A COMPANY from Woking has been crowned the county’s Law Firm of the Year 2021 by Surrey Law Society, with one of its founders also gaining a prestigious individual accolade.

Representatives of Rosewood Solicitors received the accolade at a COVID-delayed ceremony in Guildford that recognised exceptional achievement and celebrated success during the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

The Law Firm of the Year is the society’s most hotly contested award. In addition, Emma Patel, was highly commended in the Family Lawyer of the Year category.

Rosewood Solicitors, based in Export House in Woking town centre, is run jointly by Emma and Dev Jummoodoo, who founded the firm in 2016 as an incubator start-up.

They now have a team of 12 who undertake legal work in the areas of family, children, criminal, landlord and tenant disputes and food safety.

Emma said: “We wanted to show that our law firm could still grow and thrive despite the disruption to operating caused by the pandemic.

“During this time, we invested in bringing in new people, training and developing our existing staff and expanding our pro bono activities. We have a very diverse team, and I couldn’t be prouder of how we have worked together to help our clients.

Investment in IT and systems which supports efficiency and client service enabled Rosewood to continue almost unhindered during the lockdowns. It staff were able to overcome operational challenges, as they were already set up to work in the office or remotely.

“Family conflict rose during lockdown and some of the protective interventions we made have been hugely significant for our clients,” added Emma.

The law society’s chief executive, Helen Opie, commented: “It was wonderful to bring the legal community of Surrey together again at our gala dinner and presentations evening.

“We had more people than ever in attendance, more award nominations and our congratulations go to all of the category winners and of course Rosewood Solicitors.”