Obelisk: the only legal business to make the cut in the inaugural FT 100

The FT has published a first-time list of fastest growing UK companies that are also making an impact on their industry or wider society, with flexible resource provider Obelisk Legal Support Solutions the only legal business to make the cut, thanks to its impact on diversity.

To make it into the first edition of the FT Future 100 UK, businesses had to excel in one of four categories, three of them qualitative and one based purely on data.

The qualitative categories identified companies seeking to make a positive impact via their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies; or promoting diversity; or disrupting their industry.

The fourth category recognises those companies that made it into the Europe-wide FT 1000 ranking two years in a row, thereby demonstrating consistent revenue growth. Some of these are familiar names from the disruptive end of the technology sector, but others have a more traditional business model.

Obelisk was founded in 2010 by former journalist and Linklaters lawyer Dana Denis-Smith. It connects a pool of largely female ex-City legal talent to clients’ needs for part-time and flexible resources. Obelisk’s commitment to women in the legal profession earned it a spot on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women in 2015. See below our interview in 2015 with Dana, who also founded @First100Years and was LexisNexis 2018 personality of the year.

To see the full list and methodology click here: https://ig.ft.com/future-100/2018/

The FT100 is sponsored by Mishcon de Reya and Statista.