About Us
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Our firm is founded by Simeon Spencer and Antoine West - both of whom are City lawyers, entrepreneurs and have shared community values.
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Back in the 80s, Simeon co-founded with the legendary Charlie Hicks a high-end food retail business, selling to top chefs who are now celebrated names. Hankering to be a lawyer, he qualified as a barrister then a solicitor and became Partner at Morrison Foerster and Morgan Lewis. Growing increasingly frustrated with the limitations of the traditional firm structure with high fees and billing targets, he set up his own boutique practice. -
Antoine trained and practised at Linklaters and was a Partner at several City law firms including HFW. After several years working for construction clients, he stepped down as a Partner to work flexibly for several companies in-house, working closely with the owners and finance directors, while establishing his own business for the development and construction of hotels. -
In 2014, Simeon and Antoine found themselves on opposite sides of a corporate transaction. They quickly realised that they shared the same outlook and values – both coming from a corporate background but with an entrepreneurs' zeal to find new and better ways of doing things, more flexibly and with a greater focus on what is important. They collaborated and after a couple of years, Antoine merged his legal practice with the firm.
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In mid-2018 Antoine and Simeon carried out a review of their plans for the firm. The firm at that stage was a successful, two Partner City law firm, profitable, with a strong ethos and a loyal and growing client base, with many clients going back 8 - 10 years.
The founders saw the opportunity to open the firm up to colleagues from excellent legal backgrounds and proven expertise, who also were business people and collegiate so that there would be strong shared values.
They looked at all sorts of business models for the firm and concluded that a modified fee-sharing model was the best approach. The model takes the best elements of the traditional law firm and the best elements of the last generation 'disruptor' law firms, to create a new integrated type of firm that combines the best of both worlds – the flexibility to develop your own practice and with the support of a community who share the same values. This type of firm attracts legal experts regardless of the size of their practice, gives flexibility to its lawyers and provides support in the areas that matter, including 21st-century marketing support.
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The firm's focus on technical excellence, a business person's approach and collaboration, has proved a strong draw to numerous talented lawyers. In October 2018, the firm's lawyers comprised the two founding Partners. By July 2020, the firm had grown to nearly 30 Partners, 4 senior consultant lawyers, a team of support staff including a marketing expert, events co-ordinator and trainee. The firm has been attracting colleagues from all across the UK and overseas. Aided by modern communications and technology, Partners who share our values are able to join the firm, regardless of geographical location.
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The firm now undertakes work across the UK and internationally. The direction of travel is outwards, strengthening our networks and relationships across the world, so that we can provide legal services to the highest standards seamlessly, wherever our clients are based.
Above all, the firm remains a community, where every Partner and their family matters.