When Frederick William Turton established FW Turton & Co in 1911, he could not have imagined that one hundred years later the commercial law firm would still be populated by two of his direct descendants.

Greg Henry, Turton's great-grandson, is now the firm's principal and works alongside his father, Bill.

And while Henry is extremely proud of the fact his family has been an integral and continuous feature of a business which has remained successful for so long, he is quick to point out that family traditions have not stood in the way of innovation and the desire to take a modern approach to providing legal services.

The firm has recently demonstrated this by conducting a strategic overhaul of its image, a re-articulation of its capabilities, and by implementing a unique billing model.

"We went through a strategic review process and were looking at what we might do, or how we might do things better," he says.

"We were quite convinced that, in terms of the kind of work we do and the type of clients we act for, we actually deliver better value than a lot of our competitors."

But the problem, says Henry, was figuring out how to relay that message to potential clients. Part of the solution was to reinvent the way in which they bill, which has caught the attention of clients, both current and future, and industry peers.

As Henry explains, the concept is quite simple. "A client can decide how much to pay after we have done the work for them," he says.

Before the initiative was launched, Henry tested the idea with some key clients.

"They were all quite enthused by it," he says. "It raised a lot of eyebrows, and that has been a lot of fun."

The new system has been in place for seven months now, and in that time the firm has actually increased cash flow, disproving some of the model's critics.

"There have been a lot of people … curious about it. Someone predicted that we'd go broke within a couple of months of doing it," he laughs.

The success of the billing model is just part of what Henry believes makes the firm stand out. Another key factor is the firm's modest size, which he says works not only for clients, but also for staff.

"At university, I looked at clerkships and I worked at a large firm for while," he says.

"Looking at what that had to offer versus what life was like in a smaller environment, I chose the smaller environment. [Amongst] the people that I went to law school with, the attrition rates are huge. There is such a massive attraction for people coming out of law school to go to the big firms, because they have such a strong presence in the marketplace. They're an obvious choice, but the [rate of] burn-outs [is] just unbelievable."

It is for this reason that, although the firm is currently recruiting partners, Henry will be careful to retain the firm's boutique feel.

"I have no intention of making this firm the 'next big thing'," he says. "Being small is an environment we all really like. There's no politics, you don't have imposing budgets, you're not working ridiculous hours and you have such a fantastic relationship with your clients … we are being careful to make sure we don't lose that."

Claire Chaffey

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