Why become a consultant solicitor? Freedom
Change your life today
Why choose Setfords?
- The largest and most established fee-share firm in the UK
- National network of 400+ lawyers
- Comprehensive support structure of 130+ expert staff
- In-house new business team
Setfords is a The Lawyer UK Top 100 firm
We are one of The Lawyer UK Top 100, following a 90% increase in revenue in FY2021 to £34.09m. We are now the fastest organically growing firm in the UK.
The benefits of being a consultant lawyer with Setfords
Unlimited earning potential
Set your own work-life balance
Work from anywhere
130-strong expert support team
Nationwide network of 400+ lawyers
A dedicated business development team
Bill £160k
Earn £100k
Bill £290k
Earn £200k
Bill £413k
Earn £300k
How much can you earn as a consultant solicitor?
At a traditional firm you might expect to take home a third of your billings. At Setfords it can be up to 80%. Here you earn what you deserve.
Frequently asked questions
When you move away from the traditional law firm model, getting new work can seem daunting at first. But don’t worry, we’ve helped many people manage this change and we’re here to help. To begin with, your clients may well follow you – they value continuity and anticipate even better service – which means you can hit the ground running. However, this isn’t always the case so, unlike other consultancy firms, we invest heavily in generating leads for you. Our business development and marketing teams have referred millions of pounds of business for our lawyers.
Our fee structure reflects your achievements. The more you bill, the more you earn. 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.
We’ve spent more than ten years perfecting our support system and we believe it’s the best in the industry. So you can focus on your clients, knowing that everything else is taken care of, including:
- Business development and marketing
- Admin, secretarial and compliance
- Management and legal support
- Technical and IT
Many of our new consultants worry that they’ll feel cut off from colleagues, especially to begin with. At Setfords we make sure this doesn’t happen by fostering a cohesive internal network. This provides many opportunities to cross-refer work and collaborate on larger projects.
Becoming a consultant lawyer gives you amazing freedom and flexibility, including when and where you work. You can be based at home, at one of our offices, at your own office in the UK, or even your holiday home. Most of our consultants choose to work primarily from home, but it all depends on what’s best for you and your clients. Whatever you choose, you won’t have to relocate. We need consultants all over England and Wales.
This is a common concern among new consultants, so we have a simple structure. We pay our lawyer once the client has paid us. We don’t limit how often you can invoice us for your share of the fees.
If you think the life of a consultant solicitor is for you, let’s talk. You’ll need to be a UK-qualified lawyer with more than five years’ post-qualified experience. We’re also looking for lawyers with:
- A business plan
- An entrepreneurial spirit
- A dedication to building your network
With these attributes, you’re well on the way to becoming a successful consultant.
Yes, we are still taking on new consultants, in fact we are taking on more than ever, as more people realise the benefits of working from home. 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 of our office-based staff are now working from home, but they have everything they need to keep supporting our lawyers.
We upload all incoming mail to our case management system.
We can send most legal documentation via email. The small team still at our head office can send any essential documents by mail.
We use an electronic signature service.
Our wellbeing programme helps people manage their new working environment and deliver the same high level of service to their clients.
Join our national network
Why choose Setfords for consultancy?
If you're reading this, you're probably thinking seriously about becoming a consultant, but why choose Setfords? Well, we believe we're different from the rest.
First, we're experienced. We were founded in 2006 and are now one of the largest fee-share firms in the UK.
However, it's our support structure that really sets us apart. Many firms that claim to do the same as us in fact offer the bare minimum of support. Aside from basic admin and accounts, consultants are left to their own devices and are responsible for generating their own work.
At Setfords, we invest heavily in lead generation to help our consultants get new business. Our business development and marketing teams generate millions of pounds worth of business for our consultant solicitors every year.
What’s next?
If you think consultancy is for you and are wondering about the next steps, let’s talk. Whether you want to make a move now, in six months, or just consider it in the longer term, why not get in touch to find out more?
What our consultants say
Nigel Cragg
Consultant & Head of Personal Injury
I wanted a greater work-life balance and a shorter commute. Consultancy at Setfords offered that.
David Taylor
Consultant (Residential Property)
After six years of this way of working it’s easy to take it for granted. It has changed my life.
Anne Thomas
Consultant (Family Law)
It has removed a lot of stress from my life basically. No commuting, more flexibility, more time with my children.
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