Consultant or platform law firms continue to grow with 4000 lawyers reported to be operating under the fee sharing model in England and Wales according to the latest insight. Despite it remaining a small fraction of the overall legal market; the sector is growing and developing into new areas of law according to a new report from Codex Edge.
The Platform Firms Mid Year Report 2024 is the latest update following reports in 2022 and 2023 which looks into the growth, headcount, expertise and retention rates across platform or consultant legal service providers with fee sharing models.
Previous reports have identified Setfords and Taylor Rose have led the way in the sector. In this half year insight, covering January 2024-June 2024, across firms with 50 lawyers or more Setfords, Taylor Rose, Keystone Law and Gunnercooke dominate with over 2000 lawyers between them; followed by Spencer West (262), Excello Law (180) and Nexa Law (136) in the next ‘tier’. Competition is building between consultant firms with McCarthy Denning and Bexley Beaumont both increasing their headcount in the first half of 2024; indeed Bexley Beaumont (13.1%) are second only to Mezzle (13.6%) in their growth over the past six months.
Setfords lead the way in absolute numbers, increasing their headcount by twice as many lawyers (53) as Keystone Law (21). In total the top 10 consultant platform firms recruited 246 lawyers between them. By contrast the top 10 “traditional” firms recruited 355 lawyers over the same period.
While recruitment to consultancy model employment is drawn from across legal services – with a concentration of recruits from sub-Legal 500 firms- as competition between platform firms increases there is movement between the providers. The report shows a combined over 500 lawyers joined from or left for other platform providers. And some of the providers are getting it right with 97%+ retention rates at firms McCarthy Denning, Excello Law and Gunnercooke.
On the popularity of fee sharing models, Chief Operating Office of consultancy-style firm Nexa Law John McAuley said:
“It’s unsurprising to see the growth of this new model law firm given the flexibility and earning benefits provided to lawyers. The market is becoming very competitive for talent, and every firm is has a slightly different approach, which is really beneficial for those looking to make the move. Having a choice of structure – from fees, compliance, support, and tech systems – means it’s an even more attractive option for those considering a change to consultancy. It’s extremely rare to see consultants jumping back into the traditional model once they’ve taken the leap and gained confidence in building their own customer base.”
The expertise held in Consultant firms continues to expand with Business Litigation, Consumer Law and Torts among the fastest growing skills in the sector. Commenting on the progress of the sector, Chris Hume, CEO of Codex Edge, the report’s authors, said
“The sector continues to grow and evolve at pace, and as it matures we are seeing an increasing segmentation and differentiation in offering. The findings in this report clearly demonstrate that the platform model continues to thrive and is an increasingly significant part of the UK legal landscape.”
Commenting on the success of the model to date, Michael Burne of Carbon Law Partners added
“The profession, I think, is searching for alternative models in which lawyers can deliver that professional input as a human being to another human being”
Karen Bexley of Bexley Beaumont said
“People want to feel empowered, they want control of their careers and a fee share environment gives them that control”
Platform Firms Mid Year Report 2024 can be read in full here.
6 responses
It is interesting to see how matters develop. I know several people who have crossed over thinking they are going to make double or treble their standard salary but have failed quite quickly to even cover their expenses let alone pay their mortgages and bills. Some have made a great success of it because they have a good following. But there will come a point where people hit trouble; What happens if a mistake is made and they are personally liable for the insurance excess or worse, what happens if there is not enough work to go around, what happens if they become ill/pregnant etc. where are the benefits? Job security is massively underrated.
Let us not forget, these consultant schemes originated because firms found a way to have these people work for them and earn money but they did not have to be responsible for NI, Tax, Pensions, Sick Pay, Mat Pay etc. They are very good and explaining that the advantages but the benefits of working in a firm are huge and lost very quickly.
I for one do not think that the Law Society is monitoring this situation at all. I think the risks are heightened and they are effectively letting the consultants and the firms self regulate.
