William has been a solicitor since 2008 and brings over 15 years of expertise in residential property law. As a Consultant Solicitor and Partner at Taylor Rose, William leads a dedicated team of 18 professionals, including experienced solicitors and support staff. His clients range from first-time buyers and high-net-worth individuals to investors, developers, and portfolio landlords.
In his role, William runs a law firm pod within Taylor Rose, specialising in both residential and commercial property law, as well as new build. This blog covers his journey to success in building a law firm within Taylor Rose:
The Why
Prior to founding my own firm, I became one of the youngest partners at my previous firm, where I developed a passion for team building and talent development. After thoughtful consideration, I decided to establish my own firm. I have always prioritised a staff-centric approach, ensuring that if my team is happy, the work they produce and the service we provide to our clients will reflect that.
The Challenge
Starting a law firm comes with its challenges. Due to the size of the team that I was looking to employ, it became imperative to find a base for us to comfortably operate out of. One of the key priorities was finding an office space that would not only be convenient for both clients and staff but also an inspiring and motivating environment. That is why I chose Canary Wharf, a vibrant area that supports creativity and productivity.
Furthermore, ensuring consistent workflow was also critical. With a large team, I needed to make sure there was enough work to sustain the business from day one. I was confident in my ability to build the infrastructure for a smooth transition. However, securing a steady stream of work was essential for long-term success.
The Approach
Since I was already managing a team that I had personally recruited and developed, transitioning them to my new firm was relatively straightforward. The key was reassuring them that we would adopt the same successful systems and processes Taylor Rose already had in place, which went a long way in putting their mind at rest. This has provided stability and allowed my team to focus on providing excellent service to our clients.
Results & Benefits
Moving the firm over to the consultancy side of Taylor Rose was significant. By leveraging existing relationships, workflow systems, and proven strategies, we successfully launched the firm within the consultancy at Taylor Rose. This made it easier to attract clients and scale quickly.
In just the first three months, we had billed circa £750k and taken on nearly 400 new clients. We benefited from having a pre-existing workflow which had been created when on the employed side of the business. By focusing on client and referrer relationships from the start, we were able to generate consistent work from day one.
Key Strategies for Success
Our key to success was focusing on maintaining the excellent working relationships that we had with our referring business partners while also targeting new strategic relationships that would complement our growth plans. There became a real focus in ensuring that our standards did not slip and that providing a bespoke service to our clients was a priority for all the team members.
Lessons Learned
As a business owner, it has become vital to regularly review both the income and expenditure of the business to ensure that we are profitable. From a management perspective, this has meant doing less fee-earning work myself and instead spreading the work within the team, delegating more of my responsibilities to capable colleagues. This has allowed me to focus on managing and growing the firm.
Future Outlook
Our future is very bright: we have ten solicitors currently in the team with a further four joining us in the next couple of months. Fortunately for us, the workflow is already there, and we are on the cusp of securing new referral arrangements which will complement our growth plans and help us continue expanding our team.
Starting my own law firm has been one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve made in my career – It’s given me the opportunity to grow my team on my own terms, at our own pace, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the daily challenges that come with being a business owner.
I highly recommend consulting with Taylor Rose for anyone looking to start their own law firm. The support given to me both prior to and during the move was invaluable and really helped with the transition.