01Move
DNA dimensions
Enquiry response time, conversion rate, average case fee, WIP days, complaint rate, SRA compliance and review velocity.
All playbooksServices
Solicitor playbook.
High-street and boutique London law firms (conveyancing, family, immigration, employment, commercial). The lever is qualified enquiry response under 10 minutes, intake automation and case-stage visibility.
Start your 7-day free trialNo card needed today. Your 7-day free trial starts when you sign up. Card payments are not open yet, so nobody is charged and you keep full access until they open.or book a demo →
Overview
A London high-street or boutique law firm with 2–8 fee-earners typically turns over £350k–£1.6m. Conversion and WIP discipline matter more than marketing spend: a firm answering enquiries within 10 minutes converts 2–3× the rate of one that takes 24 hours. This playbook covers launching or restructuring a small London practice — SRA authorisation, tech stack, intake automation and a credible 12-month ramp.
< 8 min
Response time
+34%
Enquiry-to-instruction
−12 days
WIP days reduction
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Office
Workstation per fee-earner
£550–£1,400 each
Ergonomic chair
£280–£900
Client meeting rooms (×2, soundproofed)
£4,500–£18,000
Secure filing + GDPR shredder
£400–£1,400
02
Tech stack
Case management (Clio / LEAP / ActionStep / Osprey)
£65–£140 per user / month
AML + ID verification (Thirdfort / SmartSearch / Veriphy)
£8–£18 per check
E-signature (DocuSign / Adobe Sign)
£25–£60 / user / month
Legal research (LexisNexis / Westlaw / Practical Law)
£140–£480 / user / month
Practice accounting (Xero + Clio integration / Quill / Insight)
£40–£140 / month
Secure client portal
Included in case mgmt above
Microsoft 365 Business Premium + MFA + backup
£18–£35 / user / month
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Format
Serviced office, small Class E unit or co-working with private rooms
Clients meet you for ~30% of matter milestones; remainder is digital.
Tube proximity
≤ 6 min walk to Zone 1–3 station
Critical for City/legal-corridor referrals and witness meetings.
Floor area
40–120 m² for 3–8 fee-earners + 2 meeting rooms
Allow 6–8 m² per fee-earner + dedicated soundproofed meeting space.
AML-compliant document handling
Locked cabinets + secure waste contract
SRA monitoring expects evidenced controls.
Step-free access
Accessible entrance + WC
Equality Act 2010 + many legal aid panel requirements.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
City / Holborn / Chancery Lane
£900–£3,500 / desk serviced
Premium positioning for commercial / corporate / disputes.
Zone 1 (Mayfair, Marylebone, Victoria)
£800–£2,800 / desk
Family + private client + immigration.
Zone 2 (Shoreditch, Hammersmith, Islington)
£500–£1,400 / desk
Sweet spot for new boutiques.
High-street / outer London (Croydon, Romford, Wimbledon, Ealing)
£20–£40 / m² annual
Conveyancing + family + immigration; strong recurring referral base.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqSRA authorisation (firm)
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Annual periodical fee scaled to turnover (£300+)
12–24 weeks for new firm
ReqPractising certificate (every solicitor)
SRA
£307 + £90 Compensation Fund / yr
Annual
ReqProfessional Indemnity Insurance (min £2m, £3m for incorporated)
QBE / Travelers / specialist broker
£3,500–£28,000 / yr by area + turnover
2–4 weeks
ReqCOLP + COFA appointments
Internal, notified to SRA
Free
Pre-authorisation
ReqAML supervision (SRA)
SRA (built into authorisation)
Included
—
ReqICO data protection registration
ICO
£60–£2,900 / yr
Same day
OptLexcel or CQS accreditation (optional but high ROI)
Law Society
£1,800–£4,500 / yr
4–8 weeks
OptCyber Essentials Plus
IASME-accredited certifier
£1,400–£3,500 / yr
4–6 weeks
OptLegal Aid Agency contract (if doing legal aid)
Legal Aid Agency
Free, competitive tender
Bid-window dependent
ReqPublic + employer liability
Specialist broker
£300–£900 / yr
1 week
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 1 · Plan + SRA prep
Month −6 to −4- Define practice areas + ideal client.
- Identify COLP + COFA.
- Begin SRA authorisation application.
- Engage PII broker (start renewal cycle planning).
02
Phase 2 · Authorisation + tech
Month −4 to −2- Bind PII (timing critical — confirms SRA approval).
- Choose case management + AML + e-sig stack.
- Set up client account + office account banking + reconciliation.
03
Phase 3 · Office + soft launch
Month −2 to 0- Sign office / lease.
- Build website with practice-area landing pages + live-chat triage.
- First 5–10 referred matters opened with full automation.
04
Phase 4 · Compound
Month 1–12- Month 1: NAVIZIX intake + AML flow live; first DNA scan.
- Month 3: First peer benchmark on response + conversion.
- Month 6: Lexcel / CQS application if eligible.
- Month 12: First partner KPI + capacity-planning review.
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Office deposit + first month
£2,400 → £16,000
Furniture + IT (3–5 staff)
£6,500 → £24,000
Software stack year 1 (case mgmt + research + AML)
£8,500 → £28,000
PII year 1
£4,500 → £18,000
SRA + ICO + accreditations
£600 → £4,500
Branding + website + content (practice-area pages)
£8,500 → £28,000
Working capital (3 months)
£35,000 → £120,000
Typical total
£35k → £85k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Rent + service charge
£1,400 → £8,500
Salaries (partner + 2–5 fee-earners + paralegal)
£22,000 → £75,000
Software stack
£700 → £2,400
PII (monthly equiv.)
£480 → £2,400
Marketing (Google + LinkedIn + referral fees)
£800 → £4,500
Research + disbursements
£280 → £1,400
Card fees + bank charges + client account audit
£140 → £600
Typical total
£5.8k → £23k
Numbers that compound
How a solicitor actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 0
Firm trading. Stripe + GoCardless + AML pipeline + live-chat triage operational.
02Day 14
First DNA scan — typically flags response time + intake completeness.
03Day 30
First conversion-rate measurement (enquiry → instruction).
04Day 60
First peer benchmark — response time + average case fee.
05Day 90
Case-stage milestone automation reduces complaint rate; partner reclaims 8+ hours/week.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a solicitor.
02Move
Suggested route
Win enquiry response under 10 minutes, automate intake + AML, then build a case-stage flywheel so clients always know what is happening next.
03Move
Automations
Enquiry-to-call-back triage, automatic AML + ID check, case-stage milestone updates, fee-reminder + payment link, post-matter review request.
04Move
Integrations
Clio / LEAP / ActionStep, SmartSearch / Thirdfort, Stripe / GoCardless, Companies House, Land Registry / SearchFlow, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
Conversion rate, average case fee and complaint rate vs London firms in the same practice area.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from London regional and City firms paired with NAVIZIX AI for partner-level workflow nudges.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a solicitor often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
Start with this playbook
7-day free trial. No card needed today.
Start your free trial and the solicitor playbook loads on day one.
Start your 7-day free trialNo card needed today. Your 7-day free trial starts when you sign up. Card payments are not open yet, so nobody is charged and you keep full access until they open.