How to decide if practising law as a fee-share consultant lawyer is right for you.
On grey weekday mornings across the UK, plenty of senior associates, partners and in‑house lawyers catch themselves daydreaming about “going consultant”. The fantasy is easy to recognise: less politics, more control, a better share of the fees you generate and a laptop lifestyle that lets you choose when and where you work. There is real substance behind that picture.
Consultant‑solicitor and fee‑share models have moved firmly into the mainstream over the last decade. New‑model firms and progressive traditional practices now offer structures where experienced solicitors can work on a self‑employed basis under a regulated umbrella, keeping a high proportion of the revenue they generate while handing off compliance, insurance and systems to the host firm.
But consultancy is not a cure‑all. For every success story, there are quieter accounts of lawyers who underestimated the realities of self‑employment: irregular income, the need for ongoing business development, the psychological impact of leaving a familiar brand, or the risk that home turns into “the office that never closes”. Glossy recruitment pages rarely dwell on those parts. If you are consultancy‑curious, the challenge is not to decide in the abstract whether the model is “good” or “bad”. It is to work out whether it fits your personal mix of finances, energy, temperament and life stage.
Once you have a sense that consultancy might appeal, the next step is to test how it would work for your actual life – not for an idealised version of yourself with infinite energy and no obligations. Too many lawyers move into self‑employment on the back of a single “fed up” moment, only to discover that they have simply swapped one set of pressures for another.
Begin with your finances. Write down your current household costs, any debt repayments, childcare or elder‑care commitments, and how much you are putting towards pension or other long‑term savings. Add a realistic cushion for irregular expenses. That figure – not your current salary – is your baseline. Then ask: If my income were more variable, how big a savings buffer would I need to feel calm? Many consultants aim for at least six months of core outgoings in cash before leaving employment; others are more comfortable starting smaller if they have a supportive partner’s income or a clear pipeline of work.
Next, model consultancy income at a high level. New‑model firms tend to offer transparent fee‑share tables that show how much of every pound billed you keep; combining that with your likely billing levels will give you a rough earnings range. Overlay your energy and lifestyle. How many hours a week can you realistically work over the long term without burning out? How much of that could be billable, once you subtract time for business development, admin and thinking? If the maths only works by assuming 60‑hour weeks and near‑100% utilisation, it may be a sign that you need to adjust your expectations, your niche or your timing.
Finally, consider your appetite for risk and autonomy. Fee‑share structures shift more responsibility onto you: for generating work, managing your own time and handling periods of feast and famine. That can feel liberating if firm life has left you feeling controlled and boxed in; it can feel frightening if you have built your career on predictability and clear external expectations. Honest reflection here will serve you better than any glossy brochure.
If, after this exercise, consultancy still excites you – and the numbers add up with sensible buffers – you are ready to explore specific models and timelines. If it throws up big red flags, that is valuable data too. You may decide to reshape your current role, build further savings, or test consultancy in a smaller way before making a full jump.
Deciding whether to become a consultant lawyer is not a one‑off moment; it is a process. Once you have gathered information and sketched your personal constraints, the final step is to design guardrails and review points that keep your decision grounded.
Start by setting simple criteria for when consultancy would be a “yes”. For example: a minimum savings buffer, a target level of likely portable work, and a short list of platforms or firms that feel culturally aligned.
Then, build in time‑bound experiments. That might mean quietly growing your personal profile on LinkedIn for six months, taking small steps in business development within your current role, or piloting a very limited consultancy arrangement – for example, one day a week on a freelance basis with a former client, if your contract and conflicts allow.
Each experiment should answer a specific question: Do I enjoy BD when my income depends on it? How comfortable am I with less structure? How do clients respond when I present myself under my own name rather than my firm’s? Schedule regular check‑ins with yourself – or with a trusted mentor or coach – to review what you are learning. Are your fears about consultancy shrinking or growing as you gather data? Has your sense of what “a good working life” looks like changed? Do you need to adjust your timeline because of family, health or market factors?
There is no perfect moment when the clouds part and the answer arrives. But by combining clear information on the consultant‑solicitor model, honest financial and lifestyle planning, and small, low‑risk experiments, you can move from daydreaming about consultancy to making a deliberate, informed choice. Whether you ultimately decide to leap, to stay put, or to design a hybrid career, the process itself will leave you clearer about what you want from law – and from the rest of your life.