Sully-based legal entrepreneur Victoria Hall is marking the first anniversary of Impact Lawyers after a year of rapid growth, national recognition and expansion.

Launched in May 2025 by Victoria and co-founder Kevin Withane, Impact Lawyers was created to provide SMEs, start-ups and growing businesses across areas including employment law, corporate and commercial law, HR, leadership, governance, people strategy and wider business support.

In its first year, the business has grown to support more than 250 clients and developed from a two-person start-up into a global network of legal, HR, leadership, commercial and business consultants, with its revenue exceeding its original three-year plan within year one. Impact Lawyers has also recently been accepted into a global network of law firms, substantially extending its internationally capability.

The milestone follows two recent award wins for Victoria, who was named winner of the IoD Wales Director of the Year Start-Up Award and has also been announced as one of WeAreTheCity's 2026 Rising Star winners. Impact Lawyers was also runner up in the FSB HSBC Growth Award for the East of England in the Start up category.

Before co-founding Impact Lawyers, Victoria served as an RAF Officer, before retraining as an employment lawyer and becoming a partner at a corporate law firm. However, after experiencing burnout and losing her sense of purpose within the traditional legal environment, Victoria took time away from corporate law before setting out to build a business that reflected her own values and approach to people, performance and leadership.

She said: "When Kevin and I launched Impact Lawyers, we wanted to build something very different from the legal environments I had experienced before.

"I reached a point where I had lost my sense of purpose and was no longer working in a way that aligned with my values. I knew I either had to leave the profession I had worked so hard to be part of or build something I could be proud of.

"That decision led to Impact Lawyers. Our vision is 'for you, with you', and we have worked hard to embed that in both our client model and our internal culture. We wanted to create a people-first business where how we work matters just as much as what we deliver.

"To go from two clients to 250 in our first year, while building a global network of consultants and receiving this level of recognition, has been incredible. But what I am most proud of is that we have grown without moving away from our values of collaboration, integrity, innovation and impact.

"For me, understanding people is the key to success in business. That belief sits at the heart of Impact Lawyers, and it is shaping how we work with clients, consultants and collaborators as we enter our second year."

As part of its next phase of growth, Impact Lawyers is applying to become a regulated company and is also exploring acquisition opportunities.

Victoria added: "Collaboration will continue to be central to our ongoing growth. We want to work with other law firms, consultants and business networks that share our values. Where there is no appetite for collaboration, that is usually a sign that the relationship is not right for us."

Impact Lawyers is a member of Comercity, a cross-sector business network based in South Wales, as well as IoD Wales and international legal network Consulegis.

She said: "Comercity is built around people helping people, which is exactly how we believe good business should work.

"It has been great to connect with like-minded individuals who understand the importance of long-term relationships, shared values and collaboration. Jonathan and I have known each other for more than 25 years, and there has always been a real alignment in how we think about business, people and trust."

Jonathan Cave, founder of Comercity, said: "Victoria is exactly the kind of founder Comercity was created to support – ambitious, values-led and focused on building relationships rather than simply chasing transactions.

"Victoria's approach to business has always been grounded in integrity, collaboration and a genuine commitment to people.

"Impact Lawyers has achieved a huge amount in its first year, and its growth shows what can happen when expertise, trust and community come together. Victoria and Kevin have built something genuinely distinctive, and I'm delighted to have Impact Lawyers as part of the Comercity network."

Looking ahead, Impact Lawyers plans to continue expanding its reach while maintaining its people-first approach to legal and business support.

The business is also continuing to support wider communities and underrepresented groups, including through Victoria's work with Diversity X, her role as a trustee of an addiction support charity and her position as a non-executive director for a not-for-profit organisation.