being employee-owned has been very useful for our recruitment.

"The fact that Hedges is employee-owned was one of the first things which attracted me to the company when I was looking for a new job opportunity and it’s something we hear time and again when new team members join us now.

"It’s unusual for a business and even more unusual for a law firm to be employee-owned, so this aspect really makes us as a firm stand out from the crowd."

She added: "The ethos behind employee ownership underlines every decision we make as a company.

"It ensures all choices are made with the team’s best interest at heart which makes you feel genuinely valued.

"I would strongly encourage other companies to consider making the move to employee ownership.

"It’s a fantastic way to develop the engagement of every team member and to make your business more productive and resilient."

Hedges has been providing legal services in Oxfordshire for 235 years.

It offers legal support, including advice on wills, probate and inheritance planning, property law and conveyancing, as well as dispute resolution, family and divorce issues.

It has recently opened its third office in Chipping Norton, with the expansion into Chipping Norton following a period of growth for the law firm, which now employs over 50 members of staff.