Our people | Utterly

The team

Built around the client.

Utterly was built to put the client first. A small group team sets the direction, and the people inside each firm deliver it. Below are the leaders behind the group, and the solicitors and client-care team at our first firm, Settlement Agreement Solicitors.

Executive board.

Group leadership

Patrick Knight

Founder & Group CEO

Patrick founded Settlement Agreement Solicitors in 2020 and built it into the firm that proves the Utterly model. He sets the direction of the group: its vision, its technology and product, its data and IP, the brand and the client-experience standard, and the growth agenda that takes Utterly from one firm to many. He has spent over twenty years launching and scaling businesses that change how an industry works.

James Fairclough

Group Chairman

James chairs the Utterly group, bringing more than twenty-five years at board level in consumer-facing businesses. A former chief executive of AA Financial Services and AA Cars, he has held senior roles across Procter and Gamble, Virgin Media, Sky, Simply Business and IWG, and is an active angel investor in and adviser to founder-led companies. He is also Chair of BBC Children in Need and a trustee of Leukaemia UK, and he guides the group's governance and growth as it expands into a new field of law each time.

John Sheekey

Co-Founder & Group COO

John leads delivery and execution across Utterly. He owns the day-to-day running of the group: operations, client care, people, commercial relationships and customer acquisition, and the launch of each new firm. His focus is turning the model into reliable, repeatable delivery, so every firm meets the same standard as the group grows.