Two solicitors who left traditional practice to join the consultancy boom have gone back to start their own private firm. Zoe Bloom and Hannah Budd have established boutique family specialist BloomBudd LLP after working together at remote working firm Keystone Law.

The duo, who maintain excellent relations with their former firm, say they learned much from their time with Keystone and hope to take elements of its business model to their new venture.

‘Home working and flexible hours will be a mainstay of BloomBudd,’ they said. ‘We have existed without billing targets for over a decade, and will not introduce them. They are outdated and encourage bad practices. We also do not believe the cost of training and learning should be passed on to the client, so avoid that. It enables us to be more streamlined.

‘We want both the client and the team, to benefit from a step away from traditional models and be positive about the future.’

Bloom and Budd said the remote working firm model has benefitted the profession more widely, broadening the options available to solicitors and giving them the opportunity to be independent.

The move to starting their own firm means they can differentiate themselves from other solicitors working under the Keystone umbrella and establish their own client base.

Bloom became a consultant solicitor in 2010 when she was six years qualified, and changed practice areas to specialise in the financial aspects of family breakdowns. During her time as a consultant she was also the first to establish a team around her, which consisted of nine family law professionals.

Having left traditional practice in 2017, Budd joined Bloom at Keystone two years later. She brings international and children expertise arising from her time as a partner at a London firm advising international families.

The founders are joined by partner Victoria Toy, who specialises in child arrangements, associate solicitors Justina de Brett and Kelly Giambrone, paralegal Jo Coleman and practice manager Toni Sargeant.

 

Pictured above: BloomBudd LLP team (Zoe is pictured second from the left, Hannah is pictured on the far right)

 

This article is now closed for comment.