One SRA consultant firm in particular which shall remain nameless has clearly switched their pricing factory to become effectively a factory conveyancing service. The bills I see are extortionate and the extra fees they are charging are outrageous. Clearly they have got themselves into bed with agents paying huge referral fees. But, the consultants are personally benefiting from these costs and extra fees. How is that ethical?
It is clearly the in thing at the moment that I think will change and some people will switch back to job security and when the SRA decides to wake up and regulate.
It’s incredibly disheartening to see how some consultant law firms (a Guildford based law firm in particular) operate more like a “conveyancing factory” than a professional legal service. Instead of focusing on quality service, they prioritise profit by flooding the firm with as many consultants as possible, many of whom are insufficiently vetted. It seems the main goal isn’t the client’s best interest but maximizing profits for the top executives—while burying any criticisms under deleted negative reviews. This not only misleads potential clients but erodes the public’s trust in the entire legal industry.
The aggressive fee structures and excessive add-ons create an impression of unethical practices, with consultants and agents personally benefiting from these inflated costs. In the long run, this harms the reputation of diligent, ethical lawyers who truly prioritize their clients’ needs. Genuine legal professionals deserve a platform built on trust, not one tarnished by exploitative, factory-style operations. This trend is dangerous for the industry, as it risks damaging public trust in a field that should uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
I agree with the first sentence however, I do believe the Guildford firm only take on qualified staff? For me that’s far better than another firm who continues to buy up failing firms taking on unqualified staff as consultants which for me is a hugely dangerous practice. That said firm has the audacity to call themselves a Leading Law Firm when all they have done is ridden off other people’s coat tails since inception.
The second sentence I completely agree with this. However, the Law Society is seemingly only interest in keeping estate agents happy at the moment so I do not expect any exploitative practice to end.
I must say the proliferation of these consultants does seem to be increasing. And it is very bad for the conveyancing profession, since I have yet to come across one who is actually very good. I dare say there are a handful who are, but on the whole I get the impression from dealing with them most like to have a few files to work on because they are simply not good enough conveyancers to be working somewhere where they are targeted and have to bill highly. You can never get hold of them either, most seem to work a few hours a week and spend the rest of the time telling everyone on social media what a great life they have. Try telling that to clients in a chain with them who get to move very slowly because of the problems created by them.
Another bad outcome from the Legal Services Act. And it is an elephant in the room as conveyancing moves forward – the more and more conveyancers who go with the consultant life, the greater the delays we can expect to the moving process, and the less training will be given to newcomers to the profession as too many people will be sitting at home to actually spend time in the office training staff.
As usual the Law Society (indeed a lot of people) seem blind to the consequences. Maybe when the system breaks completely someone might realise where it all went wrong.
I agree wholeheartedly with Anonymous and Mr Weeks. My experience working widely with the Guildford firm is that there are many lawyers who may be qualified (many are not!) but so junior that they make simple mistakes and do not have the support they need to be devoted and dedicated lawyers. As Mr Weeks says – it is damaging the conveyancing profession. I believe many of these firms i.e. the biggest profess to work across a wide range of practice areas but in reality they are mere conveyancing factories. The Law Society needs to regulate them far better.
I read a very good book on consultancy from an ex consultant who then exited the model to set up her own firm. It is by Kezia Abrahams and is called The CONsultancy. It gives a warts and all account of life as a consultant which is not apparently the life of Riley it is portrayed as being on social media. For example these consultants don’t get a break unless they pay locum rates to have their work covered, and even if they can afford to do that, such is the competition between consultants they worry about losing their clients. So the solution is to take their laptops on holiday with them! The only people benefitting from consultancy are the (mostly) avaricious consultancy firm owners. They buy off negligent claims and silence the critics. Look at that cyber event last year, two massive consultancy firms were involved because they were too mean to be fully cloud based but not a word from the regulators. The law society needs to wake up and have a real look at what is happening to this profession right under their noses!