1st October 2026
Lightfoots Solicitors has acquired Rachel Stafford Legal Services, the Thame based solicitors' firm, following the retirement of its founder Rachel Stafford.
The acquisition, which completed on 30th September 2026 brings Rachel Stafford Legal Services' clients to Lightfoots, along with Carol Barnes, who has worked alongside Rachel Stafford, and joins the firm's Wills & Probate team in Thame.
Rachel Stafford established Rachel Stafford Legal Services in 2015. She is retiring to spend more time with her family, and said the decision about who should take on her clients mattered a great deal.
Rachel Stafford said: " Thank you to every client who trusted me over the years. I wanted to hand this work to a firm that is local, established, and shares the way I have tried to look after people. Lightfoots Solicitors has been in Thame since 1853, and I am confident you will be very well looked after. I have been fortunate to do this work in the town I live in, for people I see in the street. I did not want to simply close the door. Lightfoots understand what this work means to families, and I know my clients are in good hands."
Joe Middleton, Managing Partner at Lightfoots Solicitors, said: "Rachel built her business the way this firm was built, on people telling their neighbours they were well looked after. She could have sold to anyone. That Rachel wanted her clients to stay in Thame, with a firm that will still be here for their children, says a great deal about her character and we intend to live up to it."
Both firms are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and Lightfoots is the successor practice to Rachel Stafford Legal Services. Clients' wills held in storage have transferred to Lightfoots' secure storage in Thame, and every existing and former client has been written to directly. Clients need take no action, and those who would prefer their file transferred to another firm can arrange that at no cost.
The acquisition strengthens Lightfoots' Wills & Probate team, which advises on wills, trusts, estate planning, lasting powers of attorney and probate. The firm expects demand in these areas to continue growing as more families deal with the practicalities of later life planning and intergenerational transfer of property and land.
Lightfoots employs 170+ people across offices in Thame, Princes Risborough and Marlow, and acts for individuals, businesses and lenders across the UK.
