Why become a consultant solicitor?
Freedom to decide your hours,
income and work-life balance
Why become a consultant solicitor at Setfords?
- The largest and most established fee-share firm in the UK
- 300+ national lawyer network
- Most comprehensive support structure with 100+ staff
- Millions in work generated in-house for our lawyers
- Market-leading tech platform
- Award-winning model
Setfords is a UK 200 firm
The firm has entered into the top 200 for the first time, after an impressive 63% rise in revenue in just two years. The firm received over a thousand applications from new lawyers interested in becoming a consultant solicitor in the last year alone.
The benefits of consultancy at Setfords
Uncapped
earning potential
Work-life balance determined by you
Work from
anywhere
Award-winning
100+ support staff
Choose your own
hours and clients
A national network
of 300+ lawyers
How much can I earn as a consultant solicitor?
Bill £160k
earn
£100k
Bill £290k
earn
£200k
Bill £413k
earn
£300k
Our fee structure is about honouring our commitment to you, giving you the rewards you deserve. At a traditional firm, you might expect to take home a third of your billings, but at Setfords, it can be up to 80%.
Salary calculator
A day in the life of a consultant lawyer at Setfords
Why become a consultant: frequently asked questions
Building a client base away from the traditional firm model can be daunting. But we are here to help you. Many lawyers who move from conventional firms find that their clients follow them. If you have built up good client relationships, this is a common occurrence, as clients can receive a better level of service. And, it allows you to hit the ground running and get started without having to worry about finding the initial clients. However, we know that this is not always the case. So, we invest heavily in lead generation activities for our consultants, unlike many other similar firms. Our award-winning marketing and business development teams have generated more than £3m of business for our lawyers in the last twelve months alone.
We have a pioneering fee structure that we designed to acknowledge your achievements as a consultant lawyer. We offer market-leading remuneration, and the more you bill, the greater the rewards. For example, once you bill more than £200,000, you can earn up to 80% of your billings. To get a clearer idea of how much you could be making at Setfords, use our salary calculator.
Why become a consultant at Setfords? We believe that our support structure is the best in the industry, offering you everything you need to thrive as a consultant lawyer. We have spent more than ten years perfecting the support we provide to suit the needs of each consultant. The result is our lawyers can focus on their clients, knowing that everything else is taken care of for them. Our support structure includes:
- Business Development & Marketing
- Admin, Secretarial & Compliance
- Management & Legal support
- Technical & IT
Many new consultants worry about feeling isolated and unsure of which direction to turn, especially when they first start. At Setfords, we don’t want this to be the case. And, we have a strong belief in our united internal network of lawyers to ensure this. Through this network, you will find many opportunities for cross-reference work and work on larger projects requiring multiple lawyers to share their expertise.
One of the most compelling arguments when it comes to why become a consultant lawyer is the freedom and flexibility that this way of life offers. This is true for your location. You can choose to work anywhere! You can become a consultant from home, one of the Setfords offices, your own office in the UK, or even your holiday home! Most of our consultants choose to work from home primarily, but it’s all about what works best for you and your clients. And you will not be required to relocate. We are searching for consultants from all over England and Wales.
If you think the life of a consultant solicitor is for you, then we want to talk to you! But what do you need? Beyond being a UK-qualified lawyer with more than five years of post qualified experience, we’re looking for lawyers with:
- A business plan
- An entrepreneurial spirit
- A dedication to building your network
These are the key to success as a consultant. From there, you can start to reap the benefits of working your way, on your own time, and however you feel the most comfortable.
Yes, we are still taking on new consultants. We are taking on more than ever! But why become a consultant during the pandemic? As more and more lawyers have realised the benefits of working from home, why not take it one step further and embrace a fully flexible way of work? Furthermore, remote working isn’t an issue for us, as we have spent more than ten years perfecting our remote working processes.
Yes. We can discuss consultancy over the phone or through video chat. Our IT department can set you up remotely, and we have an online induction programme which includes full training on all our systems. We can also sign agreements with electronic signatures.
- Most office-based staff are now working from home with all of the equipment they need to continue supporting our lawyers.
- We upload all incoming mail to our case management system.
- We can send most legal documentation via email. And, the small team still at Head Office can send any essential documents by mail.
- We have access to an electronic signature service, further reducing the need for clients to post documents.
- We have conference and video-calling facilities which allow us to hold online meetings and discussions.
- We have implemented a wellbeing programme to ensure our teams feel supported in their new working environment and continue to deliver the same high level of service to their clients.
This is a common concern that new consultants have, so we aim to simplify our payment structure. We pay our lawyer once the client has paid us, and we don’t limit how often you can invoice us for your share of the fees.
Join our national network
As a consultant solicitor at Setfords, you don’t have to manage teams, but you can be part of one. Our consultant solicitors have access to more than 300 other lawyers across multiple disciplines. This allows our consultants to serve their clients better because they can confidently cross-refer work to other highly talented lawyers. Our consultants also regularly work in teams to deliver pitches or handle large-scale projects.
Why choose Setfords for consultancy?
So, why become a consultant at Setfords? We believe that we have several features that set us apart from the rest. Established in 2006, we are now one of the largest fee-share firms in the UK. But, it’s our support structure where we really shine. Many similar firms only offer the bare minimum amount of support. Aside from the basics, consultants are left to generate their own work. At Setfords, we invest heavily in lead generation to help our consultants get new business. In the last twelve months alone, our business development and marketing teams have generated an additional £3m worth of business for our consultant solicitors.
What’s next?
Do you think that consultancy is for you? Wondering how to become a legal consultant? Then we want to talk to you! If you wish to make a move now, in six months, or even in years to come, you can still get in touch to find out more. We are happy to chat in more detail about how working as a consultant can work for you and answer any further questions you might have.
What our consultant solicitors say
“It’s great to see people coming on board and to see the excitement when they realise their lives are changing for the better.”
-Angie Dooling
“Proud to be part of such a wonderful firm. Cannot thank the support teams enough for all the work they do and cannot thank the rest of the teams who are always to hand to support you in whatever your need is.”
-Kiran Dhaliwal
“Since joining, I have been welcomed into a close-knit network of consultant lawyers based all over the country. It’s a great feeling being able to simply pick up the phone at any point during the day to mutually discuss your workload, details on cases or trade advice with like-minded professionals.”
-Jeffrey Gilbert
“I wish I had done this years ago. So happy working from home and cutting down travel and working in peace. I’m accessible over a longer period which is beneficial to clients and agents. The support staff are fantastic enabling us to provide a fast and efficient service. As it should be! Setfords were clearly set up for remote working and it is seamless regardless of COVID19. Very happy indeed.”
-Sue Cunningham-Sawyer
News and Blogs
Setfords shortlisted for The Law Society’s Medium Law Firm of The Year
Setfords is delighted to announce our nomination for the prestigious Medium Law Firm of the Year award at the 2021 Law Society Excellence Awards.
Lawyer Sarah Gillbe Celebrates 10 years as a Consultant Solicitor at Setfords
From struggling single mum to running her own office: Sarah Gillbe celebrates 10 successful years as a consultant solicitor at Setfords.
The rise and rise of the Consultant Solicitor
Firms of Consultant Lawyers are set to grab a much bigger slice of the legal cake, according to a recent news article. The report goes on to say that a third of the profession – around 50,000 solicitors – could be working in this way by 2026.
Take your first step today