Can a law firm embrace private equity, acquisitions and ambitious growth without losing the culture that made it successful? In this episode of But Is It Legal?, host Simon Marshall sits down with Nick Taylor, CEO of Higgs LLP, to explore the firm’s evolution from a leading West Midlands practice into a private equity-backed, multi-regional law firm.

Drawing on more than 25 years of M&A experience, Nick offers an honest account of external investment, law firm consolidation and the realities of building a modern, scalable legal business. 🎙️

🔥 What's included:

The Higgs “secret sauce”: why care, authenticity and strong relationships remain central to the firm’s culture and client experience.

Why private equity?: the limitations of traditional partnership funding and why external investment offered Higgs a faster route to growth.

Choosing the right investor: how Higgs assessed potential partners and why cultural alignment mattered as much as financial backing.

The reality of the deal: Nick reflects on leading Higgs through an intense due diligence process and drawing on his own M&A background.

Building a multi-regional firm: the strategy behind Higgs’ expansion beyond the West Midlands and its acquisitions in Scotland.

Protecting culture through acquisitions: why Nick is “fiercely protective” of the Higgs identity and how the firm assesses potential acquisition targets.

The consolidation of legal services: how regulation, recruitment pressures, technology costs and narrowing margins are reshaping the profession.

AI and future growth: why technology could allow specialist firms to scale without increasing headcount at the same rate.

🎧 Why you should listen: If you want to understand what private equity investment really means for a law firm, this episode offers a commercially grounded view from someone leading the process. Nick explains how Higgs is combining legal excellence, operational discipline and ambitious growth while working to protect the culture at the heart of the business.

👉 Subscribe now and be part of the conversation that’s changing up the UK legal sector!

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👉 Follow Nick Taylor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-taylor-b27aa349/ Profile: https://www.higgsllp.co.uk/our-people/nick-taylor

👉 Follow Simon Marshall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonpaulmarshall/ Website: www.tbdmarketing.co.uk