In 2018 Matthew Claughton hit what he calls “Year Zero.” On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier powerhouse. In reality, it was at a crossroads.
Matthew was 53 and had been at the firm for 30 years. He realised that, while Olliers was winning awards and doing great work, like so many other traditional defence firms the business lacked direction. Strategy was not aligned, legal aid was tightening and succession was a black hole.
“I looked across the industry at other defence firms,” Matthew says candidly. “They were lacking structure, revolving entirely around ageing partners, with no plans for succession and no new blood. I was determined that Olliers wouldn’t become a relic.
“While the lawyers were excellent, the strategy was scattered. The firm was too dependent on tightening legal aid rates and loss-leader cases in far-flung courts. Strategy was either lacking or impossible to implement because the leadership was pulling in different directions. We were stuck in the day-to-day and lacked a cohesive vision.”
So, Matthew, who had recently won Partner of the Year in the Manchester Legal Awards, did something most senior partners at that age wouldn’t dream of. He asked his fellow directors to step down so he could buy them out and take 100% of the risk. He effectively became a 53-year-old startup founder – with a 30-year professional reputation on the line.
The Olliers reinvention began with a brutal assessment of what worked. Matthew identified that, while heavyweight crime and fraud remained the firm’s backbone, the future lay in pre-charge representation – the high-stakes work of preventing a prosecution before it even began.
“We had to learn to say ‘no’,” Matthew explains.
“We established a rigid client acceptance policy. And we moved away from the sordid subject of money by creating a dedicated fees team, allowing our lawyers to simply be lawyers. We stopped chasing volume and started chasing impact.”
The results of this mentality have been transformative.
Since 2018, Manchester-headquartered Olliers has tripled its turnover from less than £2M to £6.5M. Most tellingly, the firm has transitioned from being almost entirely dependent on public funding to deriving 80% of its income from private clients.
Reinventing a brand is easy on a whiteboard – but it’s much harder in a hallway full of experienced, headstrong lawyers. Matthew describes the “Year Zero” period as a battle for hearts and minds.
“I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight,” he admits. “So, I decided to work with the early adopters – the colleagues who were most receptive to new ways of working. I knew if we got it right in key areas, the late majority would eventually follow.”
To prove the power of the new model, Matthew led from the front – particularly in the private pre-charge arena, which was considered to be outside the comfort zone of lawyers who were simply happy doing what they always had.
Matthew said: “There was a lot of cynicism about pre-charge representation and private work. But my energy and enthusiasm for the business carried me through – the adversity was exciting.
“The lighter fluid to this was lockdown. Court cases were on hold, police resources focused on investigations and those who had been reluctant to take on private cases quickly became pre-charge specialists.
“Those who thought it would be a damp squib, suddenly found that it wasn’t. Mindsets shifted: What if the best criminal defence lawyer is not the one who wins in court, but the one who stops the charge from happening in the first place?
Perhaps the most radical move in Matthew’s “startup” phase was the restructuring of the Board. In the traditional legal world, the back-office functions of Finance and Marketing are rarely given a seat at the top table. Matthew changed that.
By promoting Stacey Mabrouk to Commercial Director and Ruth Peters to Business Development Director, he signaled that these roles are crucial for growth.
“I involved the people who shared my vision for the future,” Matthew says. “By making them Directors, we ensured that every decision was viewed through a commercial and financial lens, not just a legal one. It broke the old lawyers-only echo chamber and ensured we were highly focused on growth and being an outstanding criminal defence firm.”
In April Stacey and Ruth each took 10% equity in the business – a move to ensure Olliers remains a fiercely independent, criminal defence powerhouse for decades to come.
Under Matthew’s leadership Olliers has doubled its headcount of qualified solicitors to 28, with nearly a third under the age of 32. Total headcount is currently 45. Central to this is an industry-leading summer intern scheme.
“We produce great lawyers because we invest in unparalleled levels of training, accreditation and supervision,” Matthew says. “In September 2025, our online intern day was attended by more than 300 students. We aren’t just hiring; we are building an academy.
“We are the only crime team, which we are aware of, with its own training academy offering comprehensive, ongoing education and training. Matthew added: “At the same time we created a service pledge which promises legal brilliance and unmatched client care. Most importantly we’ve lived and breathed that pledge. We were determined that Olliers Solicitors was to become a byword for criminal defence excellence and it is.”
Top ranked in the Legal Directories, a Times Best Law Firm and eight times winners of the
Manchester Legal Awards Crime Team of the Year, Olliers is one of the most highly regarded
criminal defence firms in the country.
Despite Olliers’ success, Matthew is clear that he has no plans for a quick sale to the highest bidder. Now 62, he is a man who has most definitely found a second wind.
“We are an outstanding firm.” he concludes. “We are debt-averse, prudent and entirely focused on unmatched client care and our people. There are no huge egos here; there is just a shared sense that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Matthew Claughton’s gamble paid off. Matthew has created a blueprint for how a legacy business can find a second life – by acting like it’s only just begun.
