Anne Thomas is a Senior Consultant Chartered Legal Executive. She specialises in financial remedies on divorce and child matters.
Anne joined Setfords in 2016 and marked 10 years with us in August 2026. We caught up with her to talk about juggling practice with a young family, where her first client came from, and why she now starts work at 6am.
Table of contents
- What made you leave traditional practice?
- What’s your favourite thing about the way you work now?
- What surprised you most about consultancy?
- What advice would you give someone considering the move to consultancy?
- Which Setfords support team could you not live without?
- Quickfire round
What made you leave traditional practice?
It was a combination of things. I had two young children at the time, and I was trying to juggle their needs with commuting and working in a traditional law firm where I had no real flexibility in my role. That was the main driver: I needed something more flexible that I could work around the children.
There were other factors too. I was driving about 40 minutes to work, and being based in the town where I lived would’ve made things much easier.
It was really about making my life more manageable. As any working parent knows, it’s hard to juggle a demanding job and children. Consultancy seemed to offer the solution.
What’s your favourite thing about the way you work now?
The flexibility. I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to take time off, and I’m not restricted to a set holiday allowance. I can operate how I want to operate.
There’s also no pressure of fee targets, which are the bane of most lawyers’ lives. It frees you up to focus on the work itself, without the fee, business development and marketing targets that lawyers in traditional practice are encumbered with.
“I needn’t have worried. I’ve been consistently busy ever since joining.”
What surprised you most about consultancy?
How busy I am.
In the early days, I worried about whether I’d have any work, where future work would come from, and whether I could generate it myself. When I joined in 2016, Setfords looked quite different. There was more onus on consultants to generate their own work, and we certainly didn’t have a business development team with its own systems.
My first case at Setfords came from my hairdresser. I mentioned what I was doing in conversation one day, and she asked if I could help her. It turned out to be a difficult, long-running case, and that’s where it all began.
You do have quieter periods when cases end, but it never takes long before it’s busy again.
What advice would you give someone considering the move to consultancy?
It’s a big step, and it’s nerve-wracking, because you’re leaving the security of employment. Worrying about how you’ll secure work, and whether you will, is natural.
But Setfords wouldn’t exist, or be as successful or as large as it is, without all the consultants who took that first, somewhat frightening step. I speak to quite a lot of consultants, and I haven’t come across any who regret their decision.
You have to give these things a chance. Fortune favours the brave.
Which Setfords support team could you not live without?
I can’t pick just one. Kay Wheeler on bundles, Katie May, who’s brilliant with everything, and Georgiana, who’s always quick to reply. I go to Georgiana when I don’t know who to go to, and whatever my problem is, she sorts it out.
Jenny has always been great on the business development side. They’ve all been great, but I’ve known Jenny the longest because she’s been here a long time too.
And the whole tech team are amazing. They help me out all the time, and Jamie is very patient with me. There are too many to name, really.
Quickfire round
Tea or coffee?
Coffee.
Home office or coffee shop?
Both. I’ve only just started taking one morning a week to work from a lovely coffee shop about 10 minutes’ drive from home. I’d never done it before, and it’s so nice.
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird. I started work at 6am this morning, and that’s quite normal for me.
If Anne’s story has got you thinking, arrange a confidential discovery call to see how the model could work for you.
