Hybrid Legal celebrates 10 years of disrupting legal services market

Hybrid Legal, which provides fixed-fee legal expertise to entrepreneurs and small-to-medium size businesses, celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Mercure Winchester Wessex Hotel in the cathedral city of Winchester, Hampshire. The firm has advised 1,000 companies and organisations to date. From left is founder Ryan Lisk, director Leanne Consiglio and client partner Jonathan Craddock.

A market disruptor which provides fixed-fee legal expertise to entrepreneurs and small-to-medium size businesses has celebrated its 10th trading anniversary.

Hybrid Legal was founded in Southampton by then 23-year-old law graduate Ryan Lisk, who was determined to disrupt the traditional legal services market.

Starting out in a humble “broom cupboard” at a serviced office building, Ryan’s firm now employs 12 people, with eight consultant solicitors.

Hybrid Legal has advised more than 1,000 companies and organisations to date, ranging from terms of business to shareholder agreements and company mergers and acquisitions.

More than 60 people, including staff and clients, attended the anniversary party at the Mercure Winchester Wessex Hotel, facing the city’s 11th Century cathedral.

During a wine-tasting evening, guests took part in a silent auction fundraiser, with more than £1,800 in donations to Naomi House, which supports life-limited children, young adults and their families across the region.

Ryan, who runs Hybrid Legal with fellow director Alan Reid, said: “It’s difficult to describe how much the steadfast support our of clients, employees, associates and the wider business community over the past 10 years has meant to me – I get emotional thinking about it.

“When I was 23, fresh out of law school, I was determined that businesses should be able to access no-nonsense, responsive legal expertise, provided in plain English, where they knew in advance what the price of the service would be for complete peace of mind.

“This market-disruptive model, challenging the traditional profession of the ‘suits’, has been well received by entrepreneurs and SMEs and we continue to grow organically; Hybrid Legal is very much about putting the service back into legal services.”

Specialities include e-commerce, media and entertainment, creative, technology, marketing, retail, leisure, music, film, TV and general commercial.

Ryan added: “As Hybrid Legal goes into its 11th year, we will also be developing our expanding network of clients in the UK’s creative industries sector, which represents nearly 6% of the economy and employs 2.3 million people.

“Core work includes supporting agency owners with legal advice to prevent project scope creep and ensuring timely payments from their customers.”

According to an industry report, the UK’s legal services market was worth almost £44 billion in 2022, with legal advice for business and commercial matters accounting for nearly half of that and making up the largest specific market segment.

“It is in this thriving segment that Hybrid Legal operates, delivering crystal clear advice to entrepreneurs and SMEs, giving them a solid legal foundation for their business,” Ryan said.

Hybrid Legal’s office is at Hursley Park Campus, on the outskirts of Winchester.

As well as Ryan and Alan, the firm’s management has Leanne Consiglio as a director, with Nick Burns, who had led a number of organisations over the last 30 years, including mid-caps to FTSE 100, on the advisory board.