Setfords Solicitors is among the fastest growing businesses in the UK and it is one that is bringing seismic disruption to the law’s traditional partnership model with its fee-sharing promise. The firm is the brainchild of Guy Setford and his cousin Chris, who have together popularised the fee-sharing model so it is now seen among lawyers as a credible alternative to the traditional career path.
There’s no doubt that Guy has been vital for the success of Setfords, helping to amplify and reinforce its brand message of promising autonomy and greater choice for the lawyers who work there. Setfords deflected competition from Keystone and gunnercooke last year to become the largest platform firm with 429 lawyers in September. This makes it one of the fastest organic growers in The Lawyer UK200 with revenues of £42.5m in 2021/22, which represents two-year growth of 141.4 per cent since 2020 (2020 revenue: £17.6m).
Setford is natural disruptor who had a genuine desire to improve the working lives of his peers. It is this authenticity that will help Setfords achieve its ambition of having 1,000 lawyers on the books within the next five years, making it a serious competitor when it comes to people.