Four partners at Lawrence Graham are to leave the legal firm and set up a private client boutique.

Glenn Hurstfield, Tim Thornton Jones, Alex Ruffel and Nick Rucker are in the process of securing office space in Berkeley Street for the new practice, which will trade under the name Berkeley Law.

The quartet is serving out their notice and hope to launch the business next May.

The new business will focus on ultra-high net worth families and individuals with at net worth in excess of £100 million. It will offer a range of services including asset protection and trust planning.

Berkeley Law, which is not permitted to poach any more LG staff, intends to recruit people as the business grows.

Equity in the firm will be equally divided between the four partners initially. Ruffel said the firm is looking to build incentivisation schemes for all employees, which is likely to see them release some of their equity to new joiners. ‘We are looking to build incentivisation schemes for anyone who joins the long-term vision of the business,’ Ruffel said.

She added the four were speaking to clients about their plans where appropriate and expect to have enough support for a successful launch.

Hurstfield and Thornton-Jones are the two most senior of the four and were made partners at LG in 1987 and 1991 respectively.