Which Firm can provide a Leading Consultant Solicitors Programme?

ANTONY JAGGARD >

Director

This spring we’re raising awareness of what it means to be engaged as a consultant solicitor with Taylor Rose TTKW.

If you have worked in any aspect of law, have more than four years experience, and you’re already thinking about making the shift from working for a firm to being your own boss, then we want to meet you.

Maybe you have a young family and you’re worried you’re not going to be able to be there when they come home from school, or able to cheer them on at sports day. Or perhaps you’re a seasoned lawyer, who would like to enjoy the benefits of working fewer days each week so you can have more leisure time. Perhaps being able to work from home or avoiding rush hours or late office working hours.

Whatever the reason, at Taylor Rose TTKW our consultant solicitors reap the benefits of running their own diary, have the choice of working from home or from one of our offices, while earning the generous portion of the fee split, and making the most of a healthy work and lifestyle balance.

To find out more about Taylor Rose TTKW Consultants Programme, we asked Director Antony Jaggard to tell us what he’s looking for in a great consultant solicitor.
 

Leading consultants programme 

Is making the shift from working for a firm to being your own boss, something you’d love to do, but worried about taking the plunge.

In this series of articles by Director Antony Jaggard, he discusses why an entrepreneurial mindset brought about a different business approach for the firm and why the company wants to partner with lawyers who are looking for a different way of working. He explores the behaviours, habits and experience he looks for when choosing to work with a potential new consultants and offers some top tips about making the transition from employed to consultant status.
 

Antony Jaggard - an entrepreneurial mindset

How our business unfolded

My brother Adrian and I started out as Law Cost Draftsmen. We’ve always had an entrepreneurial nature and found out early that we both enjoyed working in the legal environment. Early on we both felt comfortable working in the business-to-business environment where there are strict service levels and processes that we could create around the requirements of our clients. 

In the late nineties, we started a company called Jaggards and it quickly became one of the biggest cost companies in the UK, serving many of the big UK insurers.

However, from an early stage we always knew there was a cloud on the horizon in the form of ‘fixed fees’ being applied to the market, we had to diversify to survive. 

I took a year out to complete my full-time conversion degree. I then did my LPC and took a contract with a local firm called Carters before joining the firm. That’s when Taylor Rose was born and we’ve gone from strength to strength ever since.

When we started Taylor Rose TTKW, I worked primarily in property. I’d definitely say my strength lies in building departments, I believe we are now one of the top 10 property firms in the UK. Around 3 years ago we started working with a couple of consultants which went very well for all of us. It was then agreed about 18 months that I would move over to this area of the business to create a strategy with the Board and Judge Business School and I have been implementing this ever since.
 

Branching out

The first consultant solicitor we worked with was Felicity Marsden. She was head of a property team in a well-established firm of solicitors in Cumbria. However the owner had died under tragic circumstances, and the team was looking to join another firm.

“Two of our consultant solicitors are now partners in the firm”

Felicity had her contacts and her team, what she needed was our support, so they came on board and used our processes, accreditations, and the systems we’d developed, and that was the beginning.

Now Felicity is a partner in our firm - one of two consultant solicitors we have made partner since setting up this side of our business. 
 

Why we want to work with great lawyers

Our consultancy programme is a win-win-win scenario for the client, the solicitor, and the firm.

It’s allowing us access to amazing lawyers who are no longer interested in the employee type of relationship anymore. Client loyalty is often with the solicitor themselves, rather than the law firm, so a good lawyer will always attract good clients. They will always have work because they are known to be good in their particular area. So it makes sense to work with experienced professional lawyers who have a strong following.

Working with us is great for them because they have that perfect work-life balance, they have our back office support, which they would have had anyway in an employed role, and get to retain 60 or 70% of everything they bill, as opposed to the traditional one-third rule.

It’s good for the client too because they can continue their ongoing relationship with their solicitor, in the knowledge that they have the backing of a well-established firm behind them.
 

We’ve moved away from the traditional partnership model 

Law firms traditionally operate under partnership models - the trouble with that is when everyone buys into the firm, you serve your time whether you are there for 10 years or 20 years. Then when you leave, you take your proportion of assets back out. However within that model, there will be solicitors working in some of the more profitable areas, and some in unprofitable areas, however, many all take out equal shares. Or some partners may be close to retirement and are not interested in developing the business, and this can create a negative environment.

Within our model, experienced professionals can choose a different way to work autonomously, on their own terms and be rewarded in a way that doesn’t impact the business.  

Right now there are solicitors working all the hours. Standing four deep in train and tube carriages at first light, struggling to get to the office on time and then working late into the night. Many wishing there was another way to earn a living - but can't see a way out. Many would love to set up their own firm, but in reality, this isn’t always feasible. Not every solicitor makes a great consultant, and not every solicitor wants to strike out on their own either - but some do - and we have a great model and a fantastic opportunity to offer them. 

I rarely see consultants go back to employment and in the next five to 10 years I believe there will be more solicitors choosing to work this way - and I think it will be absolutely booming!
 

Working as a Taylor Rose TTKW consultant

As a consultant solicitor working at Taylor Rose TTKW you can work from home or make use of our office space and facilities - it’s your choice. Here are some of the benefits you could enjoy:

• Independence - but with added protection, including professional indemnity insurance for peace of mind
• Operate under the endorsement of a well-respected firm that lends credibility to your practice
• Decide which fee split suits you best according to your work and lifestyle balance, either 60-40 or 70-30 
• Benefit from being part of a growing community of consultant solicitors
• Enjoy social events where you can network with colleagues, get up to speed with industry updates and training
• Have access to our Support Motivate and Lead programme

Click here to learn more about our consultants programme and how it can work for you.

Alternatively, if you have any questions about anything mentioned above or would like to talk to someone regarding the programme you can get in touch directly with our Consultant Liaison team.

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