It was way back in the 80s when we first started working with the team that is now Edmonds Judd, so it’s not surprising they feel like part of the family.

We needed legal advice when we bought our first herd so contacted Malcolm Brown, who we knew through badminton. Since then the whole family has benefited from the guidance they give for all sorts of things, for personal or business decisions.

Ours is probably not a simple straightforward job as there’s a group of entities, with businesses, holding company, farm and family trusts. But with the different needs, Edmonds Judd is perfect for us as they have such a broad and knowledgeable team. They have the ability to draw off each other and specialists in certain areas.

Our kids now have their own dealings with Edmonds Judd and they treat them as individuals, not just children of clients. Should anything arise that is a conflict of interest within a with transaction, Edmonds Judd is always strongly ethical around not representing both parties.

We’re guided by what they tell us. We trust that they have the knowledge and that they’re up to date in these changing times with current law.

What’s also important for us is they work well alongside our accountant – they understand each other’s terms and what and why things need to be done.

The team there are fantastic about being responsive and you get a prompt answer to any question. They answer emails quickly and you feel like you have ready access – sometimes if you need an answer, you need it right now.

And that’s probably because we’ve built up that familiarity over the years, which is the key to our relationship with them. We know most of them outside of the business, which is the advantage of small town.

Over the years, we may have changed from one partner to another, such as when one has retired, but the transition has always been seamless.

It’s nice to have meetings in their new offices, face to face. There’s ample parking, and of course, the free coffee. (You smell it when you go into reception.)

Meetings are always reassuring and Mandy is really good at explaining the reason they do things in our terms. She has a good team under her, good legal execs and secretaries.

We feel like we’re in safe hands with the whole team.