Culbert Ellis is a boutique law firm based in the City of London and Cambridge. Clients work directly with named, senior solicitors on high-stakes corporate matters, disputes and investigations, technology and IP, employment, business crime and civil recovery, property, construction and media. Our partners and teams are recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, and the firm is ranked for litigation and technology.
We began life in 2006 as iLaw, a name that deliberately challenged convention and reflected our early focus on technology and intellectual property. While iLaw opened the door, the calibre of our people and the breadth of our work quickly outgrew the label. Today, the firm’s name - Culbert Ellis - honours our founders, Justin Ellis and Mark Culbert, and puts the focus where it belongs: on the respected practitioners clients want beside them when it matters. The iLaw name continues as our specialist label for innovation-led technology and IP work.
Culbert Ellis is owned through a UK Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). In practical terms, the trust holds the controlling interest in the firm for the benefit of our employees. Leadership and client teams remain the same; what changes is alignment. The people doing the work have a real stake and a voice in the firm’s long-term success. For clients, that means continuity, accountability and a deeper commitment to outcomes - stewardship rather than short-termism.
Our lawyers are ranked for their judgement and advocacy in The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, and the firm was shortlisted for Boutique Law Firm of the Year in both the Law Society Excellence Awards and the British Legal Awards (Legal Week). As a founding firm of the International Commercial Law Alliance (ICLA), your team in the room is supported by a trusted global bench when matters cross borders, giving you City-grade advice with coordinated international capability.
We get to the decisive issues quickly, set out clear options and deliver practical, commercial answers. Because we speak the language of our clients and their trading partners - across technology, finance, FMCG and the creative industries - our advice is both strategic and workable. Boutique by choice, we measure our value in access to senior judgement, not layers of process.
