We chat to Dean Orgill from Mayo Wynne Baxter

After 13 years at the helm of one of the South East’s most prominent regional law firms, Chris Randall has passed on the Chief Executive of Mayo Wynne Baxter baton to Dean Orgill.

Dean is a well-known face in the Sussex business community and takes over during what we can politely call ‘interesting times’. We interviewed Dean to find out a little more about the man behind MWB.

Are you from Sussex originally?

No, born and bred in the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border country. My home town is Burton-on-Trent which was the brewing capital of the world.

What were you like as a child?

That is a long way back, but I will try to remember. The word that comes to mind is happy. I was always involved in as many sports as possible, which was a good outlet for my competitive streak. I was lucky enough to go to excellent schools, particularly a grammar school that really taught me how to study. Most importantly though I met the love of my life at a young age – and happily, she is still prepared to put up with me now.

Did you always want to be a lawyer?

When it became clear that no sport was going to invite me to play for England, my first thought career-wise was psychiatry – but I do not have the scientific aptitude that was going to be needed to qualify. History was a real interest, but I could not see how it would earn a living. Law was interesting for two reasons. Firstly it suited my natural inclination to argue, and secondly working my way through to qualify and then make a career looked like the toughest challenge that I could take on – so I did.

When did you join MWB, and what is your specialist area?

In December 1987. I joined as a general litigator dealing with civil, criminal and family cases. I was not a natural fit for the family work, but I did enjoy dealing with criminal matters for ten years. During that time, I worked in preparing and appearing as an advocate in either defence or prosecution cases, and would also attend police stations on the 24-hour duty solicitor scheme. I miss the advocacy but cannot say that I miss the early hours calls to attend a police station, especially since at that point they were spread around the county. However, I am glad to have done both as I think the experiences are invaluable.

For the last 20 years though I have focussed very much on commercial disputes, predominantly about contracts, and developed my expertise in dealing with intellectual property issues such as copyright and brand protection.

In your time at MWB, what are the main changes you have noticed to Sussex’s commercial landscape?

The biggest significant change has to be the rise of digital technology. When I started at Wynne Baxter Godfree, there was no internet – incredible but true. It is almost impossible to imagine any business now, no matter how traditional, that does not use digital technology in one way or another. Plus, of course, there are whole swathes of businesses that would not exist at all without digital technology, and Sussex has many clusters of world-leading companies in that sector.

The other area that has come on leaps and bounds is food and drink. We have always had superb producers in the area, but the number has increased significantly, and more of these are establishing national and international reputations. It seems that our local producers are very well-placed to meet the increased demand in the market for accountable sourcing and sustainable production methods.

This also makes me think of our efforts regarding sustainability and consideration of our natural resources. As one of the inaugural trustees of the South Downs National Park Trust, I am very aware of many initiatives in place to help support local community businesses and the support they provide for our environment.

Ultimately though business in the area survives and thrives because of the people involved. The drive, initiative and support that the business community offers to each other has not – I am delighted to say – changed at all. The Sussex business community is an excellent example of businesses supporting one another and collectively supporting their communities. While the Sussex business community knows that profit is essential, it does not forget that it is not the sole purpose for a business to exist. I have met so many people who really appreciate where they are operating and want to give something back to that broader community. The support generated for our local charities is always tremendous, and long may that all continue.

You were previously Chairman at MWB, what will be the main difference to your new role as Chief Executive?

As Chairman, I would Chair the board meetings, work with Chris Randall our previous Chief Executive on strategic matters, and hopefully offer some “sage” advice before stepping back and reverting to dealing with my caseload.

As Chief Executive, the role is much more operational. Things I would have pondered on and given my view upon I now have the responsibility to make happen.

You are taking over at one of the most challenging times in recent history, what are your plans for the firm in 2021?

Like everyone in business, we would love to be able to predict exactly what was going to happen in the next 12 months. At the best of times, that is not possible, and these are certainly not the best of times. We all have to get through the short-term, but we will, and beyond that, we are looking to continue our firm’s long-term expansion.

We continually review both the services we provide and how we provide them.

Like many businesses, we learn the lessons from operating in the pandemic.

