When lockdown hit back in 2020, many lawyers were forced to reassess how and where they worked. For many, including Consultant Conveyancing Solicitor Laura Grounds, it was a major turning point and what sparked her decision to join Setfords.
We spoke to her about how she’s built a thriving practice, created stronger client relationships, and reignited her passion for law with Setfords’ support behind her.
Finding freedom
Laura’s Setfords journey began during lockdown. She reflects:
“I had looked into Setfords before, but what really pushed me to look into it seriously was when lockdown happened. I was working for traditional high street law firm, and as soon as lockdown was lifted they were like, “Okay, everybody back in the office full-time.” And I started thinking, I kind of don’t want to do that. I’m enjoying working from home, and I’m so much more efficient doing this.”
Then, Laura’s reflection became action. She started seriously researching remote working options for solicitors. Like many considering consultancy, her biggest concern was whether she’d find enough work. However, that fear soon faded as Laura realised it was easier than she thought to build a practice with us:
“To be honest, it was better than I thought. I had a few estate agents who referred work to me at my previous place. I had a chat with them and asked if they would keep sending me work if I moved and went self-employed—and they said yes.
At first, I also booked some locum roles just in case, but very quickly I found I had enough work at Setfords to not need the locum stuff.
I also relied on business development a little bit at the beginning, but now it’s all word of mouth and recommendations.”
A better experience for clients
With so much of her work coming from word of mouth recommendations, it’s vital for Laura to provide an excellent service to every client to keep a steady flow of new business. The Setfords model also makes this easier by taking the pressure of billing targets off and allowing Laura to dedicate more time to what she does best:
“When I was working in a traditional firm, success was a lot about promotions and getting to partner level. Nowadays I just focus on the law stuff and have a really good work-life balance. That to me is more success than being made a partner.
What I like now is I can really focus on what I actually enjoy, which is dealing with the clients, giving the legal advice, and not have to worry about the rest.
To be honest, this means that I have a little bit more of a casual relationship with my clients than I probably did before, because I can say to them, “Okay, I work from home, so if you need a phone call out of normal office hours then that’s fine.”
But also, I can say to them, “Hey, I’m not going to be available this afternoon, I’ve got a doctor’s appointment, or I’m taking my dog to the vet.” And they are fine with it because they have lives as well. And I think it’s quite nice for them sometimes to see that their solicitor is a human who also has stuff to do.”
A rewarding outcome
Laura reaps the rewards of putting so much effort into her clients – and not just the financial perks of keeping more of her billings. She also gets to share in the big steps they take in their lives:
“The best thing is when you are phoning someone, particularly if it’s a first-time buyer, to say, “We’re all completed, you can go and collect your keys,” and they’re so excited. I’ve had people scream down the phone at me and it’s just amazing.”
A culture of collaboration
However, we understand that it’s not all about the clients, and it’s important for our consultants to be happy in their roles too. Our culture is incredibly supportive, and our support teams are always on hand to make consultants’ lives easier in any way they can. From admin and secretarial support to marketing, business development, and even wellbeing, it’s all included in the fee split.
“What I love at Setfords is that the consultants are self-employed, working for themselves and doing their own thing, but there’s very much the idea that everyone’s a team. And if I ever have any questions about any legal points or stuff like that, there’s a load of people that have your back that you can ask.
We have a consultant mailing list and people email that all the time and say, “Hey, look, can I get a second opinion on this?” And as soon as you send out an email to the mailing list, you get like four replies from people who have all come across this before and can all help you out.”
The Setfords model is designed to empower consultants to build their business in the way that works for them. Whether it’s working part time to fit around other commitments, building a business with an entire team, or something in between, it’s possible with Setfords.
Laura has also been able to build her business to the point where she can employ her own assistant, alongside taking advantage of the internal support included in our fee split:
“I have my own assistant now, who does a lot of the admin work. So that would be opening new files, doing registrations, the Land Registry, ordering searches and that kind of thing, which frees me up to do the legal side of things—basically the reports and the enquiries and stuff.
But also, Setfords have their own in-house teams. They deal with all the post coming in, all the post going out, certificates of title and getting those signed off and things like that.
And, if you ever have any questions from a compliance point of view or if there’s a problem, you can just chat to the compliance team and they’ll help you out. There are so many teams at head office to support you.”
Finally, Laura’s parting reflection on her Setfords journey so far:
“You could not pay me enough to go back to working in an office full-time!”
Considering consultancy at Setfords for yourself? Whether you’re in it for better financial rewards, building your own business, work-life balance, serving clients better, or a combination, it’ll be a move you won’t regret. Join our collaborative network of 650+ lawyers, it all starts with a confidential conversation. Get in touch today.
