Oak Legal: (l-r) Nikki Poole, Colm McGinley and Rebecca Kashti
A new legal group backed by a private investment office and aimed in particular at law firms with succession issues has acquired an Oxford practice as the first step in a buy-and-build strategy.
Oak Legal Group has already agreed heads of terms with two other law firms following the deal to buy Hedges Law and a further three close to that stage.
A key element of the offer is that – unlike many other consolidators – acquired firms can retain their “brand, leadership and local autonomy, supported by collective investment, governance and operational expertise”.
It is prepared to look at smaller practices – one of the two that have agreed heads of terms has a turnover of £1m – but also larger ones; talks are ongoing with a £12m firm.
The private office, CKM3, is owned by Colm McGinley, a former surveyor who in 2008 founded staffing business MCG Group, now known as Auxo Talent, and created a company with 350 employees before stepping away in 2023. CKM3 is still invested in it, however.
He will lead Oak Legal alongside Hedges directors Nicola Poole and Rebecca Kashti. They each own 25% of the group, with another investor the final share.
In 2021, Hedges became one of the first law firms to embrace employee ownership and Ms Poole, its managing director, said the model “served us very well for a period of time”. But while it “solves the ownership problem”, it did not deal with succession.
The younger generation of lawyers were not attracted to the idea of a career at one firm, working up to the partnership, the same way hers was, she said.
Ms Poole had also been “really fascinated by what’s been happening in the market consolidation wise”, while becoming “increasingly frustrated, like many independent small firm owners” with the challenges of increased regulation.
Rather than wait for the succession problem to crystallise, “we decided to go out to the market to see what possibilities there might be for a firm like Hedges”. It is a firm turning over £4m, with 49 staff and loyal clients in “very, very good locations” – Oxford, Wallingford and Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds.
There was plenty of interest, Ms Poole said. “CKM3 were a very interesting proposition because Colm’s new to the legal industry, but he’s a phenomenally successful businessman. One of the things I loved was that every business he’s owned and run have gone into the top 100 firms to work for. So people are really important to him.”
Hedges’ employees – so-called Hedgeholders of the employee ownership trust – backed the deal and there would be “a corresponding profit-share arrangement” under Oak, something Ms Poole said she would like to replicate at other firms in the group.
Oak Legal is looking for similar firms to Hedges, namely “high-end locations with strong client relationships and high-performing teams”. Ms Poole added: “We’re looking at everywhere from central London down to East and West Sussex at the moment and across to Bath.”
As a group, it will be full service, although individual firms need not be. While firms can retain their brands, there may be situations where it makes sense to change them – such as a single brand for a particular area of practice or location.
The “slightly cheesy” idea behind the name Oak Legal was that the individual firms would be the acorns.
As well as the five firms that have either signed heads of terms or are close to doing so, Ms Poole said Oak was in serious talks with a further five.
The conversations she has had highlighted the succession problems many firms have, with partners still at work in their 80s because they have nobody to pass their practices on to.
Ms Kashti added: “We are not building for a short-term exit or pursuing growth at any cost. We are creating a platform of leading law firms that share the same values – where people and clients come first, and where culture is protected, not eroded.”
Mr McGinley said: “The strategy is to establish a group that is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about backing great businesses and great people, not imposing a template.
“Too often, founders are forced to choose between selling to consolidators or private equity models that don’t reflect what they have built. We believe there is a better way – one that protects legacy, supports teams, and creates long-term value.”
He told Legal Futures that his investments focused on surveying and construction, staffing, and thirdly wider professional services, such as law, accountancy and wealth management.
Hedges met his initial criteria of “Do I like them? Do I trust them?” and appealed as the foundation stone of the group because of its focus on people and its tech-enabled, process-driven approach.
There were “lots of consolidation opportunities” in the law and he described himself as an “operational-led investor” who could add value by supporting the running of businesses and helping them grow.
“Many lawyers are quick to admit they don’t find running a business easy,” he pointed out.
He added: “We wanted to put something out there that’s genuinely different – a really good regional group of firms that’s recognised as a good place to work that’s not necessarily out to take over the world.”
Ms Poole noted recent research that only 2% of private equity money went to female-owned businesses.
“Hedges has a diversity problem in that we’re about 90% female. And so this is definitely not going to be a consolidator that an old boys’ club,” she said.
“This is a very, very female-friendly and very strong female-backed business. Oak will absolutely fly the flag for women.”
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