Rollits: Celebrating 180 years in business
Times like the present bring the sternest tests for the most patient people, and even the most optimistic.
But as we mark the 180th anniversary of John Rollit being admitted as an attorney of the Court of Queen's Bench and also a solicitor of the High Court of Chancery, we can take confidence from the fact that we have come through adversity before.
However many years have rolled by, the firm’s approach has always been to focus on the future and now, as we remember the significance of John Rollits’ achievements on 9 June 1841, we are again looking back and thinking forward.
Even this week Rollits LLP has gained recognition as a progressive law firm by playing a significant part in Humber Business Week, presenting two seminars each with technology and online communications at the heart.
It’s worth dwelling on that for a minute – at what point in our timeline did the internet become a thing? Certainly not during our first 150 years – and don’t forget our history as pioneers of communications technology.
Sir Albert Rollit was a close friend of Alexander Graham Bell and in 1879 helped to organise the first demonstration of the telephone in Hull, with a line set up between the firm’s office in Bowlalley lane and a client’s premises in Humber Street.
This week we partnered with performance marketing agency Diony to explore the business opportunities and legal issues around e-commerce. In a separate session we also looked at how technology enables flexible working, and at the employee expectations around work-life balance which come from that.
E-commerce? Flexible working? Work-life balance? There wasn’t much of any of that 180 years ago!
We were able to deliver those Biz Week events and the services behind them with confidence because of our investment in industry-leading technology and digital innovation, underpinned by our commitment to taking the firm and our clients forward.
Our 2020 Vision, announced at the beginning of 2020, was all about using technology to build a sustainable and resilient practice and it was followed by the implementation of a new Practice Management System which brought solutions to the new challenges we faced around remote working.
It provided a business lifeline at a crucial time and enabled us to work through this pandemic in the same way that the firm survived and then thrived after pandemics, wars and other catastrophes since 1841.
Our 180 milestone will be featured in much of our activity in the coming weeks and months, including the return of the charity golf day, the use of some new communications channels to share our success stories and the production of a series of short films to showcase the diverse mix of people, roles and careers within Rollits LLP.
They will also showcase our rich and proud heritage, and all against the backdrop of the theme of looking back but thinking forward.
Posted on: 09/06/2021
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