Secrets of Advertising in the UK

- In February 1968 the Peterborough Development Corporation was established with a

task to provide homes, work and many others urban facilities.

- Richard Hegarty was born in nearby Stamford and went to Stamford School and even as a sixth-former saw the potential for legal work in the greater Peterborough area. Whilst at Leicester University studying law he saw the beginnings of the new Peterborough being built with new roads and houses and industrial developments beginning to make an impact on the Peterborough skyline.

- Richard Hegarty graduated from Leicester University in 1972. Richards’s dad was the managing clerk of a firm of Solicitors in Stamford and Kelham & Sons, and had vast experience in conveyancing and probate matters over a 40 year period. He was voluntary to retire at the end of 1974. Richard and his father agreed to set up in practice in Peterborough.

- Mr. Hegarty senior brought many useful contacts to Peterborough area. The firm opened its doors on 15th October 1974. Richards’s mom was the receptionist. The offices were very small; they were only two little rooms.
Peterborough had not seen a new firm of solicitors for some time, but the timing could not have been better with a big number of new homes being built in Peterborough and many new residents.

- Mr. Hegarty senior retired from Kelham & Sons in December 1974 and initially was going to work part-time in Peterborough. He died in harness in August 1983.

- The firm continued and in October of 1977 Tim Thompson became a partner after being accepted in 1979.

- Hegarty Company opened an office in Stamford in December 1979. These was too small for all the work that came into the Stamford offices so in 1984 the firm bought premises and redeveloped them into big and modern offices.

- In the mid- 1980s it was decided that each solicitor will work in something specific and they will be separate departments.

- By the end of 1980s became that the firm has to move into new offices, because it was increasing the number of staff and the beginning of new technology. There is a site in Broadway that was assigned for development and the partner bought this offices which they still own today.

- Richard Hegarty was elected to the Council of the Law Society in 1989 to represent solicitors in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

- He spent 16 years on the Law Society Council. In the beginning of the 1990s, he started some projects which were designed to help t improve the quality of legal services provided by solicitors.

- The most important one was the “practice management standards” which Richard helped to write in the beginning of the 1990s.

- Richard saw he importance of improving the quality of legal services that solicitors needed and how important was the use of systems.

- Practice management standards developed into mark lexcel which is now the accepted standards for quality firms in England and Wales.

- Richard retired from the Law Society Council in 2005 and the Compliance Committee of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2009.

- Matthew Sidebottom was made a partner in 1990, four years after joining the firm.

- In 2003 Kally Singh who had finished his training with the firm became a partner.

- The 1st of May of 2006, the firm became a limited liability partnership with the name of Hegarty LLP.

- The same year, saw the appointment of three good and new partners Andrew Heeler, Greg Baker and Sean Rowdiffe.

- In 2008 saw the appointment of Graham Peebles as Partner and Manager of the Stamford office increasing the number of partners to its current total of ten.

- Today Hegarty LLP is recognized a major regional firm having over 70 staff and giving legal expertise in many things like properties, company, family employment and many others.