Local legal crew teams up with HGTV celeb

A Chatham-Kent law firm has a celebrity in its corner.

Anderson Law Group is now a member of the Trusted Professional Program through HGTV’s high-profile property renovator Scott McGillivray.

Anderson boss Lindsey Anderson said the McGillivray actually approached them about being named a Trusted Professional on his website.

She was caught off guard initially.

“I was a little concerned it was legit when we were contacted,” she said with a laugh. “But he has a team that works for him managing his program. They asked if it was something we would be interested in.”

Anderson said the McGillivray team researches any potential professionals, and they did their due diligence in investigating Anderson Law and its trio of lawyers, Anderson, Jeff Wesley and Jocelyn Kraayenbrink.

Anderson said being named as a trusted professional is good for the firm, as well as Chatham-Kent.

“It’s prestigious, but we had to look at if we wanted to be involved,” she said “It wasn’t just a positive for us, but it was a positive for the community. It really gets Chatham-Kent on the map. There are good things going on here. This is a good place to be.”

Wesley, who happens to be Anderson’s father, agreed.

“When we get a higher profile, we all benefit (local realtors, businesses, etc.) because we are also promoting Chatham-Kent outside of our community. Even Scott, when we met, was asking us about investment opportunities in Chatham-Kent,” Wesley said. “How many more who view his website or through his word of mouth will do likewise?”

Kraayenbrink’s legal wheelhouse is wills and estate law. However, she recognizes the recognition the Trusted Professional tag delivers.

“Lindsey, Jeff and I, we don’t make a big deal about what we do,” she explained. “We all try really hard to be people our clients feel are accessible. We do a good, solid job every day. To be recognized was very affirming.”

The trio travelled to Toronto to meet with McGillivray and his team, and came home impressed.

“We had a chance to chat with Scott. He’s very nice, very personable and very friendly. We had a good chat about the real estate market in our area,” Anderson said.

Kraayenbrink said his staff were a treat to work with as well.