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27 July 2017
Issue: 7756 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Independent lawyering: is it for me?

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​Can you afford to become an independent solicitor? Can you afford not to? Two consultants at virtual firm Scott-Moncrieff & two career experts share their experiences

Increasing numbers of solicitors are going freelance, inspired by flexible working and keeping the lion’s share of billable hours. Others find it the best post-merger escape route. The fact is, freelance solicitors tend to evangelise about their new-found spare time to spend with the family and on other interests. But that sticky first year flying solo remains a challenge for many. Consultants at the UK’s longest-established virtual firm, Scott-Moncrieff, explain below how they overcame their trepidations.

Funding first steps

Terence Channer, who specialises in actions against the police at Scott-Moncrieff, is open about the tough decision he had to make to fund his move into freelance work: ‘I sold my house to fund my career. I didn’t have a partner with an income to soften the blow but I knew I needed greater freedom, especially away from office politics.’

While a house sale might not be a viable option

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

Senior appointments in insurance services and commercial services announced

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Aviation disputes practice strengthened by London partner hire

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Residential property lawyer promoted to partnership

NEWS
he abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC
Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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