They believe in doing things differently at ‘challenger’ legal firm Keystone Law which claims it has been very much ‘business as usual’ during the health crisis.

Not surprising really when you look at the company’s website and you’re met with the message: ‘We believe in being different’. And the company also likes to use the words: ‘Law Set Free’ to describe itself.

The company is listed on the AIM market at the London Stock Exchange and often catches the eye of the financial pages of the national UK press.

Late last month the Telegraph urged investors to ‘stay on the right side of the law’ and praised the ‘challenger’ legal firm for adapting to new working conditions as most of its legal experts work remotely.

Keystone Law launched operations in the Isle of Man in 2016, with the opening of a new Isle of Man regulated law firm. In 2018 the firm was awarded Offshore Law Firm of the Year by the Legal 500.

Business News caught up with local managing director Geoff Kermeen and director Gillian Christian, both successful advocates in their own right.

Mrs Christian said: ‘For me it was business as usual. Lockdown actually did not affect our business at all to be honest.

‘One of the main things about Keystone is the amount of money they have ploughed into its systems and technology.

‘Its systems are such that we are all self sufficient so, yes, we have an office (in Athol Street, Douglas) but actually our systems are geared up so that we can work from home.

‘For me it was genuinely no different (during the lockdown), it was just nice that I did not have to come into Douglas to meet clients, I was doing video calls but again the company’s technology was such that it was already all in place.’

Geoff Kermeen said: ‘The key thing is that if you want to have any kind of remote working you have to have the right platform for people, that’s the starting point. All the rest of the discussion about remote working is based upon having the right platform in the first place. And for us it was very easy for us to flip over during the pandemic, and still is, for us here because we had that platform to start with.’

He added: ‘It’s all about having the right cloud based systems in place and having the right bespoke platform for the type of business you have.

Mr Kermeen said the only change for Keystone had been that the central support staff in London had gone to remote working during the lockdown.

‘The systems were already in place for the lawyers.’

Keystone Law has 12 advocates in the island and this is due to shortly go up by another two people to 14.

Mrs Christian said Keystone Law had very much set itself the goal of ‘doing something new’ and being the ‘new kids on the block’ when it arrived in the island.

She said: ‘Since we started we have nearly tripled both in terms of business and in our numbers of people.’

Mr Kermeen said that even this year business has been up ‘which is great news’.

He added: ‘Our business model is going to be the way forward.

‘Moving to lighter overheads and being more flexible and being able to roll with the punches of something like a global pandemic coming along is an important part of being a law firm in our opinion.’

Mrs Christian said Keystone in the island had not taken any financial assistance during the crisis.

Mr Kermeen told Business News: ‘The accusation, I suppose, that gets hurled at firms like Keystone, is that we are all a bunch of lone wolves who never talk to one another, stuck in our garden sheds trying to make as much money as we can for ourselves. But actually the key thing that Keystone has concentrated on from the beginning is fostering team work and everybody working collaboratively.

‘And a big part of that is having the right platform and the right IT tools to do that.’

Mr Kermeen believes the ‘big picture’ generally is that Covid has ‘accelerated a way of working and even though the Isle of Man is open in terms of how people work together this is the future. We at Keystone Law just got on the train a little earlier in allowing people to work collaboratively without having to be in an office for nine hours a day and to be seen sitting at a desk.’

Mrs Christian claimed Keystone lawyers were a lot more self sufficient and that made life in lockdown much easier.

The Isle of Man is a special place for Keystone Law’s chief executive James Knight, who is based in London.

He has family links with the island where he has lived previously.