Better tools. Fewer frustrations.
Setfords was founded in 2006 on a simple vision: give lawyers the freedom to run their own practice, and take care of everything else for them. Technology has been central to that from day one.
Over the years, we’ve steadily built up our capabilities, and our technology team with them.
We started out adapting off-the-shelf systems to fit the way we work. But they were built for traditional firms, not a platform of 650+ consultants, and they were never quite good enough. So we stopped waiting for suppliers to catch up, and built our own.
Ben Shaw, Director of Product & Platform, has been part of that journey since 2012:
“Legal technology providers are actually lagging behind firms like Setfords. Technology drives efficiencies, which is often why businesses adopt it, but that is not our primary focus. For us, it’s about using industry-leading technology to provide an excellent service and digital experience to our lawyers and our clients.”
Meet Halo
Halo is our own legal intelligence platform, built in-house over three years and live since April 2026. Your cases, documents, accounts, compliance and daily workflow, all in one place – shaped around how Setfords consultants actually work.
When you log in each morning, you see what matters to your practice, not a screen designed for a hundred other firms.
Built in days, not months
Because we own Halo, we can change it. You tell us what would make your day easier, and our in-house technology team builds it. What used to take a supplier months now takes us days. Ten weeks after launch, Halo was already on its 22nd release.
Take DocuSign. On our old system it was fiddly, so lots of people stuck to the post. We rebuilt it so you can go from document to signed in three clicks. Nobody was told to use it – it was simply the easier option. Use went up roughly tenfold in ten weeks.
As Chris Setford, co-CEO, puts it:
“You learn things from building and launching technology that you can’t from a procurement process. Once hundreds of lawyers are working on the same system every day, their feedback becomes very specific, very practical and very valuable.”
Digital Transformation
None of this happens without the right people. Two years ago our technology team was eight strong. Today it’s more than 35 specialists in software, data, digital, security and UX, working in our own technology company, Setfords Technology Solutions, and led by Group CIO & CISO Gervais Carlton-Blake.
Ben Shaw has been part of that story from the start. He joined Setfords in 2012 as a full-stack developer and is now Director of Product & Platform, responsible for the vision and direction of the platform that underpins the firm. Over 14 years he has led or been closely involved in nearly every major platform initiative at Setfords, from the firm’s first lawyer portal and its automated conveyancing quote tool to Halo and the early build of Helix.
Ben describes his passion for automation and the development of technology within the legal industry:
“Every day, my team and I seek challenges and find ways to overcome them – it’s all about making our clients and lawyers’ lives easier. We use our technology to provide a seamless, integrated experience that allows our lawyers to make the most efficient use of their time. Our lawyers want to focus on the human element of work looking after their clients, not spending time on data entry or menial tasks that can be handled by tech and their clients want a smooth end to end tech-enabled service.”
Ben highlights the benefits of having an internal digital technology team:
“To really get the best from technology solutions, you need to understand the business needs, and the best way to do that is to work within it. We have analysed individuals working patterns to map out technology solutions and worked closely with each department to understand their requirements.”
Ben and his team have worked on numerous technology projects over the last 14 years, and that know-how now comes together in Halo. It is the key interface between lawyers, their clients and the head office team. It allows lawyers to work remotely and deliver legal services from anywhere in the world.
Ben says of the platform:
“The exciting thing about our platform is that it is not a rigid system.We can continue developing it and adding extra layers of valuable functionality and features. I’m looking forward to the years ahead as we have so many great projects under development and the building blocks to do something pretty amazing.”
As to the future of legal technology, Ben says:
“Meeting the needs of the lawyers with technology is only one part of the jigsaw. Consumers now expect the optimum digital experience regardless of the nature or size of a business. All businesses would be wise to accelerate their digital technology adoption and transform their operations to meet consumers where they are now — and give them the experience they expect. The rewards are great for those that recognise this.”
Every Setfords consultant works on Halo from day one, backed by an in-house team that keeps improving it based on what our lawyers tell us.
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