Freelance solicitor, sole practitioner or consultant: how to choose

The three models

• Freelance solicitor. The SRA uses the term for a self-employed solicitor who practises alone, in their own name, employs no one in connection with their services, and is engaged and paid directly by clients. The practice itself is not authorised; you are regulated as an individual.
• Sole practitioner. You are the sole principal of a firm that the SRA authorises as a recognised sole practice. It is a firm in its own right, with its own insurance, compliance officers and, if you want one, a client account.
• Consultant. You work, usually self-employed, inside an existing SRA-authorised firm. Under the SRA’s rules, someone engaged by a firm on a contract for services counts as one of its employees, so you work under the firm’s authorisation and its regulatory arrangements.

All three need a current practising certificate, which costs £552 for 2026/27. The SRA’s guidance is clear that a consultant working on behalf of someone else is not a freelance solicitor, and nor is a solicitor practising in a partnership or through a limited company.

Side by side

Freelance: lowest overhead, tightest limits

Freelancing is usually the cheapest way to practise on your own. There is no firm application, no firm fee and no client account. If all your work is non-reserved, advice for example, the conditions below don’t apply at all.

To do reserved legal work as a freelancer, regulation 10.2(b) of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations requires you to:

• have practised as a solicitor for at least three years since admission
• be self-employed and practise in your own name, not through a trading name or service company
• employ no one in connection with your services, which the SRA says can include contractors
• be engaged directly by the client, with fees payable to you
• have a practising address in the UK
• hold indemnity insurance that gives adequate and appropriate cover
• hold no client money other than fees and disbursements paid on account

The client money limit applies to every freelancer, reserved work or not, under paragraph 4.3 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors. You can’t hold damages, estate money or other transactional funds, so work that needs them requires another arrangement, such as a third-party managed account. See the full guide to becoming a freelance solicitor.

Sole practice: full scope, full responsibility

A recognised sole practice can do any legal work you are competent to do, hold client money and employ a team. In return you take on the regulatory load of a firm:

• SRA authorisation, which the SRA aims to decide within 90 days but can take up to 180
• Qualifying insurance on the SRA’s minimum terms, at least £2 million per claim
• An approved COLP and COFA, roles you will usually hold yourself
• If you hold client money, the Accounts Rules in full and a firm Compensation Fund contribution, £2,170 for 2026/27

The firm also needs a supervising lawyer with at least three years’ practice. If that isn’t you, you must bring in someone who meets the rule. For the process, see how SRA firm authorisation works.

Consultant: practising inside another firm

Consultant models trade some independence and a share of your fees for someone else’s infrastructure. The firm holds the authorisation, the insurance and the client account, and you work under its supervision and compliance systems.

In a December 2025 thematic review, the SRA looked at firms growing by taking on large numbers of self-employed consultants. The firms it met ran client onboarding centrally, including conflict and money laundering checks. All had supervision arrangements for consultants, and none gave consultants direct access to the client account.

Before you sign, find out:

• how fees are split, and what the firm charges for on top
• what supervision and support you will get, and who your COLP and COFA are
• what happens to your clients and files if you leave

Which suits your work

• Advisory or other non-reserved work: freelance is usually the simplest start, whatever your experience.
• Reserved work without client money, and three years’ practice: freelance can work, if you are content to work alone and in your own name.
• Work where client money passes through your hands, such as property transactions or estates: a firm of your own, or a consultancy where the firm’s client account does the job.
• Fewer than three years’ practice and reserved work: a consultancy or employment, or your own firm with a supervising lawyer who meets the three-year rule.
• Plans to build a team or a brand: an authorised firm, because a freelancer doing reserved work can’t employ anyone or use a trading name.

Switching later

Moving all your work from a sole practice to freelancing means closing the recognised sole practice, which includes buying run-off cover for claims in the six years after closure. The SRA’s guidance says this typically costs around three times the annual premium, so price it in before you decide.

You can keep a sole practice and also freelance, for example doing distinct non-reserved advice outside the firm. The SRA warns that clients must understand which protections apply, and that splitting one matter between the two isn’t suitable.

For costs across all three routes, see how much it costs to start a law firm, and for the full set-up process, how to start a law firm in England and Wales.