Loch Associates – Where they came from and where they are going

Loch Associates Group was founded in 2007 by Pam Loch to respond to the need for commercial and bespoke legal and people solutions for clients. 

Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength and now employs twenty-five staff who are based in Brighton, Tunbridge Wells and London. Always innovating, Managing Director Pam has continued to evolve the business to respond to the ever-changing client needs.

Loch Associates Group provides a unique combination of services available to clients under one roof. These extend to employment law, HR consultancy, health and safety, corporate employee wellbeing programmes and mediation services, all from one trusted partner and more recently, commercial too. The specific services offered by the four companies that make up the Group often work in unison with each other but also operate independently, allowing the Group to tailor their services and create a bespoke solution suited to each client and their business.

The Group’s slogan “People are our business” reflects both the services offered and the culture within the Group. Loch Associates are specialists in developing commercial solutions to help organisations manage and look after their people, ensuring a high level of employee satisfaction and consequently productivity. Internally, however, there is also a robust caring culture with communication and transparency at the heart of everything. Employees feel heard and respected, which is evident in their excellent customer service and passion for their roles. A recent client said: “I really appreciate the fact that you were able to understand the nature of our company and tailor your advice accordingly. I think that ability is key in defining a good lawyer. Lawyers who cannot deviate from 100% security are of little use.”

So who is Pam Loch? Managing Director and Solicitor Pam Loch grew up in Dundee, then attended the University of Dundee to study Accountancy and Business Studies. She joined Scottish Equitable, now Aegon, as a graduate trainee, spending three years on their management programme and specialising in pensions before she went back to university to do her Law degree at The University of Edinburgh. She graduated with a distinction in 1997 whilst looking after her 2-year-old son. During her studies and training as a solicitor, Pam tutored students to put her knowledge into practice and share it with others. 

Pam worked for regional and national law firms as a Partner and headed up the European Employment and Pensions team of a US law firm. She had identified a gap in the market in 2007, so she set up Loch Associates to provide the knowledge and support to clients with legal and people solutions. Starting from nothing, Pam has grown the company into a fierce competitor with multiple business awards under her belt to prove it. 

As well as being the Managing Director of Loch Associates Group, Pam has been a specialist, award-winning employment law solicitor for over 20 years. Her passion for finding solutions to help businesses manage and look after their people is reflected in the success of the businesses across the group. Pam has won numerous awards herself, winning Business Person of the Year and Entrepreneur Awards. She and the Group have gone on to win numerous other awards and more recently, she is especially proud of winning the Brighton and Hove Business Awards’ Professional Services Firm of the Year, as well as continuing to be ranked as a Leading Law Firm and Leading Individual in Chambers UK 2022 and The Legal 500 Firm.

Unusually Pam is a dual qualified solicitor, being admitted as a solicitor in Scotland, England and Wales. Clients like her pragmatic, commercially focused approach and solutions. She is a prolific networker and seasoned commentator on TV and radio, including Radio 4 and 5Live, talking about employment law and HR issues. She also writes extensively for trade journals and has been the author of chapters in multiple books, including; 

● Business Development for a New Legal Ecosystem

● Career Development for Woman Lawyers

● Succession Planning: Ensuring Smooth Transitions for Lawyers and their Firms. 

Most recently, she was interviewed on Radio 4 discussing the P&O situation and on Radio 5 Live discussing the end of free Lateral Flow Tests and why employers should consider having an infectious diseases policy put in place. 

“I am so proud of the company I have built and the incredible employees that work extremely hard to make the company what it is today. Over the next few years, we have a lot of plans to continue growing the Loch Associates brand, with some taking place as soon as next month.” – Pam Loch, Managing Director at Loch Associates Group.

Upcoming plans for growing the company

During a time when many companies suffered, Loch Associates were able to adapt and thrive throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This was possible because they were quick to adjust to home working and switch to virtual meetings and training immediately, meaning working location didn’t impact the business. Loch Associates has grown by not only innovating its services to ensure that what they provide new services that match new demand, but to be ahead, quickly identifying trends too. For instance, it was evident there was going to be an increased focus on well-being during lockdown, and so Loch Associates Group introduced online sessions early on. Many individuals living and working alone experienced mental ill-health and Loch Wellbeing developed special wellbeing sessions to help staff look after their mental health. Their mental health training courses moved online and they developed a mental health signposting service, uniquely designed to support mental health first aiders too. 

Client satisfaction with services offered by Loch Employment Law has meant that clients were wanting commercial law support services too, so the main focal point to grow the legal services side of the Group going forward, will be expanding into providing business law services to clients. Business law covers a wide range of services, from helping clients to set up their new business, with a structure that is right for them, to the practical issues involved in running a business, as well as the need to conform to statutory requirements. It also extends to helping businesses with any disputes, their terms of business, drafting Shareholder or LLP Agreements, removing directors and immigration support – basically anything a business needs to help them to operate effectively and protect them.

The launch of My HR Community

Through networking and research, Pam has identified that HR consultants working independently often felt isolated and lacked the support that HR teams in larger organisations would usually have access to. This is how My HR Community was born. 

My HR Community will be powered by Loch Associates Group and is designed to provide support, advice and any services an HR Consultant require through access to a member-based community. When working as an HR professional you are the gatekeeper of policy, culture and standards and often get drawn into wider operational matters often without the legal or other support you had easy access to before being made available to you. That’s where My HR Community will step in to offer their services when required and all included in the economical monthly subscription cost. Although not yet launched, announcements are expected shortly. Some of the things My HR Community can support HR Consultants with in their membership will include:

● Expert employment law advice

● Experienced HR Consultants to bounce ideas off and provide holiday cover

● Occupational health and HR medical specialist support

● Access to premier recruitment facilities

● Employment Tribunal insurance 

● Immigration support

● Mediations

When creating My HR Community, Pam’s goal was to make it a support package for HR Consultants that’s as affordable as possible for professionals setting up their own HR Consultancy, so they have access to the support, experience and advice needed to enable them to provide the range of services their clients need. As well as having access to Loch Associates services, My HR Community also opens up the opportunity to network through a private Facebook group and meet up with fellow professionals at face to face events and share their experiences.

If you would like to learn more about Loch Associates Group or contact them to find out how they can support you and the growth of your company or your HR Consultancy, then please contact them using the details below. To keep up-to-date with any announcements about My HR Community, follow Loch Associates on social media:

0203 6675 400 | info@lochassociates.co.uk | www.lochassociates.co.uk 

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Twitter: @ LochAssociates