The questions clients ask before they instruct us.

Submit the consultation form on this site, call the office, or email our intake address. We aim to acknowledge every enquiry within one business day and to offer an appointment within three. Where a matter is time-critical — an arrest, an injunction, a deadline that expires this week — say so in your first message and we will treat it accordingly.

The first meeting is diagnostic. You describe the matter, we ask questions to establish the facts and the timeline, and we tell you what we think the position is, what the realistic options are, and what each would cost and take. If we think you do not need a lawyer, we will say that. If the matter is outside our expertise, we will tell you who is better placed.

Anything in writing that relates to the matter: contracts, correspondence, notices, court papers, invoices, messages. A short dated chronology of what happened, written by you, is the most useful single document you can bring. Do not filter the material — documents you consider unhelpful are often the ones that determine strategy.

We offer a complimentary preliminary discussion of up to twenty minutes to establish whether we are the right firm for the matter. A full consultation, in which we review documents and give substantive advice, is chargeable at a fixed rate quoted to you in advance. If you subsequently instruct us on the matter, that fee is credited against your first invoice.

Depending on the matter: hourly at the rate of the lawyer doing the work, a fixed fee for defined scopes such as documentation or a licence application, or a retainer for continuing advisory work. Whichever applies, you receive a written engagement letter setting out the basis, the rate and the estimate before any chargeable work begins.

Yes. If the scope of a matter changes materially or an estimate is likely to be exceeded, we tell you before the additional work is done, not when the invoice arrives. Where a step is discretionary, we set out what it costs and what it is likely to achieve so you can decide.

For any work with a definable scope — company formation, contract drafting and review, trademark filing, a licence application, a documentation audit — yes, and we prefer it. Contentious matters are harder to fix because the other side controls half the workload, but we will fix fees stage by stage where that is workable.

Tell us early. There are usually options: narrowing scope, staging the work, adjusting strategy toward a faster resolution, or in some circumstances a payment arrangement. The worst outcome is a matter abandoned mid-way, which typically costs more than either finishing it or not starting.

You receive an update whenever something happens on your matter, and a scheduled update at agreed intervals even when nothing has — silence is the most common complaint clients have about lawyers generally. You are also copied on all substantive correspondence unless you ask us not to.

We acknowledge messages within one business day and substantively respond as soon as the answer requires. If a question needs research or a colleague's input, we will tell you that rather than leaving the message unanswered while we work on it.

No. An attorney–client relationship begins only when we have completed a conflict check and both parties have signed an engagement letter. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive material through the website form until that is in place — send a general description of the matter instead.

Before accepting instructions we check whether the firm already acts for, or has acted against, anyone involved in your matter. Acting where there is an undisclosed conflict is a serious professional breach. The check normally takes under a day and is the reason we ask for the names of all parties in your first enquiry.

Often not. The majority of matters resolve by negotiation, mediation or settlement. Where attendance is required we prepare you thoroughly in advance — what will be asked, how to answer, what the room looks like. Nobody from this firm will put you in a witness box unprepared.

That is a legitimate and common instruction. We will review the advice you have received and tell you whether we agree with it. Frequently we do, and say so — a second opinion that confirms the first is a useful outcome, not a wasted fee.