About us

Strategy may begin in the boardroom, but your culture decides whether it sinks or swims.

We build algorithms to help you bridge your strategy execution gap, one delegation decision at a time.

OUR STORY

Capacity began life as an idea. William, our co-founder, had trained, qualified, and practised at Dentons in London. His work was stimulating, his colleagues were inspiring, and his career was on track. But the legal industry seemed to have a problem.

Firms wanted to keep hold of talented people, but couldn’t. They wanted to prioritise training, but deadlines came first. They wanted to close the gap between the busiest and quietest lawyers, to no avail. They wanted diversity, but progress was slow.

All this seemed to expose a gap between desires and outcomes, between strategic vision and cultural reality. Alongside Peter, an experienced software engineer, William founded Capacity in 2018 to set about bridging that gap.

Capacity Bubble

Capacity bridges the gap between desires and outcomes by targeting the area that shapes firms more than anything else: deciding who works on what – and why.

After all, work allocation determines who develops their skills and experience and who doesn’t. It can overlook some people, while overworking others. It can produce highly cost-effective teams, or highly unprofitable ones. It can produce teams that delight clients, or ones that frustrate their preferences.

Our work allocation platform now helps firms optimise their work allocation decisions. Our clients decide what the best staffing decisions look like, and we build the algorithms to make them happen.

With every work allocation decision, we’re helping firms hold true to their vision, ensuring they continue to delight their clients, champion their people, and face the future with confidence.

OUR TEAM

William Dougherty

CO-FOUNDER, CEO

William practised at Dentons before co-founding Capacity. He is currently a legal tech mentor at the University of Oxford and for the LawTechUK programme.

Peter Hickling

CO-FOUNDER, CTO

Peter has designed and built software for fast-growing start-ups for eight years. Previously, he was CTO at FlairBox, a video-on-demand casting platform for actors.

Caitlin McFee

HEAD OF GROWTH

Caitlin read French at Oxford as the first member of her family to attend university. She qualified at Linklaters, later setting up her own business to coach and support struggling lawyers.

Sam King

SENIOR FULL STACK DEVELOPER

With a First-Class Honours degree in Computer Science, Sam has 8 years of commercial expertise in full-stack software engineering, concentrating on startups for the past three years.

Marcus Watts

FULL STACK DEVELOPER

Marcus studied computer science at the University of Birmingham. He went on to join Accenture as a back-end engineer, being recognised as Best Newcomer in 2022.

Vishal Melvani

FULL STACK DEVELOPER

Vishal read Engineering in Information and Technology at GTU. He now has seven years of experience in software development, including stints with Unilever and RTL.

Jignesh Vyas

FULL STACK DEVELOPER

Jignesh graduated from GTU as a Master of Computer Applications in 2012. He has nine years of experience as a software developer at 
a number of startups.

Louis Whittal

PRODUCT DESIGNER

Louis studied computer science and management in France. He has been working as a user experience designer for eight years, with a focus on accessibility and data visualisation.

Alice Hickling

ADVISOR

Alice is a cognitive neuroscientist at UCL. She is interested in understanding how our beliefs can impact our perception, memory and decision making.

Alex King

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

Alex has reported on technology for eight years, most recently at The Conversation. Previously, he researched the impacts of digital tools on society at a not-for-profit organisation.

Ralph Baxter

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Ralph served as Chairman & CEO of Orrick for nearly a quarter of a century. The American Lawyer named Ralph one of the “Top 50 Big Law Innovators of the Last 50 Years.”

Discover law’s next generation of work allocation technology

From the blog

View All

Case study: Capacity’s collaboration with CMS

Chess Board

Automation: Capacity, staffing, and the chess computer

Retention: How smart staffing prevents unwanted attrition