Law Firm Founder Conversations

Martyn Day, Co-Founder of Leigh Day

From "King of the Losers" to King of the Winners - Law Firm Founder Conversations Podcast: Martyn Day, Co-Founder of Leigh Day
In this episode of our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things law firm founder with Martyn Day, Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Leigh Day. Their podcast chat covers Martyn’s inspiring 35+ years’ experience of setting up and building a market-leading consumer law firm, with over 750 members of staff, focusing on individuals in the UK and across the globe, who have been injured, discriminated against or had their human rights abused. Martyn shares some of his experiences and the key founder lessons that he learnt along the way, to encourage others to take the plunge too:
The highlights, challenges and turning points in founding and building Leigh Day
The common founder feeling of being “unemployable” 
Moving from “King of the Losers” to King of the Winners
The transformative impact of external litigation funding on law firm finances and risk
Is setting up and owning a firm for everyone?
Responding to SRA regulatory challenges and taking a robust approach to unfair accusations
The importance of getting insured – securing D&O cover for law firm partners
Legacy – should founders worry about it or just enjoy what they’re doing today?
Creating an institutional law firm brand and sense of purpose
Keeping the long-term love going for your business and what you are doing.
Martyn Day is the co-founder of leading consumer law firm, Leigh Day. He specialises in international, environment and product liability claims, often as group actions, representing claimants in cases against corporate and government bodies. He is well known for running many high profile, historic and controversial cases, mostly on behalf of groups of claimants, both in this country and abroad. Leigh Day was founded in 1987 and has over 750 people, with main offices in London and Manchester. It is one of The Times Top 100 Law Firms and is ranked at the highest levels for the majority of its practice areas in the legal directories.You can contact Martyn on mday@leighday.co.uk or +44 (0)207 650 1200.
If you are thinking of setting up a new law firm, or are expanding to take your firm’s growth to the next level, and would like to discuss any related partnership or employment law infrastructure issues with us, please do get in touch with Clare Murray or Zulon Begum.
 

Alex McPherson, Founder & Partner, Ignition Law

In this episode of our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things law firm founder with Alex McPherson, Founder and Partner of Ignition Law, including:
What attributes are required for a successful law firm founder?
Maintaining energy and enthusiasm as a founder during start up and beyond 
The importance of technology and the role it can play in a founder-led firm
Tips for software and apps to help drive efficiency, particularly when 'making do' in year one
What does success look like beyond the financial metrics?
Being a founder vs partner in a larger law firm: the highs and lows
Building resilience to weather the inevitable storms along the way
Embracing your mistakes as a founder and learning from failure
The benefits that a joint venture or strategic alliance can bring, and
Guidance for those thinking of founding their own firm, or in the early stages of doing so.
Alex McPherson set up Ignition Law in 2015. Advisers for growth, Ignition Law provide expert legal and commercial advice to start-ups and scale-ups, helping clients to navigate through their entrepreneurial journey. Their mission from the very start was to serve entrepreneurial clients, while creating a flexible and hugely fulfilling and caring place to work.Since its launch, both the firm and Alex have won a multitude of awards, including 'Managing Partner of the Year' at the Modern Law Awards, 'Law Firm Culture and Diversity & Inclusion Awards' at SME News 2022 and 'High Growth Business of the Year' at the Federation of Small Businesses Awards 2022, as well as being selected as finalists for many more. You can contact Alex here and connect with Alex on LinkedIn. Links to more information on software and apps mentioned in the episode:ActionStepHighQ BoomerangMicrosoft OneNoteWe hope you enjoy listening to this episode. Please do like, subscribe and share.

Dr Peter Allinson, CEO of Davitt Jones Bould

In the next of our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, Our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things law firm founder with Dr Peter Allinson, CEO of specialist national Real Estate law firm Davitt Jones Bould.
Launched in 2000,  the firm was an early disrupter of the traditional approach to law firm operations; from the start, adopting remote working, based around regional hubs, to drive the growth of the firm and to attract the best specialist Real Estate talent; lifting the burden of administration, billing and even marketing and sales from lawyers who wanted to focus on their technical specialism rather than law firm operations and BD; and building an institutional specialist brand and client relationships, moving away from over-reliance on individual partner brands and practices.
Watch a short video preview here
In this podcast, Dr Peter Allinson and Clare Murray discuss a wide range of law firm founder issues, challenges and opportunities including:
What can industry teach us to reshape the traditional law firm model for the better?
What does it take for founder firms to compete with Big Law?
The benefits of freeing lawyers to do what they do best – and creating a twin track that equally values and rewards technical and operational expertise
How to build a technical sales team to sell legal services
The 3 key requirements for a founder firm (or any firm) considering an IPO*:
Develop visibility & predictability
Make sure the Market is there
Eliminate any single point of failure
Building and financing growth to a level that aligns with personal values, risk threshold and ability to sleep at night!
* First Round Review: Shooting for an IPO? Take These Steps Now Before It's Too Late  
Dr Peter Allinson can be contacted on peter.allinson@djblaw.co.uk or +44(0)20 3026 8290.
We hope you enjoy listening to this episode. Please do like, subscribe and share. You can listen to the previous episodes in the series below:
Episode 1 - Laura Devine, Founder and Managing Partner of Laura Devine Solicitors (UK/US)
Episode 2 - Joydeep Hor, Founder of People + Culture Strategies (Australia)
Episode 3 - Michael Kim, Co-Founder of Kobre & Kim (US)
If you are thinking of setting up a new law firm, or are expanding to take your firm’s growth to the next level, and would like to discuss any related partnership or employment law infrastructure issues with us, please do get in touch with Clare Murray or Zulon Begum.

