Kelly: Lawyers can be entrepreneurs
Barrister-led legal compliance business Briefed is to merge with a firm of recruitment consultants, following its acquisition by private equity firm Omni Partners.
Barrister Orlagh Kelly, chief executive of the merged firm, said the result was a “unique combination” of services, which could “find and place” professionals and then support them throughout their careers.
Omni bought DMJ Recruitment, which specialises in legal and company secretarial roles, two years ago.
Ms Kelly practised as a barrister for 12 years before founding Briefed in 2012, which developed into a training, compliance and technology platform.
She said she had been approached by a number of different private equity firms, “but never felt it was the right team” until early this year, when she was sounded out by London-based Omni Partners.
Its proposals were “very exciting” and would create “a more scaleable” business, she explained.
“By virtue of the fact that we can find and place talent, and support people for the rest of their career, this is a very different offering.”
Before the merger last week, Briefed had 10 staff, including three barristers delivering online support for law firms across the UK through a digital platform. The firm was based in Belfast, with an office in London.
DMJ Recruitment, which employs 20 recruitment consultants, has an office in the City and specialises in both private practice and in-house roles, together with corporate governance.
She said the combined firm was recruiting for three new roles. Its name would be decided over the next few months, before a formal launch next January. Details of the purchase price of Briefed have not been released.
Ms Kelly said the new firm would keep an office in Belfast, where Briefed has secured £460,000 in investment from Invest Northern Ireland to develop its digital platform and create jobs.
She said the aim was to provide professionals with a “holistic experience”, and by helping them with training, technology and advice, create a “full-service business for legal and corporate professionals, of a kind I have not come across anywhere before”.
Although the merged firm had been up and running for only a week, they had been testing the market before that, resulting in some “early successes”.
She added: “It’s probably relatively unusual for a barrister to create a business bought by a private equity firm. It demonstrates that lawyers can be entrepreneurs.”
Omni invests in “fast-growing and profitable businesses” looking for their first external capital.
Founder Steven Clark commented: “We see a real opportunity for the combined business to become an innovative full-service talent manager that helps legal, corporate governance and compliance professionals match their talent with opportunities and supports their professional development and growth at all stages of their career.”
In July, Briefed obtained the new law-specific data protection certification approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office, LOCS:23.
It advised the first legal services provider to obtain the certification earlier this year, 30 Park Place, the biggest chambers in Wales, and said it was working with eight other chambers on getting certified.
