Multidisciplinary dispersed firm launched

Multidisciplinary dispersed firm launched

'Fully flexible' venture leads to a partnership between lawyer and private banker

The British independent law firm brings together solicitors, barristers, chartered legal executives, paralegals and chartered legal executives under one roof to target high-net-worth clients.

Currently, Wildcat Law is awaiting approval from the Financial Conduct Authority so it can begin providing financial services advice alongside legal counsel. The new firm is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as an alternative business structure.

In collaboration with her husband David Robinson, a chartered wealth manager and former Coutts director of private banking, Wildcat Law will provide legal services in the areas of a private office, contested probate, family law, commercial law and property law. Tahina Akther is a practicing barrister at Southampton College Chambers.

A lawyer's fee will range from 50 percent to 80 percent, depending on their level of experience, under the firm's 'fully flexible' model. By adopting this strategy, the firm will provide end-to-end services, while barristers will be able to take on remote work for cost-effective rates and stay in chambers for referral work, as Akther does.

Along with hiring more senior legal professionals, Wildcat Law intends to recruit junior attorneys to assist them with their qualifications and provide them with training on how to acquire clients.

Five solicitors, three barristers and two paralegals comprise Wildcat Law's starting roster, with two more solicitors on the way to join the firm soon, according to a statement. The group's combined experience ranges from 30 to three years.

Akther said: "Platform law firms give lawyers more control over their careers. We hope that lawyers can all benefit from the opportunity to work from home. Tradition keeps the legal profession's barriers up, but we believe innovation can lower them."

Robinson said he believed the model was highly scalable, adding that Wildcat Law already sought financing from private equity firms to fuel its "serious growth ambitions".

The UK-listed law firm Ince announced a joint offering of legal advice and wealth management services all in one package for high-net-worth individuals in November. In its press release, Ince claimed the launch of Ince Private Wealth was a first for the legal profession.