Where the coaching starts
The owner of a small law firm is often also its biggest fee earner. The coaching works on the business side of the firm: pricing and recovery, the capacity of each fee earner, the partners or directors, and the plan for the firm when the owner steps back.
Pricing and recovery.
Fixed fees, hourly rates and write-offs decide what a matter earns. Financial Coaching with Peter Allen sets out recovery by work type and fee earner, so pricing is set from real figures.
Fee earner capacity.
Leadership Coaching works on delegation from the principal to associates and paralegals, supervision that does not swallow the principal’s week, and the hire that adds capacity where the firm needs it.
Partners and succession.
When a principal is approaching retirement, the coaching works on the plan: a successor inside the firm, a merger or a sale, and what each needs in place.
Figures and rules for law firm owners
Each figure links to its source, checked on 6 November 2026.
There are 8,899 SRA-regulated firms.
At the end of September 2026 the SRA regulated 8,899 firms: 1,306 sole practitioners (14.7%), 883 partnerships, 1,416 LLPs and 5,267 incorporated companies (SRA). In 2025/26, 1,006 firms had just one practising solicitor (SRA AML report, October 2026).
Every firm needs a COLP and a COFA.
An authorised body must at all times have an individual designated as its compliance officer for legal practice and one as its compliance officer for finance and administration, each approved by the SRA (SRA Authorisation of Firms Rules, rule 8.1).
Closing a firm means six years of run-off cover.
On cessation, indemnity insurance extends for an additional six years of run-off cover, unless a successor practice takes on the firm as a prior practice under its own insurance (SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions). The minimum cover is £3 million a claim for a company or LLP and £2 million in other cases.
In Northern Ireland, 1,060 legal businesses.
NISRA counted 1,060 VAT or PAYE registered businesses in legal activities in March 2026 (NISRA, June 2026). The Law Society of Northern Ireland reported a new taxation hourly rate of £155 from 1 June 2025, an increase of more than 50% (Law Society NI annual report 2024 to 2025).
Selling or merging costs more tax from April 2026.
Business Asset Disposal Relief is 18% on qualifying gains from 6 April 2026 (GOV.UK), and Budget 2026 announced a cut in the lifetime limit from £1 million to £500,000 from 6 April 2027, which is not yet law (HMRC, 29 October 2026).
How the coaching runs
Coaching is one-to-one, fortnightly and ninety minutes at a time, by video or in person by appointment at the offices in East Finchley, Salford and Ballymena. It uses one method, Performance on Purpose, across four areas: personal, leadership, business and financial. Financial Coaching is delivered with Buzz Accounting. Every programme and its monthly fee is on the programmes page, and the Performance on Purpose scorecard shows where you sit before the free discovery call.
Frequently asked questions
I am the firm’s main fee earner and its manager. Where would coaching start?
With a week of your time, split into chargeable work, supervision, business development and running the firm. The split shows how many hours go on running the firm and how much of that could sit with a practice manager or a senior associate. The coaching then works on handing over specific matters and responsibilities, the supervision routine that keeps quality where it needs to be, and the targets that tell you whether the firm is on track. Financial Coaching with Peter Allen covers recovery, lock-up and the cash the firm needs to hold.
Can coaching help with succession or a merger?
Yes. Strategic Growth Coaching works through the options over the years before you step back: a successor inside the firm, a merger with a larger practice, or a sale. Each needs different things in place, such as a client base that is loyal to the firm, clean files and accounts, a compliance record and staff who will stay. Run-off cover and the regulator’s requirements shape the timing, and the legal and tax detail is a matter for your own advisers. The coaching makes sure the business side is ready and the plan has dates and owners.
Do you coach law firms outside England and Wales?
Yes. The coaching runs by video across the UK, and in person by appointment at the offices in East Finchley, Salford and Ballymena. Solicitors in England and Wales are regulated by the SRA, in Scotland by the Law Society of Scotland and in Northern Ireland by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, and the coaching respects whichever rules apply to your firm. The work itself, on pricing, capacity, the management team and succession, is the same for a firm in Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff or Manchester.
Book a free discovery call for your law firm business.
The call with Andy Jackson is free and lasts 30 minutes. You leave with your position on the Performance on Purpose quadrant, your money, time and mind scores, and your top three priorities in writing.