NIGEL Smith still recalls the 2007/2008 financial crisis with a shudder.

Confidence evaporated as TV screens filled with images of worried savers queuing outside branches of Northern Rock.

As the long-serving managing partner of Ellis Jones Solicitors, Mr Smith saw property transactions fall by 50 per cent overnight.

“It was sudden, dramatic and not a little scary,” he said.

Like many businesses, Ellis Jones had to react quickly. One office was closed and there were a small number of redundancies.

Ten years on, it has effectively doubled in size, with six offices on the south coast and in London.

Its latest branch, in Wimborne, opened in July. Overall staff numbers have increased to 140.

Residential conveyancing, previously a large chunk of turnover, now accounts for a smaller proportion. Instead, Ellis Jones has developed specialisms such as banking and finance litigation, where millions of pounds have been claimed for victims of mis-selling.

Mr Smith, 53, who joined in 1986 as a trainee and was made a partner six years later before becoming managing partner in 1999, says his 18 years at the helm have been something of a rollercoaster.

“I sleep well at night but I feel a great sense of responsibility to all our clients and everyone who works here,” he said.

“I enjoy seeing the bigger picture and also the entrepreneurial side of my job. I’m also proud at how we develop our talent.

“Five of our current 11 partners started as trainees, which I regard as a real achievement.”

Known as a straight-talker, Mr Smith, born and educated in Dorset, hit the headlines earlier this year after describing the Chancellor’s short-lived Budget proposal to increase National Insurance for the self-employed as a “kick in the teeth for owner managed businesses”.

As the current president of Bournemouth & District Law Society, he says he chooses his words carefully.

“If I think something is unfair, I’ll say so but I avoid taking a political stance,” he said.

“A little bit of straight-talking doesn’t do any harm on occasions, though,” he added.

He considers technology is one of the big challenges facing the legal sector, but also an opportunity.

Last year Ellis Jones became the first law firm in Dorset and Hampshire to offer the DocuSign electronic signature service.

As a result a process which could take weeks has been reduced to just hours.

Nigel said: “To think that back in 1986, it was acceptable to respond a letter within five working days.

“Now, rightly, clients expect emails to be dealt with in a matter of hours or even minutes.“As with all businesses, our challenge is to keep up with the expectation of our clients. We’re up for it.”