Michael Kim, Co-Founder of Kobre & Kim

In the next of our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things law firm founder with Michael Kim, co-founder of leading global disputes and investigations firm, Kobre & Kim. The firm is described by Chambers and Partners as “one of the best litigation boutique firms in the US” and that “when you are up against Kobre & Kim, you understand that you are dealing with a highly skilled adversary.”
In this inspiring and thought-provoking conversation, Michael discusses the journey and strategy of building Kobre & Kim from a firm of two New York City-based co-founders – both then US Department of Justice white-collar fraud prosecutors, to a phenomenally successful internationally law firm – a global leader in international disputes and investigations, with over 500 staff across four continents.
In this podcast, Michael Kim and Clare Murray chat about issues relevant to those considering founding, growing and transitioning their law firm to the next generation of owners, including:
Is it enough just to be a great lawyer in order to build a successful law firm? What more is needed?
How important is it for law firm founders to have a razor-sharp strategy and vision from the outset?
Understanding whether you are building an institutional brand and pipeline, or a collective of partner personal practices, and setting your strategy and goals accordingly.
It’s all about the clients, not you – driving your firm’s value proposition to address your clients’ problems with innovative products and services.
How do you create a law firm that can exist independently, and beyond the founders?
Founder ego as the single biggest obstacle to law firm growth and success, and the importance of making yourself irrelevant.
“Escape velocity” –  the significance of founder drive and commitment to achieve stratospheric success for their firm, and recognising the need to understand your own personal and professional goals within that process.
We hope you enjoy listening to this episode. Please do like, subscribe and share. You can listen to the previous episodes in the series below:
Episode 1 – Laura Devine, Founder and Managing Partner of Laura Devine Solicitors (London, UK and New York, USA)
Episode 2 – Joydeep Hor, Founder of People + Culture Strategies (Sydney, Australia)
 
If you are thinking of setting up a new law firm, or are expanding to take your firm’s growth to the next level, and would like to discuss any related partnership or employment law infrastructure issues with us, please do get in touch with Clare Murray or Zulon Begum.

Joydeep Hor, Founder of People + Culture Strategies

We are delighted to share the second in our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, in which our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things Law Firm Founder with Joydeep Hor, Founder and Managing Principal of leading Australian employment law firm and management consulting business, People + Culture Strategies (PCS).
PCS is a trusted adviser to Australian and international employers of all sizes and across all industries, advising on employment law as well as HR strategy and training on workplace issues.
Listen to a short audio preview here
As a graduate of the Harvard Owner President Management Program, Joydeep Hor of PCS is a deep thinker on business issues affecting law firm founders. In this podcast, Clare and Joydeep explore a wide range of strategic issues, practical experiences and personal challenges and highlights in setting up and building a thriving law firm from the ground up, including:
What are the qualities and skills that make for a successful law firm founder? (@1:13 mins)
Leadership as a founder: Balancing the challenges and opportunities of being the founder as well as a leader (@5:05 mins)
How to fail: Learning to embrace your mistakes and recover from them (11:58 mins)
The quest for maturity as a founder and business owner over the years (15:20 mins)
What to consider when contemplating office expansion, both domestically and internationally, and the importance of founder brand when establishing a new office (17:00 mins)
Do business management programmes make a difference when setting up and growing your law firm? (20:30 mins)
The challenges for law firm founders of balancing working ‘in the business’ vs ‘on the business’ (23:55 mins)
How to encourage lawyers from under-represented backgrounds to set up their own law firms (29:30 mins)
Financial prudence and the misperceptions around funding a start-up firm (32:40 mins)
It’s good to talk: The vital importance of sharing experiences, issues and strategy with other founders (34:50 mins)
Creating a legacy: An unnecessary added burden for founders? (37:30 mins)
We hope you enjoy listening to this episode. Please do like, subscribe and share. You can listen to the previous episode of the series, with Laura Devine, Founder and Managing Partner of leading UK and US immigration law firm, Laura Devine Immigration, here.
If you are thinking of setting up a new law firm, or are expanding to take your firm’s growth to the next level, and would like to discuss any related partnership or employment law infrastructure issues with us, please do get in touch with Clare Murray.

Laura Devine, Founder of Laura Devine Solicitors

We are delighted to share the first in our Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast series, in which our Managing Partner Clare Murray discusses all things Law Firm Founder with Laura Devine, Founder and Managing Partner of leading international immigrational law specialists, Laura Devine Solicitors (LDS), with offices in London and New York.
LDS has top tier rankings in the legal directories and Laura herself is the recipient of international awards both as an immigration specialist and as a very successful entrepreneur.
Watch a short video preview here
In their conversation, Clare and Laura cover a lot of ground discussing, from their first-hand experience, some of the opportunities and challenges of setting up, growing and managing a law firm, including:
Why set up your own law firm and why, as a founder, it is important to have a clear strategic vision and focus (@1:28 mins)
Reconciling the tension between protecting the culture of your firm and building its growth (@5:24 mins)
Self-funding vs external borrowing: What resources and funding are needed to set up and grow a law firm? (@6:54 mins)
The importance for law firm founders to build robust infrastructure and take external advice (@9:20 mins)
Issues in international growth and opening a US office (@11 mins)
How to encourage female and ethnic minority lawyers as future law firm founders (@14.38 mins)
With the benefit of hindsight as a law firm founder, what would you do differently? (@19:18 mins)
Managing the regulatory burden of setting up and running a law firm (@20:22 mins)
Handling the stress of being a founder and maintaining personal mental and physical well-being (21:30 mins)
Tips and helpful attributes for those considering starting up their own firm (@26:26 mins)
Cash is queen! (@29:30 mins)
We hope you enjoy listening to this first Law Firm Founder Conversations podcast, and if you do please do like, subscribe and share.