Consultancy Practice Growth with Taylor Rose MW
Property Solicitor, Mustafa Hassan joined Taylor Rose as a consultant much earlier in his career than most. That was in 2014; fast forward 6 years and Mustafa now leads his own team from our Moorgate office.
I had completed my training contract and was working in a smaller firm. I already had my own busy and varied caseload, gaining masses of experience and attracting new work. I wanted more control over what I was doing, how I was working, and consultancy allowed me to do this.
It was a conversation with Antony Jaggard, Director that persuaded me to make the move to Taylor Rose. Antony was very honest about the opportunity and he made it clear that consultancy was a route for lawyers who wanted to take personal responsibility for their careers, and that included winning their own work.
For me, this was no problem as even though I came with no clients, I have always been confident I would get work and what Antony was offering was the framework to be able to support it.
I joined in the December and had my first instruction in January which came via Taylor Rose. Within a few months, I had so much work that I hired my own assistant.
The Board of Directors at Taylor Rose are refreshingly open and honest. They recognise that some of the best ideas for their business come from the people within it, and that is why they’re always prepared to hear you out.
There’s always a conversation to be had; that’s just the type of people they are. It’s very refreshing and hugely motivating to have the backing of a big forward-thinking firm, while at the same time operating as a consultant.
During my time with Taylor Rose, I have worked as a sole consultant solicitor. I have jointly led the firm’s Manchester office, which was then employee based and now I am based in the firm’s Moorgate office where I lead a team of 17 sub-consultants. We share the office and work alongside the firm’s employed solicitors.
I have grown my team which is largely focused on residential property ,recruiting a mix of experienced conveyancers, CILEx lawyers and junior solicitors, who work either at home or from the firm’s Moorgate or Peterborough offices.
Not all of Taylor Rose’s Consultant Solicitors choose to follow my route, many are content with running their own workload and Taylor Rose is just as happy to support them as they are someone like me who wanted to grow their own consultancy practice by hiring other professionals as sub-consultants. It’s a bit like operating as a firm within a firm but make no mistake, we’re all part of Taylor Rose.
If you walked into a Taylor Rose office you wouldn’t know who was a consultant and who was an employee, there is no divide. I feel a part of Taylor Rose which is helped by the way we communicate as one firm.
The firm also currently runs an annual programme named The Star Awards where colleagues can nominate a member of staff who deliver amazing service. The winners also receive a generous gift voucher too. The awards are good for motivation and morale as we can all be nominated for them. A number of my sub-consultants have received these awards.
The firm has really engendered a ‘one firm’ ethos as I am in contact with Partners and Consultant Solicitors alike and there are cross referrals between both. I sometimes cover other Partners and Consultants’ holidays by picking up their client matters. Importantly, what the client sees is Taylor Rose, not a Consultant Solicitor or an employee.
There is also a dedicated Consultant email group, which I find is a great resource as there’s always someone to reach out to about any law related queries.
Within Taylor Rose, I have found the perfect fit as I doubled my salary in a year and it has continued to grow ever since. Antony has been as good as his word and what I have put in as a consultant, I have got out in spades. For my team of sub-consultants too it has been life changing, with some of them earning three times what they did previously, while maintaining the work life balance that they want.
The firm is very clear in what it requires of its people, whether as a Consultant Solicitor or an employed Solicitor. There is a strong vision and set of values, and everyone understands the role they have to play. Those who take pride in maximising customer care and service while delivering regular billing succeed. Success is for everyone, not just the board.
In return, you get to enjoy being part of a large growing network, with a prominent brand while retaining the autonomy of running your own business. I haven’t looked back since taking the leap into consultancy at Taylor Rose.