Richard Hull wanted to be lawyer from a young age, and after building a successful career that took him to the Old Bailey and the Court of Appeal, he found himself craving something the traditional firm model couldn’t offer: control over his own time. His path away from running a 70-person law firm, through a brief detour into ski instructing and car sales, and eventually to the consultant solicitor model at Setfords, is a story about choosing flexibility without giving up the courtroom work he loves. Here’s how that journey unfolded.
Richard’s Story
Richard Hull knew he wanted to be a lawyer from the age of 12, after watching courtroom dramas on television. When he told his school careers advisor, he was handed a leaflet on becoming a police officer or firefighter instead. Rather than put him off, it gave him something to prove.
From then on, every decision was geared towards a career in law: GCSEs, A levels, a degree, and a legal practice course. A year-long industry placement during his degree gave him his first taste of the job, assisting a solicitor with court representation. He returned to the same firm after graduating and qualified there in criminal defence.
Building a Career in Criminal Law
Richard progressed steadily, taking on increasingly serious cases as his experience grew. Around 15 years ago, he gained higher rights of audience, allowing him to represent clients in the Crown Court. He has since appeared at the Old Bailey and the Court of Appeal on several occasions.
Alongside his advocacy work, Richard ran his own multi-disciplinary law firm, employing around 70 staff. It was a successful business, but somewhere along the way he found himself wanting something different.
“I remember walking up the stairs to my office and thinking, I don’t want to do this any longer.”
When the opportunity came to sell the firm, he took it, and stepped away from law for a while.
A Detour Before Returning to Law
Richard trained as a ski instructor in the UK before moving to France, but visa restrictions cut the plan short. Back in the UK, he became a business manager at a car dealership, spending two years in sales before the courtroom pulled him back. His legal training shaped his approach there too, asking customers what they actually needed rather than pushing what they said they wanted.
It took a conversation with a colleague on the forecourt, asking outright whether he was going to go back to law, for Richard to realise he already knew the answer.
Why Setfords?
Rather than approach consultants he already knew, Richard researched the market independently, reading reviews and speaking with the team responsible for recruiting new consultants. The professionalism and responsiveness he encountered with Setfords built his confidence at every stage.
Setfords offered what a traditional 9 to 5 firm couldn’t: the freedom to choose his clients, set his own hours, and work with people across the country, while still doing the courtroom work he loves most.
“I choose my clients, I choose my hours. I go all around the country, which suits me perfectly, and I get to go back to what I used to do, which is defending people in court.”
Private Criminal Defence in Practice
Richard’s caseload sits within private criminal defence, representing people who have found themselves in difficulty, often for the first time, whether that’s a dispute outside a pub or a road traffic matter. Most clients come to Setfords through an online search after being stopped or interviewed by the police, and the business development team connects these clients with Richard.
Because his clients have not typically been in this situation before, Richard relies heavily on the business development team to take the initial call, understand the core issue, and match them with the right lawyer.
He aims to respond to new instructions within the hour, and if he can’t, he’ll ask the team to let the client know he’ll be in touch shortly.
“It’s important to understand that you’re working together to assist the client, not that it’s an email and you’ll deal with it when you get time.”
A year on, he says the team has a clear sense of which clients will suit him and vice versa, built through regular contact and the team working to understand his ideal caseload.
A System Built for the Way He Works
Richard is equally positive about Halo, Setfords’ custom-built legal technology platform, particularly the dashboard, which puts key dates, work in progress and client ledgers in one place.
“What a system. It’s absolutely amazing, it’s transformed the way I’m able to work.”
He goes as far as saying it’s close to a system he’d have designed himself.
“It’s literally the system I would have made if I could have had my magic wand. It’s a super system.”
Having advised other firms on their own case management systems, he rates Halo well ahead of the others he’s used.
“It’s head and shoulders above the others. It really is.”
The Setfords Community
Richard describes the Guildford office as consistently welcoming, whether he’s speaking with colleagues on the stairs, in reception, or over lunch.
“It’s wholesome and welcoming. It never ceases to surprise me when I come here. I’ve yet to meet a person who isn’t engaging, smiling and positive.”
Despite working remotely most of the time, he visits every fortnight or so, arranging his diary to see several clients in person, convinced the relationship with the wider team benefits from it.
A Typical Day
A typical day starts around 9am, when Richard logs on and confirms his availability for new instructions. From there, his day mixes client contact with court appearances, working from home when he isn’t required in person.
One advantage of his caseload is that hearings are often finished by early afternoon, giving him time to get home and continue with clients for the rest of the day, or to drive to Guildford to see clients face to face.
Life Outside the Courtroom
Richard still teaches skiing at an indoor ski centre most weekends, working with everyone from complete beginners to junior coaching groups aged 8 to 12. He describes the satisfaction of watching children who couldn’t stand on skis that morning ski down together as a group by day’s end.
It’s also, by his own admission, a source of regular disbelief among the people he teaches, few of whom guess their ski instructor spends the rest of the week defending clients in court.
Advice for Prospective Consultants
Richard encourages new consultants to go in with realistic expectations rather than assuming the work will be immediate.
“Make sure you’ve financially and emotionally prepared for a window of maybe three to six months where it does feel a little quiet or a little clunky, and then it starts to come.”
His other piece of advice is to stay engaged: pick up the phone, speak to the business development team directly, and be clear about the work you want and can do, rather than waiting for it to arrive.
Years on, what keeps him going is still the part of the job he fell in love with at 12 years old, standing up in court.
