When solicitor Alex Morris stepped in to help run his family’s care home during the pandemic, he didn’t expect to stay. Five years on, he’s still there — juggling legal deals and laundry systems, and proving that business acumen and frontline empathy aren’t mutually exclusive.

I’ve lived in Morley for years and must have driven past Alexander Care Home hundreds of times — a large house at the top of Churwell Hill that looks, from the road at least, like any number of converted Victorian buildings. I hadn’t thought much about it. Perhaps because, like many people, I’ve never really stopped to think about care homes at all.

Which is odd, considering I used to work for a stairlift manufacturer. I know from experience that older customers — particularly those over 80 — tend to be proud, vulnerable, and often wary of change. Supporting them takes skill, tact and a huge amount of patience.

But it wasn’t until I sat down with Alex Morris — solicitor, care home director, and, as I discovered, pragmatic idealist — that I realised how much more there is to modern residential care. What I found was a business that’s part family legacy, part personal mission, and fully focused on the future.

One Pandemic, Two Careers, and a Calling

When Alex Morris took over the running of Alexander Care Home, it wasn’t after years of succession planning. It was, as he puts it, “in the thick of it — during the pandemic.”

In 2020, as COVID-19 upended the care sector, Alex was able to combine the quieter period in his role in the Corporate & Commercial team at Blacks Solicitors in Leeds to support his parents, who had been running the home since 1995. “I was driving around West Yorkshire looking for medication. Washing up. Just helping wherever I could,” he told me.

It wasn’t what he’d trained for. After studying history at King’s College London, he qualified as a solicitor in 2019, following a training contract at Blacks and international experience in New York and Lyon. But when his parents — both in their seventies — found themselves at the sharp end of the pandemic, Alex didn’t hesitate.

He planned to step in temporarily, just long enough to help the business through the crisis. But something shifted. “I emotionally invested myself in the place,” he said. “I couldn’t walk away.”

Today, Alex divides his time between managing the care home and advising businesses through his corporate legal work — everything from restructures to shareholder agreements. It’s a dual role that might seem unusual, but he sees strong parallels between the two professions: both demand high standards, regulatory rigour, and the ability to support people through complex, often stressful situations. He’s now able to support Blacks clients with his care home expertise, too.

His legal training has also shaped how he leads. From navigating compliance issues to retaining international staff through visa sponsorship, he brings a structured, solutions-based approach to the day-to-day management of the home — informed by his experience in two highly regulated sectors.

Building a Business That Cares

From the outside, Alexander Care Home still looks like the Victorian house it once was. But inside, it’s evolving — both physically and culturally — under Alex’s leadership.

“When I came in, we were in survival mode,” he said. “But I quickly realised that if I wanted the team to keep doing the incredible work they were already doing, I had to give them the right environment.”

That meant investing in the basics. A new phone system freed up time for managers. Top-of-the-range washing machines resolved long-standing frustrations. Upgrades to gas mains, catering equipment, windows and Wi-Fi followed. “We’re not open 24/7,” Alex told me. “We’re open forever. The place has to work, every single day.”

Staff retention has long been a challenge across the sector, but Alexander Care Home bucks the trend. Out of a 60-strong team, more than a third have been there for over a decade. Several have stayed for more than 20 years.

That continuity, Alex believes, comes down to more than just wages or working conditions. He has introduced a new internal structure — a “Champions System” — that offers clearer career progression, recognising leadership potential across roles such as area champions, team leaders, and management trainees.

“There’s often a perception that care is low-skilled work,” he said. “But what I saw during the pandemic, and what I see every day, is highly skilled, deeply human, emotionally intelligent work. We should be proud of that.”

He’s also pragmatic about how to keep good people. Flexibility, fairness, and open conversations about progression are all part of the culture.

Future-Proofing with People at the Centre

With infrastructure stabilised and a settled team in place, Alex is now looking ahead. That includes adopting new technologies — but only those that serve a clear purpose.

“There’s a lot of tech in the sector right now, but not all of it makes sense. What we’re interested in is anything that frees up time for our carers to spend with residents. That’s the measure for us.”

He’s already introduced digital compliance and care management systems to reduce admin and is open to further innovation. But he’s cautious about jumping on trends. When he visited a smart-home prototype at a care industry event, he found it impressive — but not necessarily right for Alexander just yet.

“We don’t want robots doing the emotional labour. That’s not what care is. These are the times in people’s lives when human connection matters most.”

His vision for the home is ambitious but rooted in realism: to make Alexander the best place to work — and the best place to live — in the city. But he’s also aware that for many families, moving a loved one into care still feels like a last resort.

“We want to change that conversation,” he said. “We offer trial stays, lunch visits, and service-user guides because we want people to feel like they’re choosing care, not being forced into it.”

It’s a mindset that’s grounded in respect — for residents, for families, and for the seriousness of the decision. He compared it to making any other large, considered purchase that requires careful thought.

“If you make a significant financial investment, you expect to be treated with time, courtesy and professionalism. Why should care be any different?”

This speaks to the shift Alex is trying to lead — not just at Alexander, but in how the sector presents itself to the public.

“We’re transparent about fees. We encourage people to visit other homes. It’s about helping them make the right decision, not selling something.”

The Value of Wearing Both Hats

Before I left, Alex told me about a recent phone call from a prospective client’s son who’d visited the home. He’d spent time with one of the managers and rang afterwards to offer praise — not just for the care, but for the time taken, the calm environment, and the clear explanations. It was a long call. And a meaningful one.

“I rang the manager straight afterwards to tell her,” Alex said. “It made my day. Hopefully it made hers too.”

That sort of exchange might seem small. But in a sector where service quality is everything — and often taken for granted — it represents something larger. The emotional intelligence needed to build trust. The operational foresight needed to remove friction. And the systems that allow both to happen consistently, not occasionally.

What struck me most, sitting in Alex’s office that day, was how deeply those two mindsets — legal and caring — are embedded in how he runs the business. He talks about dignity with the same fluency as he talks about contracts. He knows how to make a spreadsheet balance and how to create a culture where someone picks up the phone and says thank you — without being asked.

Many care homes are led by people who’ve come up through the sector, learning by doing. Others are owned by investment groups who operate at a distance. Alex sits somewhere in between: a professional outsider who became an insider during one of the hardest chapters in the sector’s history — and stayed, because he saw something worth building.

At first, he stepped in to help. Now, he’s rebuilding a business that knows the regulations but refuses to be ruled by them. That respects financial discipline but centres people. That blends the language of corporate law with the messiness of human need.

And maybe that’s what the future of care — and leadership — really looks like: someone who knows how to wear both hats, and when to take them off.