Fortunately, we were able to leverage the substantial investment in IT infrastructure that we had made over many years. Our ability to work with greater agility in terms of location and access to files was already set up, and we were anticipating the trend towards blended working methods. In no way though would I say that we had anticipated the turbo-boost to that change that the pandemic put into effect. Things that may have taken months or years to evolve were required to be done in weeks if not days. We will be looking at how we best utilise what we have learned to benefit our clients, our staff, and the business.

The pandemic has had an enormous effect on many business sectors, how has it impacted MWB?

As I have mentioned, the way we work has altered in that as a firm, we are currently spread around the county, largely working from our homes. But given the technology available, we have maintained the same levels of service to our clients which they have appreciated. I can say that with confidence not only because of the public reviews data but also because we ask those clients directly.

As a business we have various departments that are differently affected by different aspects within the economy. Our property departments have perhaps seen the biggest swings from market closure (which led to a short surge as people needed to put emergency measures in place for ongoing transactions), to virtually nothing whilst the market was effectively closed, to another surge as the SDLT measures injected stimulus into the market again.

Other departments have maintained business levels more consistently, while still having to adapt to temporary changes in the law which can then be further extended at short notice and advising accordingly.

Overall we have not been able to hit the challenging targets for this financial year that we had set for ourselves 12 months ago, but we have successfully hit levels that keep us on track to resume growth going forward.

Many businesses are moving to the digitisation of services, can that happen in the legal sector?

It definitely can, and it definitely is. We have kept a close eye on this trend as it has been developing, as we are always aware that the way our services can be delivered continually changes. Our services depend on communication, and the way we communicate now continues to evolve. It has probably changed more in the last 30 years than in hundreds of years previously.

As an example, we have developed our LawEasier products to supplement the services provided by our highly-skilled legal advisers. These products include free legal guides to help explain the law and legal processes and technology that allows clients to create bespoke legal documents online. Our research showed a great demand for some services amongst clients that the traditional law firm is not, and will not be, asked to meet. Therefore, we have invested in providing the means for that need to be met, allowing people to purchase legal services directly if they wish to through www.laweasier.co.uk .

How do you see the Sussex commercial landscape changing in the next five years, and do you think that there will ever be a ‘back to normal’?

“Normal” is continually evolving in any event. Change is really the only constant. Things will not go back entirely to the way they were. Some of the changes we have seen will, I am sure, be kept. Blended/flexible working patterns will be maintained in some shape or form as employers have come to realise that “working from home” is not just a “duvet day” in disguise. Working spaces will become more flexible. I do not think the office is dead, but I think it will look different.

I also wonder whether our values and what we view as important, have irreversibly changed. It will be interesting to see if those changes are permanent.

One thing I personally would like to revert back to as soon as possible though is actually meeting people and interacting in the real world. I doubt very much that anyone reading this would say otherwise.

Your face will be familiar to many of our readers from your work outside of Mayo Wynne Baxter, can you tell us a little about your other roles?

As Chair of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, I chair the business group that promotes inward investment into the City and acts as a critical friend to Brighton and Hove City Council to devise and implement its economic strategy. Because of that, I also sit on the Greater Brighton Economic Board’s business partnership side, which looks to promote a cohesive strategic economic approach for the whole of the City region.

As Vice-Chair of the Board of Sussex Chamber, I look to offer what support I can to Ana Christie and the rest of that excellent Chamber team in supporting Sussex businesses in as many ways as possible, such as providing local courses and support, local networking and advocacy through the national British Chambers of Commerce.

Finally, I mentioned earlier, the South Downs National Park Trust, which looks to create long-term sustainable funding for the support and maintenance of the National Park itself and its objectives. Within that I also sit on the panel of the Sustainable Communities Fund, which provides grants to community projects that also support the National Park’s objectives.

With so much on your plate, what do you do to unwind?

We are largely back to the sports theme here. Like many people who have been active playing football, rugby, squash and running, I turned to cycling a few years ago and am now an absolute convert. It is a great way to “switch off” whilst also being able to cover long distances, but also to do so in a way that you can feel that you are part of the landscape rather than passing through it in a sealed container. In the winter months, I love to ski whenever I can. My other passion is ice hockey – simply the best team sport that there is. When I do stop moving I love listening to (what I define as) good music, and I am a keen comedy fan generally preferring radio to TV -though live is best of all.

www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk