Build your practice

You’ve spent years building.
Now build something that’s yours.

A platform designed for senior lawyers who want to lead their own practice — with the community, the model and the economics of a £100m firm behind them.

We do things differently here. Because being different should make a difference.

90%
Max fee retention
650+
Advisors globally
30%
Revenue from referrals
29
Ranked practice areas
Earn more of what you create

The more you generate. The more you keep.

At gunnercooke, partners retain between 70% and 90% of everything they bill. The thresholds are fixed and transparent. They rise automatically with inflation each year. No lockstep. No distribution committee. No ceiling.

For most lawyers who run their current numbers against these thresholds, the comparison is more significant than expected. The setup fee is £3,000 plus VAT, payable in instalments and only once billing begins.

01
70% retained on fees up to £375,000

Tier one. For a lawyer billing £350,000, that is £245,000 retained before any referral income.

02
75% retained between £375,000 and £550,000

Tier two. For a lawyer billing £450,000, the blended return is approximately £318,750.

03
90% retained above £550,000

Tier three. For a lawyer billing £600,000, the blended return is approximately £438,750.

04
Additional income on referrals and introductions

Referral income on clients introduced to other parts of the firm. 5% of fees generated by any lawyer you bring with you.

Run your numbers

What you would take home at your billing level.

The model is straightforward. Slide to your billing level and see what you would retain at gunnercooke compared to a typical traditional firm retention of around 30%.

Up to £375,000 70%
£375,000 – £550,000 75%
Above £550,000 90%
£300,000
£100k£1.5m
Traditional firm
£90,000
~30% retention
gunnercooke
£210,000
70% retention

Indicative only. Traditional firm retention ~30%. Fee brackets adjust annually with CPI. Setup fee £3,000 + VAT.

Talk to us

A short, confidential conversation about what your practice is actually worth.

No commitment. No pitch deck. A peer-level discussion about your practice, your clients and whether the model genuinely makes sense for you.

We respond within one working day. Everything you share stays between us.

A financial illustration based on your actual billing
Introduction to a partner from your practice area
Honest answers on client portability and timing
Completely confidential — never shared with third parties
Start the conversation

Tell us about your practice.

A few details so we can come back to you with a relevant response. We will reply within one working day.

Over 650 partners have made this move. They started exactly where you are.

By submitting, you agree to be contacted by the gunnercooke recruitment team. Your details will never be shared with third parties.

The practice belongs to you

Built around the lawyer. Not the institution.

Partners join gunnercooke as self-employed advisors. The practice is theirs to design, run and build in whatever direction makes sense for them and their clients. No timesheets. No internal billing targets. No partnership committee with a view on how the practice should develop.

When the institutional overhead is removed, the time and attention that went into managing it goes directly back into client work and practice development.

01
Self-employed advisor — your practice in your name

Set your own pricing. Choose your clients. Build your team or work independently. Set your own hours. The practice belongs to the partner, and so does everything built within it.

02
No timesheets. No targets. No retirement age.

No internal billing targets, no mandatory retirement, no forced transition to consultant status. The structural difference is more significant than it sounds.

03
£100m PI insurance from day one

Full coverage included. No buy-in, no equity contribution, no hidden structure. The setup fee is £3,000 plus VAT in instalments, only once billing begins.

04
gcTrust — 100+ professionals supporting your practice

Finance, compliance, IT, marketing, BD, partner services. The operational weight handled so the partner can focus on clients. 5 hours of complimentary secretarial support on joining.

A model built for the future

A platform clients take seriously. A firm built deliberately differently.

£100m global revenue. 20% year-on-year growth. Clients in 126 countries — from Google, Rolls Royce, ASOS and Santander to growth companies and not-for-profit organisations. Recognised across close to 30 ranked practice areas in Chambers and Legal 500. Ranked 66th in The Lawyer 200.

A Net Promoter Score of +91 — among the highest in the UK legal market. The product of partners who own their client relationships entirely, in a model built for how legal practice is going rather than how it used to be.

01
Leading AI tools deployed firmwide

Every partner has access to the same AI infrastructure. Not a pilot, not a premium add-on. The technology that defines the next decade of legal practice, available from day one.

02
No lockstep. No hierarchy. No ceiling.

The model removes the structural constraints that push senior partners out or sideways. Practise at your level, for as long as you choose.

03
A serious platform with serious clients

Recognised across close to 30 ranked practice areas. £100m global revenue. 50,000 clients in 126 countries. 20% year-on-year growth.

04
Built deliberately differently

+91 NPS — among the highest in the legal sector. A business where success is measured not just by results, but by the lives it improves.

A community worth joining

The people set the standard. The model rewards it.

The first question most lawyers ask is who else is here. At gunnercooke, that question has a clear answer. More than half the lawyers came from top-50 firms. The firm turns away 80% of applicants. The community has been built on that standard consistently.

Around 30% of total firm revenue flows through partner referrals. That only happens when lawyers are actively choosing to work together. Partners who join, stay — attrition is exceptionally low for the sector at 5.8%.

01
650+ advisors. 435 partners. Selectively built.

More than half came from top-50 firms. The firm turns away 80% of applicants. Calibre is the entry condition, not a marketing claim.

02
28 new partners joined in 2025

Many from top-100 firms at a similar career stage. The community is growing — and growing at calibre, not at volume.

03
Around 30% of firm revenue from internal referrals

The community works together, not merely alongside each other. Lawyers actively refer work to colleagues they trust. The pipeline grows the moment you arrive.

04
110+ internal events each year

Practice area dinners, regional gatherings, sector-led briefings. The connections form in person and translate into referrals on the platform.

In their words

From partners who were exactly where you are.

One of the things I didn't anticipate was the ability to grow my practice and team. I brought people from my previous business with me when I joined, and I've since hired and added to that team.

Rashmi Dubé · Litigation & ESG Partner

I know it sounds clichéd, but gunnercooke allowed me to be the lawyer that I always wanted to be. You're the architect of your own destiny, deciding the areas of law you want to specialise in, who is in your team, and what the short to long term strategy is.

Thalis Vlachos · Employment Partner
How it works

Straightforward. Designed around you.

The process is clear, low-pressure and efficient. Most partners are up and running within four to six weeks of their first conversation — with their client relationships intact and their practice fully supported from day one.

We will answer every question about client portability, the transition timeline and what the first six months looks like — clearly and without spin.

01
An initial conversation

Informal, no commitment. We want to understand your practice, your billing level, your clients and what you are looking for. You can ask us anything.

02
Understanding the model in detail

A full walkthrough of remuneration, the support infrastructure, the referral network and the transition — specifically for a practice at your level and in your area.

03
Speaking with partners who have made the move

We connect you directly with gunnercooke partners at a similar stage and background. Candid conversations about what they billed, what they took home and what happened to their clients.

04
Joining — and building from day one

We work with you on practice structure, onboarding and your first introductions into the referral network. The support starts before you have handed in your notice.

Read the full case

Take the full recruitment brochure with you.

The full case in detail — the model, the community, the platform, and the numbers worked through at every billing level. We will email it to you straight away.

Send me the brochure

A short form. The brochure by return.

Name and email. That is all we need. We will email the brochure to you straight away.

Your details will never be shared with third parties.