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Law firm partners looking to go it alone: have you considered Nexa?
According to The Legal Gazette, significant numbers of law firm partners are seriously considering leaving their current partnerships and setting up their own firms. This was the surprising finding in a survey of 200 partners by litigation funder, Harbour.
Given the current economic uncertainties, lawyers might be forgiven for battening down the hatches and staying put right now but, it seems the appetite for change hasn’t been dampened by the diet of financial doom and gloom we are all currently being fed.
So, what is fuelling, this desire to set up new law firms? The motivating factors cited by respondents to the survey are really interesting, it’s not just vanity that’s driving people!
- 38% cited an improved work-life balance as a motivating factor for setting up on their own.
- 44% said having their own firm would give them greater quality of work.
- 40% felt retaining a greater share of the profits for reinvestment would be a serious benefit of running their own firm.
Ellora MacPherson, chief investment officer at Harbour, said:
“Our survey shows a real appetite to break out of the traditional mould, not just amongst partners at the largest firms, but also smaller firms, and across the regions.”
Time to carpe diem?
The experience of working through the challenges of the pandemic and now having to weather the cost-of-living crisis (just over a third of partners in the survey said they were looking at reducing numbers of support staff and fee earners at their current firms) have understandably caused some people to reassess their professional and personal priorities.
Importantly, doing something different seems to have become less scary for many, including law firm partners, who are now “seizing the day”.
Out of the frying pan into the fire?
However, leaving one partnership, to set-up another seems a slightly strange response to the problem. Owning your own law firm might seem very attractive, but starting any business takes monumental effort and in the legal sector you also have to navigate substantial regulation and administrative matters before you can even take on your first client.
The frustrations of being a partner in a law firm can eventually take their toll, with so much time spent dealing with issues that don’t involve client work – it’s a massive responsibility to take on and the burdens really can feel overwhelming at times. While the desire for more freedom and flexibility is entirely understandable, we think there is an easier way for partners to achieve this.
Consultancy can give you the best of both
Nigel Clark, Nexa CEO, said:
“When solicitors become self-employed consultants at Nexa, we’ve already done all the hard work of setting up their business for them.
We manage all the legal regulation (including insurance) through our SRA regulated entity, we have an established and efficient support team delivering accounting, marketing and administrative functions and our existing community of high-quality, friendly professionals means there is always someone to work with, if you want to.
All our consultants have absolute freedom and flexibility to run their businesses how they wish, they work when and where they want and for whom they want. There are various opportunities to tap into different income streams at Nexa – the sky really is the limit for how much ambitious lawyers can earn here – our fee share is market leading.
Some of our consultants work under their own brands – there is no requirement to use the Nexa brand when dealing with your clients – although you are very welcome to!
In this way, consultant solicitors effectively run their own law firms on our platform – you can even employ your own teams directly if you wish. We believe this really does give people the best of both worlds.”
Want to find out more?
Our brief guide to building your own law firm sets out what’s on offer with Nexa in greater detail. Click here to find out more. Or see our recent blog: a brief guide to building your own law firm with Nexa. Check out our careers pages here or, have a look at our brochure. For a confidential, no obligation chat, contact David Roth.
–Nigel Clark, CEO