Lawyer Turned Fashion Entrepreneur: Saher Bhatti Shares How She Scaled Lawful London To 7 Figures

Lawyer turned fashion entrepreneur, Saher Bhatti, founded Lawful London after recognizing the lack of contemporary, cruelty-free, practical bags for women that were suitably versatile for commuting, work and weekend needs. As a commercial lawyer at an international law firm working with a range of global fashion and luxury brands she developed her business skills around her interest in fashion and sustainability within the consumer sector. Having a love for minimalist, timeless accessories and experiencing the struggle of commuting on the tube without a functional way to carry her work and essentials, she set out to start her brand. Lawful London was born out of her desire to create a brand that aimed to make better bags in a better way, by producing affordable products that were ethical, functional and timeless.

“I left my firm and worked part-time doing legal consultancy. I took a huge pay cut but I made this decision to free up my time to set up the business. While working part time I saved for the initial investment for my business of $37,000. This covered everything from the design phase, multiple rounds of sampling, marketing shoots, website design and my first bulk order which was around $20,000,” Bhatti shared.

To create a brand with her vision, Bhatti worked alongside a prominent UK designer who previously collaborated with the likes of Ralph Lauren, House of Fraser and Ted Baker. Together they took conventional handbag styles and enhanced their capabilities, to develop a timeless, cruelty-free brand for the modern, fast-paced woman. The Classic Collection was Lawful London’s first range, and includes five styles of contemporary, adaptable bags: the Aspen, Dahlia, Sienna, Sienna Triple Compartment and Camellia. The bags are all made from cruelty-free, eco-friendly vegan leather (PETA-approved). There have been no compromises on quality, from maintenance of shape to durability, no matter the task or the weather.

Lawful London has experienced double digit revenue growth YoY, despite launching just before COVID. In the last 12 months the brand experienced a 87% rise in sales and has hit $1.4 million in sales in the last year with 60% profit margins. The brand is forecasted to hit $3.7 million in revenue for this upcoming year. Inspired by Sara Blakely of Spanx, Bhatti has not taken any outside investment and has no plans of doing so. Building this solo all whilst being a mother, she attributes her scaling the brand to seven figures with healthy profit margins to maintaining a lean product offering whilst expanding distribution and selling globally.

“From the beginning it was always better to bring out a very limited product range and if the data showed that consumers like it, it justifies me launching it in another color. The Iris is a great example. People have asked for this style in a light color so I will be launching it later this year in a lighter tone with gold hardware. Only because I have the data there to justify it. I won’t launch a bag in another color or even a new style just to have more products. I don’t feel the pressure to constantly release styles seasonally or annually. The aim is to launch sustainable products (not seasonal products) which can be sold all year round. We double down on what’s worked, for example launching more colors in our hero product, rather than focusing on constantly launching new designs when we don’t know how they will perform.” she explained. “We also now have five warehouses globally and sell to the UK, Europe, Far East, Middle East and US, so we can sell to customers across the globe at affordable shipping rates that don’t eat into our margins too heavily.”

All of the styles are designed to functionally store and fit laptops, chargers and items you would typically want in your laptop bag but it might not fit such as makeup, wallet, skincare, stationery or even a change of shoes or clothes. The brands second range, The Three Collection launched in 2022, encompassing all the functionality of The Classic Collection, within newly elevated silhouettes and premium fabrics.

The Three Collection was inspired by curvature and contemporary shapes and aimed to demonstrate that the practical features which are so fundamental to women on the go, could be encapsulated in the form of modern sleek designs, providing an alternative to the traditional shapes commonly associated with work totes as reflected in the existing Classic Collection. Lawful London’s new collection launch is scheduled for Fall 24”. The new range is largely focused on travel needs and spacious storage aimed at providing thoughtfully designed accessories for work trips and weekend getaways.