James Hacking and Mike Estill from Kindleworth join the show to unpack one of the more salient shifts in Big Law right now: senior partners leaving large firms to launch specialist practices - and why the market is suddenly making that move feel much more doable.
They explain Kindleworth’s model: helping partners with client followings set up boutique or specialist firms of their design, then running the day-to-day operational backbone once the doors are open. The conversation digs into some of the best-known projects they’ve been involved in, including Pallas and the rapid Rosenblatt spin-out, and what those launches reveal about how quickly new firms can be stood up when the right pieces are in place.
A big theme is friction, and how to remove it. Hacking and Estill argue that better access to capital, dramatically improved tech, and a growing pool of partners who don’t fit neatly inside the strategic priorities of ever-bigger global firms. They talk about conflicts in the broad sense - not just classic conflicts of interest, but conflicts of strategy, pricing and business model - and why that opens space for focused firms built around a portable book of business and a clear vision.
The episode also looks ahead: why Burford Capital invested in Kindleworth, what a US expansion could look like, and how technology and outside capital could enable a new breed of "scale specialist" firms. The practical takeaway is simple: if you’ve got the itch to go it alone, don’t be scared of exploring it - because the fastest way to get clarity is to start having the right conversations.
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
01:20 Kindleworth Origins & Founder Backgrounds
02:20 What Kindleworth Does & Who It’s For
03:56 High-Profile Launches & the Rosenblatt Rescue
05:17 Burford Capital & Funding Law Firm Spin-Outs
08:08 Why Kindleworth Is Taking the Model to the US
12:11 Why Starting Fresh Beats Fixing Big Law
14:13 Which Practice Areas Are Ripe for Breakaways
18:18 Advice for Partners Thinking of Leaving
26:03 Pricing Pressure, AI & New Firm Economics
38:53 The Upside: Freedom, Ownership & Building Legacy
