About

Nigel Haddon

I spent some 30 years as a solicitor in private practice, the last nine of them as Managing Partner and CEO of a successful regional law firm, one which I helped move from being a ‘High Street’ general practice to being a credible alternative to city-based competitors, and to a place in the UK top 200.

I am a former Chair of the Law Management Section of the Law Society (now Leadership and Management Section), editor of the same Section’s Merger Toolkit and an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Leading Professional Service Firms course.

I began my consultancy work in 2013. My focus since then has been on just three areas: Value Pricing; offering constructive challenge and support to law firm leadership teams; and mergers & acquisitions.

My interest in Pricing was sparked by working with my former colleague Richard Burcher back in 2012. I subsequently worked with Burcher Jennings from 2014 to early 2022. I have been working in Pricing under my own name since March 2022. I am a Teaching Fellow in Pricing on the Master of Legal Business course at the College of Law Australia. I have trained some 100 firms in pricing, and worked in more than 10 jurisdictions.

I work with law firm leaders to help re-set strategy and challenge the way things get done (or don’t) in the firm, then help support them in overcoming obstacles to progress. I employ the phrase ‘a critical friend’ to describe this role, which may be as a Non-Executive Director or similar, subject to retainer, or on an ad hoc project basis.

While in private practice, I led on four mergers and/or acquisitions, and have subsequently built on that hands-on experience in my work in this area as a consultant and as part of Mosaic Legal.

Services

Pricing

There is no other lever that law firms can pull that delivers the impact that improved pricing skills does. And with no increase to overheads! Read more…

Critical Friend or Non-Executive Director

Law firms are beginning to look at and accept the value of experienced, independent minds attending their management or governance meetings. Read more…

Mergers & Acquisitions

A lack of independence and objectivity can hinder a merger when it comes to big issues such as ‘who gets what’. Firms benefit from an experienced, independent consultant. Read more…

Partner Retreats

A facilitated retreat, away from the distractions of the office, gives attendees the chance to stand back and take stock of where they are and where they are heading. Read more…

Leadership & Strategy

Whether at firm or team level, I help leadership and management review and re-set their strategies and guide them, as a critical friend, on implementation. Read more...

Videos

Here are the most recently recorded videos. Please click here to view all videos.

I join Simon Tupman’s Law Chat Series, to explore some of the key issues and opportunities affecting for law firms this year

 

 

Pricing in difficult times was the topic for this virtual coffee break with Mosaic Legal including pay now options and ageing debt management

 

Recorded on 24th April this is an interview by Andy Poole of Armstrong Watson and myself, for the members of the UK200 Group

Blog

Pricing – easy, isn’t it? (Part 2)

In Part 1 we looked at some common failings of firms in maximising the return, by no means exclusively in financial terms, from their investment in pricing training. Let’s remind […]

Pricing – easy, isn’t it? (Part 1)

I’ve been training lawyers and accountants in value pricing for almost a decade now. I’ve worked with 100 or so firms, from niche sole practitioner up to top 100 (law)/top […]

Pricing psychology – or ‘know your client’

Introduction The conventional economic model argues that every individual or organisation acts rationally in their own best interest at all times, having weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the options […]

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Case Studies

Pricing - Wollens

Wollens – A Strategic Approach to Pricing

This case study traces how a focus on value and pricing has helped transform Wollens into a legal powerhouse in the South West of England. Chris Hart was Managing Partner […]

Opportunistic Acquisition of a Law Firm

Our client was a four partner firm based in a provincial city. It was profitable with PEP in the region of £160,000. While it provided a full service offering it […]

Law Firm Disposal

Our client was a two Partner High St practice in the North West.  They were looking to sell the practice to a buyer who would keep the main and branch […]

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Testimonials

We engaged Nigel as we had identified a need to improve our approach to pricing the work we undertook. All those who attended the training found it insightful. It has instilled a feeling of enthusiasm and confidence in their approach to pricing client work and delivered demonstrable improvements for the firm.

Graham Sweeney

Managing Partner, Schofield Sweeney

I will be honest and say I am generally underwhelmed by the content of a lot of ‘soft skills’ courses. Pleased to say this one is a massive exception to the rule – almost too many useful messages!

Paul Brown

Tax Partner, WR Partners

It’s the most useful course I’ve been on in years. I thought I would pick up a few tips but I got far more than I expected from it. We have refocused on getting our pricing right and have lost only one instruction due to price, the rest are all delighted with the price and the value we have provided.

Paul Bennett

Partner, Bennett Briegal. Chair, Leadership & Management Section, Law Society

We have benefited hugely from Nigel’s consultancy work with us. He has provided invaluable advice and input based on years of experience of having run both small and large firms. He is always completely frank with us, never talking in riddles or opaque management-speak, but always with positivity and good humour. Nigel has been invaluable in helping us develop a much better understanding of our business and the direction in which we are taking it.

Dave Matthews

Chief Executive, Blaser Mills LLP, High Wycombe
See all testimonials

Publications

Affiliations

Twitter

Great to be back in Chester, helping another top-200 law firm learn the theory and practice of value pricing #law #pricing #valuepricing #UKtop200

Delighted to have completed phase one of a #Pricing project for another top 200 law firm this week. That’s the Partners & Senior Associates trained! Time now for the firm to draw breath & consider their new pricing policies, processes & systems before we look at phase two…

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