The Peak Costs brand has been a coming together of some of the best cost lawyers in the business. So much has gone into the merger of the Paramount Legal Costs and KE Costs teams. One thing that has been our priority from day one is putting people first. So, when it came to launching earlier this year, we brought our teams together to mark the start of something special. We made sure they feel part of the journey - how we got here and why, and where we’re going together. We introduced everyone to our brand-new concept: Peak Costs.
Our team day, or as we called it, the ‘All Together’ day, was one of the first opportunities team members from Paramount Legal Costs and KE Costs had to meet one another, face to face. Leading the day were Paramount’s Martin Walsh and Karl Robson, and KE’s Jon Powell and David Hughes, supported by Karen Walsh and Becky Fasting, our HR experts from Paramount and KE. Here’s what we got up to.
Come together. The perfect place
It was important to get away from our usual office locations in Carlisle and Liverpool, so Manchester was perfect, and the fantastic Fairfield Social Club really reflected the casual, friendly culture of both of our firms.
We’re not stuffy or corporate. It was important that the day really felt like us, how we do business and that it set just the right tone for two teams coming together as one.
The idea for the Altogether day was dreamt up by Jon as a way to not only bring both teams together but also to finally unveil the hard work that had been going on behind the scenes. We wanted everyone involved to bring the journey to life and reveal the new brand and ethos in a way that felt meaningful. It wasn’t about formal talks from the leadership team – we wanted it to feel inclusive, hands-on and fun.
What’s in a name?
The work on our new identity has been going on since early 2025, starting with the name (possibly one of the hardest secrets to keep as we counted down to the reveal). If you haven’t already spotted it, Peak is an amalgamation of the first two letters of both Paramount and KE Costs.
Obviously, the word Peak also speaks to pinnacles and mountains; great metaphors for the ambitious heights we are aiming to achieve by bringing the two businesses together. More importantly is our north star. It signifies the values and culture of both firms that have been strongly aligned from day one. We knew we shared the same vision. It’s an important symbol of the kind of clarity and direction our services offer to clients and the values that run through our business.
Introducing the Peak brand
It’s fair to say that we were all pretty nervous about revealing the brand. We’d spent so much time getting to grips with the look and feel, the logo, brand values, pillars, personality, key messages and more. Only the core team knew the name and had the branding. We had no idea how it would be received, how people would respond to it, and most importantly, whether or not they’d like it! Either way, the important thing was to share this journey with our people and get real, honest feedback from them. The day was all about inclusion, conversation and a chance to get to know each other better.
The brand reveal went better than any of us could have expected. The buzz in the room was palpable. The visual identity feels so ‘right’ for the new brand, but it’s also ambitious and shows the intent that we all have as we enter this new phase of our business.
Getting hands on…Merch!
Branded Merchandise can get people talking and really convey the personality of a brand, and we wanted the team’s involvement in choosing it. Ordering single-use plastics or merch that nobody needs, uses or asks for just doesn’t make sense. We put it to our people to find out what they really think. We were really keen to listen and understand our team’s thoughts on how our new firm would look and feel to everyone who interacts with us.
It also helps that one of the great things about the new visual identity is that it looks fantastic on branded items. And we had A LOT of items! Getting the whole team involved, we asked them to look at pick up and (in some cases) try on the branded items. The Oasis-style bucket hats were a particular winner (and very on-trend!).
You’ll have to watch this space to find out which items made the final list, but safe to say that Karl has been very busy in the meantime sourcing the most popular and well-received items. You might want to get in line.
Pathway to Peak
Once the merch fun and games finished up, it was time for press photography for the leadership team, then back into the main room and back on-stage for an important update from Karen and Becky, taking people through FAQs, HR key info and what happens next. As a team, we’ve been really keen to keep our people updated throughout the process. It’s important that we share as much information as possible at every stage. We wanted Karen and Becky to talk about their continuing roles supporting our teams as we transition into one business from two, and to share information on how our employees will be kept up to date at each stage.
Time to breathe…
Time to relax with some amazing Greek food, a few drinks and some brilliant live music. Thankfully, it was a steaming hot day, so we were able to enjoy lunch and drinks in the sunshine.
In some ways, this was the most important part of the day, as we started to see team members mingle and really get to know each other in a lovely, informal setting.
As a leadership team, it was also really nice for us all to take a pause and reflect on the many months’ hard work and dedication that brought us to the Altogether Day and to that first brand reveal.
Since then, we’ve launched the brand to the market, which has seen us achieve media coverage across the sector and the UK. Of course, the hard work continues behind closed doors, and we are excited for the final steps this autumn, which will see the Paramount and KE transition into Peak.
To follow our journey to Peak, please follow the Peak page on LinkedIn. And if you have any questions, please do get in touch.
