Phanar derives from the Greek Φανάρι meaning "lantern", "light" or "torch". The equivalent in both old and contemporary Russian is фонарь (pronounced : fon'arj), with the most common usage also being torch or lantern.

Phanar is a new kind of law firm which is dedicated to combining high quality partner-led legal service with a low fixed price delivery model. The firm firmly believes that the conventional charging method of chargeable or billable hours does not promote either efficiency or quality.

Phanar serves the needs of clients who demand the quality of legal service expected of the major City or international law firms but at a highly competitive price. Due to their fixed pricing model, Phanar is able to pass on cost savings to its clients whilst guaranteeing high quality services.

Business Model

The firm does not espouse the full service model as this increases fixed costs which ultimately get passed on to the client, regardless of the pricing model used. The firm specialises in domestic and cross-border corporate, commercial and finance work for both private and listed companies. All other specialities, such as employment, property, IP, tax and litigation, are outsourced to like-minded high quality and low cost partner firms or practitioners who subscribe to their fixed price business model and form part of their ecosystem. 

They are a relationship driven firm which invests time and effort in developing long term relationships with clients and other service-providers. As such they find solutions for their clients whether they be in other English law areas (such as employment, property, IP or tax) or cross-border legal issues or in other areas such as accounting and finance where they share with their clients their extensive network of partner firms and contacts.