Platform firm Setfords has migrated all 650 consultant lawyers and more than 200 support staff onto Halo, a proprietary practice management platform developed in-house.
The investment forms part of a broader strategy to own the technology and data underpinning the business.
Setfords has launched an in-house tech platform, as the UK's largest platform law firm bets on owning its own technology stack.
The private equity-backed firm has migrated all 650 consultant lawyers and more than 200 support staff onto Halo, a proprietary practice management system combining case, accounts and practice management.
The rollout forms part of a wider strategy to build what Setfords describes as a vertically integrated business combining legal services, technology and data.
Vertical integration
Setfords said it built Halo because no off-the-shelf product could support the way its consultant lawyers work.
The migration, described as the largest technology programme in the firm's history, involved moving millions of historical documents and every lawyer and member of its back-office team onto the new platform over a single weekend.
Guy Setford, co-chief executive, said: "Twenty years ago, we built Setfords around a different model for practising law. Halo is the next stage of that same thinking."
“The platform model changed the way law firms can work. Now we are changing the technology that sits underneath them,” he added.
Chris Setford, co-chief executive, said Halo was "just the first step".
“We now fully control the technology that underpins how we operate, and that will allow us to keep improving how our lawyers work and the service our clients receive,” he said.
Tech strategy
Setfords established a dedicated technology subsidiary last year and has expanded its in-house technology team from eight to more than 30.
The investment comes as Setfords reportedly explores strategic options. The Sunday Times reported in May that the firm had appointed investment bankers to consider a potential sale after revenue rose 35% to £67 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
Setfords is the UK's largest platform law firm, operating a consultant model under which its self-employed lawyers use the firm's infrastructure and support services while retaining a share of the fees they generate.
London-based private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners acquired a stake in the business in 2021.
Technology arms race
Technology has become an increasingly important differentiator for platform firms, whose business models depend on running a lean back office capable of supporting hundreds of self-employed lawyers.
Firms are increasingly investing in their own proprietary platforms. Fast-growing rival Lawhive has built its own end-to-end AI platform, having originally launched as a legal software provider before becoming an SRA-regulated law firm.
Other major players in the platform market include Keystone, Taylor Rose and Gunnercooke.
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