Managing partner Ray Crudgington, who has played a key role in the solicitors’ strategy over 30 years, talks past, present and future
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In 1851, Queen Victoria sits on the throne, the Window Tax is abolished, the first submarine telegraph cable is laid across the English Channel, The Great Exhibition takes place in the specially built Crystal Palace at Hyde Park and the first international chess tournament is held in London.
In Greenwich, a young man named Samuel Saw – having qualified as an Attorney Of The Courts Of Queens Bench – decides to set up his own law firm and starts practising from his home at what was then Bexley Place.
That business, located in what is now Greenwich High Road, was the start of a company that recently celebrated its 175th birthday, marking the anniversary with an update to its brand and a weather eye on the future.
Today, Grant Saw’s solicitors, operate across sites in Greenwich and Blackheath, with 60 employees including nine partners offering a wide range of services to their clients.
growing over the years
“Samuel ran the firm for just over 60 years, bringing his sons Samuel Jr and Henry into the practice and changing the name to Saw & Sons before retiring in 1912,” said Ray Crudgington, Grant Saw’s managing partner.
“Samuel Jr continued to run the firm until he retired in 1920.
“The next big milestone was when a young solicitor called Geoffrey Grant joined the firm in 1956.
“He’d been working for a local authority and didn’t enjoy it much.
“He liked his new practice so much, he took it over and it became Grant Saw & Sons in 1960.
“He took on partners over the decades and grew the firm.
“When he recruited me in 1997, the office was over a former bank, now a bookmakers in East Greenwich.
“I’d qualified in 1991, trained at a major law firm and worked for five years at a small firm in Gray’s Inn Square in the City.
“Grant Saw, after an interview, offered me a job with a view to becoming a partner.”
a chance to help steer the ship
Attracted by the opportunity and the chance to shape a growing firm, Ray joined and became a partner 16 months later.
He has been heavily involved with the management and strategic direction of the firm ever since.
Grant Saw moved to Greenwich High Road in 2003 and merged with Hudgell Yeates in Blackheath in 2005 as it expanded its operation.
More recently, it acquired Lawbridge Solicitors in Sidcup and its Greenwich practice moved into new offices at Horseferry Place overlooking the Thames in 2019.
Ray said: “While we don’t do criminal law or high level financial law, we do a very wide range of contentious and non-contentious work including probate, insolvency, commercial and residential property, employment law, powers of attorney, wills, trusts and family law.
“We also have a slightly greater commercial bias than some firms, dealing with industrial sites and developers.
“While it’s important to be aware of the history, we have to live in the moment.
“We have to think of what is the best thing to do now for our partners, our staff and our clients.
“There’s also a need to ensure succession, which isn’t an opportunity all firms have.”
from client work to management
Ray specialised in commercial property and company commercial work, but has moved into a non-practising leadership role at Grant Saw.
“I love both the law and management, but they are quite different and you can’t realistically do them at the same time,” he said.
“If you try, you’ll find clients’ needs always come first so it’s better to step away.
“The management side is there to facilitate serving our clients and that’s very satisfying in itself.
“Good lawyers are successful because they understand and can apply the law, but that doesn’t necessarily make them good at business.
“When I talk to law students, I always say that their number one skill needs to be problem-solving and the second one is communication.
“Lawyers are trained to be cautious and think about all the problems that might arise in a given situation.
“Client work can also be quite reactive, whereas business and management need to be proactive.
“When I made the move, I had to learn quite a different skill set. I don’t think someone could do my job with a heavy case load.
“While my other eight partners all do some management at the firm, what they really enjoy is working with their clients.”
taking Grant Saw into the future
Ray said that, broadly speaking, during his 35-year career, neither the law nor clients’ needs had altered a great deal.
“The underlying principles don’t change, although there are some changes in legislation,” he said.
“But the processes are different now.
“Probably the biggest change has been in the handling of documents, which is now done largely electronically.
“Much of what I do is dealing with compliance to ensure we’re always delivering the best service possible.
“As a firm, we’re on the up – we’re finding new clients and new markets.
“We’re pretty busy. We have plans to grow and increase our turnover year-on-year in sustainable and profitable ways.
“We’ve welcomed new partners into the firm to help deliver that.
“We also always try to give clients a personal service and to create value for them.
“Many of our clients locally are wealthy and they really appreciate that.
“What we try to do is empower our clients’ decisions, giving them options.
“Now we’re looking at how to expand in areas where we’re already strong.
“We’ve just completed a rebrand, changing to navy blue from red and, as part of that process, we’ve enhanced our website.
“We’re doing lots of things to spread our net more widely and we remain very well connected with local accountants, estate agents, property agents, architects and surveyors as well as the Royal Borough Of Greenwich.
“I like to think that when the time comes for me to leave the firm, it will be in good hands.”
key details: Grant Saw
Grant Saw’s Greenwich offices are located overlooking the Thames at Horseferry Place. In Blackheath it’s based at Grant Saw House in Tranquil Passage.
You can find a full list of services offered by its solicitors on the firm’s website here.
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