Why Work for Thornton Jones

We are a thriving and fast-growing firm based entirely in Yorkshire and we are proud to all be Yorkshire born and bred! Thornton Jones Solicitors has enjoyed significant growth over the last 2 years, increasing our team from 24 members pre pandemic to 48 today!

Growth doesn't stop at the recruiting of new team members though. With the opening of a new branch in April 2021, we are a firm with a high-street presence in Wakefield, Ossett, Garforth, and most recently, Sherburn in Elmet.

We are most definitely a 'high street firm' and we never want to change from being so, and we have big ambitions to spread our Thornton Jones ethos throughout Yorkshire. At the heart of everything we do are our people. We believe that every member of staff plays a vital role in the firm ind its success and that if our team members feel fulfilled and supported then they will look after our clients in the same way.

This is not simply 'fluff', it forms the basis of everything we do. We prioritise staff wellbeing and training, and our meeting core values of “A Passion for Excellence”, “Trust” and “Community & Contentment" are achieved primarily thanks to all our team being actively involved in decision making.

Our HAPPY Pledge

In 2021 we held an offsite away day where we discussed in detail, with every single member of staff, what promises we can make to our clients and how our clients can measure our quality of service. HAPPY was not a top-down directive, it was the creation of the team, and as such, every member of the team is fully on-board with the pledge.

HAPPY stands for Honesty, Approachable, Professional, Proactive, and You come first. Rather self-explanatory terms, but extremely powerful when in the hands of committed and passionate people. It has led to us producing postcards with a photo of the person handling a case along with their assistant and both personally sign each postcard to confirm their commitment to making the client HAPPY.  It has proven to be a popular initiative for our clients who feel an affinity with the people helping them with their legal needs.

Our commitment to delivering excellent service has resulted in an explosion of fantastic feedback being left on many platforms, from Facebook and Google to ReviewSolicitors. Our ability to deliver on our HAPPY pledge has resulted in a feedback rating on ReviewSolicitors of 4.9/5 (out of 289 reviews so far!) and with comments like “The service, efficiency, professionalism and enthusiasm has always been of a top level” and “We felt that we were valued as customers and always dealt with promptly”, we know that our entire team’s focus is firmly on ensuring that our clients are HAPPY.

Our Monthly Values Award

Another way in which we ensure our staff are motivated and feel part of the Thornton Jones family is through our monthly Values Awards.  Each month everyone votes for someone who has demonstrated a commitment to our core values and then our Managing Director picks a worthy winner. The winner receives a coveted trophy which they get to proudly display on their desk for the month and a shopping voucher to treat themselves. More importantly though, they also get to see what their colleagues have said about them in their nominations. We also publish all of the nominations submitted so that everyone can celebrate the continued efforts of th entire team.

How we prioritise Wellbeing

We have a strong wellbeing focus with initiatives such as random acts of kindness, motivational mornings, and celebrations of 'national days'.  An example of this, is for the 'National day of Happiness', every member of staff was given an hour during work time to do what makes them happy. For some people it was an extra hour in bed, for others it was going out with a colleague for a coffee and a catch up, and for others it was an hour walking with their pets. Small things, but they all help to build the fantastic culture we have at Thornton Jones.

Training and Development

We have a proven track record of supporting our team to develop within their role (through mentoring, on-the-job training, and more formal education) as well as supporting our team to further their career so that they can move up the career ladder. We are passionate about helping and supporting our team further their career and are proud to have been (and continue to be) a fundamental part of some of our lawyer's journey.

Our commitment to our Community

As a small high street firm we believe firmly in being part of our local communities. It is how we build connections with the places where we do business. An important part of this is through our charity work. Our Charity Committee is run by some of our staff and each year everyone votes for who they would like to make our charity of the year. in 2021 it was The Richmond Fellowship, and in 2022 it is The Children's Ward at Pinderfields Hospital (Wakefield). We hold events throughout the year to raise much needed funds for the charities and have climbed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and hiked a 20 mile route between all four of our offices. 

We are also a dedicated clothing drop off point for the Clothing Bank in Knottingley whose aim is “to stop clothing poverty in our communities”. People drop off their unwanted clothes, and then once a week we deliver them to the clothing bank for them to pass onto those who are struggling to afford everyday clothing. Another really worthy cause.

Our Environmental Mission

We are passionate about reducing our carbon footprint. Our Eco Group who meet monthly has come up with so many great ideas and lots have already implemented. One being our reusable and fully recyclable business cards, which are made from 100% recycled card, printed with vegetable ink, and which open up into a bookmark. We have a strong focus on recycling and limiting our energy consumption and with flexible working, we are able to limit the fuel used by our team when travelling into the office. We have bigger plans to come too including installing charging points for electric cars and possibly solar power, so watch this space!

A Group of Everyone

Whatever your interest, we're sure we have a group just for you. We have gardening club whose focus is on ensuring our our door space is tidy and looking good with flowers and shrubs, and we have a menopause group which aims to allow the entire firm to fully appreciate what the menopause is and how it might affect an individual. These plus more, all make our staff feel that little bit better about their work.