Two former senior executives with Fox Rodney, one of the City’s most respected legal search consultancies, have set up their own high-end legal recruitment business.  

Jonathan Fort and Edward Stratford have launched the new business – named Fort Stratford Partners – amid a record legal hiring market in the City that has been fuelled particularly by wealthy American firms and has seen salaries in the Square Mile soar. There were 510 partner moves in London last year, according to new research by legal recruitment consultancy Edwards Gibson, the highest number ever recorded in a single year and a 6% increase on the year before. 

For its part Fort Stratford said it was positioned to take on “the most ambitious and complex law firm growth mandates, from lateral partner hiring projects to multi-partner team moves and international office openings”. 

Alongside Fort and Stratford, who have more than 30 years of combined experience in recruitment, the new firm’s team includes operations director Nicola Creighton and research and data analyst Rachel Fort. 

Jonathan Fort spent more than six years at Fox Rodney, latterly as managing director. Before that he was at V&P Global, where he specialised in recruitment for US and UK law firms in dispute resolution, focusing on lateral partner and team moves across litigation, international arbitration, construction disputes, competition litigation and white-collar crime. 

Meantime Stratford focuses on transactional placements, especially private equity and corporate M&A. He spent nine years at Fox Rodney, latterly as a director, and earlier worked as a consultant at Lothbury Mason. 

Fort said that, after years of encouragement from market peers, he was thrilled to launch the new venture. 

“I’ve always said I would never do this on my own, so I feel very fortunate to be embarking on this journey with friends who I trust and respect and whose qualities are complementary to my own,” he said.   

Fort left Fox Rodney in August, which he said was a “difficult decision”, writing on LinkedIn: “I am extremely grateful to Fox Rodney and its owners for the opportunities they gave me to develop my career and the faith they showed in me.” 

He added: “After [some] time out of the market, I cannot wait to re-connect with our contacts and see what we can achieve together.”  

Stratford, who left Fox Rodney in October, said: “I’m delighted to launch Fort Stratford Partners with such a talented and diverse team, bringing freshness, enthusiasm and integrity to the legal recruitment market.”  

The firm, he said, would focus “on what matters – delivering for the clients we work with whilst staying true to our values and founding principles”. He added that he and Fort looked forward to “entering the market at what is an exciting time for law firm growth”. 

Fox Rodney was founded by ex-solicitors Stephen Rodney and Adrian Fox and is chaired by former DLA Piper regional managing partner Alastair Da Costa. It has recruited at leadership and partnership levels to major law firms and, with 28 staff including directors, is one of London’s largest dedicated legal search firms. 

Last November Rodney launched his own coaching business, IntoGreat Coaching, alongside his existing role at the firm he founded. He was managing director of City recruiters Quarry Dougall in the 1990s before founding Fox Rodney 23 years ago.