Martin Searle Solicitors Announce Employee Ownership to be Completed by 1 April 2026
Brighton and Sussex law firm directors, Fiona Martin and Cate Searle, have confirmed their firm, martin searle solicitors, will become 100 percent employee owned (EO) on 1 April 2026. Their announcement was made on Friday 11 July at their 21st anniversary party with employees, friends, family, business contacts and clients in attendance.
From 1 April 2026, all employees at martin searle solicitors will have an equal share in the business, regardless of their role or status. Their company will be held by an Employee Ownership Trust. Employees will have access to the company accounts and can vote for Employee Representatives who will make key contributions to company and staffing decisions. Most importantly, their EO status will reward employees with tax free bonuses of up to £3,600 per annum and ensure sustainable business growth in advance of Fiona and Cate’s planned retirement.
Despite its growing popularity, Employee Ownership is rare among law firms.The Law Society has estimated that there are only 20 to 30 EO legal practices in England out of 9,000 law firms (0.33%). Fiona Martin, co-founding director says: “This alternative model aligns the interests of staff with our firm’s goals in a way that fits our ethics and values. We will continue working in a client centred law firm to further a working culture of trust, motivation and transparency for all.”
Fiona Martin and Cate Searle established their law firm in 2004 having previously worked at a large corporate firm (Fiona) and large legal aid practice (Cate). Fiona Martin leads the Employment Law team and is responsible for marketing and Cate Searle heads up the Court of Protection and Community Care team and is responsible for finance.
They studied together in 1990 on a law conversion course at Brighton Polytechnic, Fiona having studied history and Cate psychology at the University of Sussex. Both were involved in the Sussex University Student Union Occupation in 1987 against education cuts and wanted to create a new style of law practice that focused on helping the most vulnerable and discriminated-against people in society.
martin searle solicitors initially supported clients via Legal Aid, specifically working on a large housing law contract, but due to government cutbacks this became financially unviable. To replace this government funded legal work and in keeping with their values, Fiona and Cate committed to undertaking a large amount of free training and advice work for organisations such as Age UK, CAB, Mind, Alzheimer’s and Community Works.
They also started running annual campaigns to stamp out discrimination in the workplace with free training and advice for both employers and workers as well as helping people navigate funding for care. These campaigns provide legal know-how to protect peoples’ legal rights whether they are pregnant or on maternity leave, disabled or in need of healthcare and social care.
Cate Searle says: “Fiona and I are incredibly proud of all we’ve achieved at martin searle solicitors over the past 21 years. Our clients and community have always been our priority and, having created such an ethically driven culture, it is essential for us that this can continue long after we retire.
“We will mentor the new board of employee owners so that when they are ready we can retire. And by handing the business over to our incredible team of employees and empowering them through an Employee Ownership Trust succession plan, we are confident that our business will continue to thrive,” said Cate.
Fiona Martin added: “As a campaigning and purpose driven law firm, Employee Ownership is the perfect model for us. We want to ensure an ethically driven long term future for the business and one that will share the business’ success with the team. This includes everyone receiving an annual tax free bonus. We are going against the grain as large firms swallow and amalgamate with each other, but we want to remain ‘the human face of law’. This means maintaining our personal legal services and rewarding our talented colleagues with ownership of our business.”
Find out more about martin searle solicitors at ms-solicitors.co.uk.
