Are you looking for something different?

Scott-Moncrieff, Harbour & Sinclair, otherwise known as Scomo, is an innovative practice in which virtually all our fee earners are self-employed consultants. They work from home or have their own offices, are free to take on as much or as little work with us as they wish, and can combine work for us with any other work.

We believe that people who do difficult and demanding work do it best if they feel good about their working conditions, and one way of achieving that objective is to give people control over their working lives. As the firm has grown we have discovered a cohort of experienced lawyers whose needs are not met in conventional firms; they don't want to be bosses but nor do they want to be subordinates. They just want to be lawyers, and we make it possible for them to be so.

For many years we were an entirely legal aid practice, and have continued to flourish as such during the recent difficult times. Lately we have expanded into privately paid work, with our Personal Injury and Military Claims Unit, and are keen to continue increasing our areas of work yet further. We have shown that the system that we devised to make legal aid an attractive option in grim financial conditions will work equally well in other circumstances, and particularly suits motivated people who want to be free to organize their working lives to suit themselves.

Technology makes our structure possible. We have our own computerised case management system, a secure intranet, and an on-line forum to ensure that distance does not impede communication or effectiveness, and to allow people to practice from anywhere in the country without difficulty. However we do not rely on technology alone to make the firm work; our consultants meet professionally through regular unit meetings and socially. We think that all this makes Scomo a happy place to work.

A key factor in this mix is our equality policy. All our consultants have the same terms and conditions, whether solicitors or non-solicitors, in that they all keep 70% of their profit costs, and have full and equal access to all our services. We do not distinguish (we have no way of distinguishing) between full timers and part-timers, and support and supervision are based on need, not status. We don't have a glass ceiling; because we don't have a ceiling at all. Our consultants determine their own goals and success is in their own hands.

Our way of working suits people who want to combine work with family responsibilities, those who enjoy portfolio working, and those who want to go flat out for success in their chosen field, unimpeded by the constraints of conventional practice.

Contact our admin team : scomo@scomo.com