Mezzle CEO Mel Kang is the most experienced consultant lawyer in the UK. From redundancy at a traditional firm to founding one of the fastest-growing consultant law firms in the country. This is Mel's story.
As a corporate lawyer, the financial crisis of 2007/2008 was particularly hard on my practice area. I was made redundant from the traditional law firm where I was working at the time. I left thinking, I never want to go through this again. It was no one's fault, but I wanted to make it my last time.
By chance, a law firm reached out to me with an offer to become a consultant lawyer. I had no idea what that was. They told me it came with complete flexibility to set my own hours, choose my clients, bill as much as I want. That sounded great to me!
I tell everyone this; the first six months are a real learning curve. You're figuring out how to practise law in a very different way than you're used to. I didn't have a client following at that time as I was just about four years PQE, so it was an intense but also a very rewarding period.
I managed some finances, cut my costs for a while, and put my head down to building my network and client base. Once the momentum started about three months in, it just snowballed from there. Not long after that, I was making more than I had at my previous traditional firm, but enjoying way better work-life balance.
The first step was telling everyone in my professional life about my move, my availability, and how I could support them if they were involved in any corporate transactions.
Then, I found events to go to. As many as I could. I would show up to conferences targeting the same industries I was. I set up a stand with some branded banners and just met as many people as I could. Everyone was a potential client so it very quickly multiplied my network. Over the next few days after each event, I followed up with everyone who gave me their business card.
Later, I even used direct mail. I drafted a letter that very briefly explained my area of expertise and how I could help a business owner. I then mailed that letter to hundreds of businesses in my niche. The response rate was incredible!
Hugely. Consultant lawyers have to be more self-sufficient than a lawyer at a traditional firm. In most cases, especially when you're just starting out, you don't have a secretary or a trainee solicitor supporting you. You're responsible for a greater proportion of the administrative side of your practice than you were previously. But technology can cut that proportion down dramatically.
That's why a tech-first attitude is embedded in our culture at Mezzle. When I started the firm, I launched it with its own cloud-based system that was purpose-built for the needs of the consultant lawyer, and we continue to develop our tech stack at every opportunity. It's important to us to be at the front of the tech adoption curve.
There's no time like the present. More and more lawyers are choosing to practise this way. And as emerging technologies like AI become more widespread and easier to adopt, there will be very little reason to stick with a traditional law firm.
The other thing I would say is to do your homework when it comes to the firm you attach yourself to. This is a very personal decision. It's not just changing jobs, it's changing lifestyle and priorities. It's choosing to challenge yourself and develop new skills.
Choose a firm that understands that.