Business Legal Support

Contracts, opinions and day-to-day enquiries

Day-to-day assistance may include advice during consultations or in writing, research into applicable legislation, legal opinions and document reviews. We consider contracts, schedules, incorporation documents and draft internal resolutions. The purpose of a transaction and the parties’ responsibilities matter as much as checking names and identifying details.

Potential work includes preparing requests to central and local authorities, correspondence and formal demands, and taking part in negotiations. If a counterparty proposes its own wording, we compare it with the agreed terms. Changes made after a review must be submitted again: advice on one version does not cover new provisions we have not seen.

Corporate and investment tasks

Enquiries may concern business formation and re-registration, amendments to incorporation documents, company interests and preparation of resolutions. Investments, business sales and insolvency are assessed separately. Registration and specialist procedures must be distinguished from routine advice, with the actual work agreed separately.

For commercial property and land, we can consider reviewing documents and transaction terms. Notarial acts, valuations, registration and representation before the relevant authorities have their own requirements. Asset recovery or transaction security requires a defined task, evidence and lawful methods.

Checks, IT and rights in work produced

Before work begins, routine legal assessment needs to be distinguished from a separate company check. Information gathering on a counterparty, asset tracing, specialist document examination and due diligence are agreed in terms of sources, depth and intended output. A check does not guarantee that no undisclosed circumstances exist.

For IT businesses and start-ups, we consider contracts, offers, business structure and rights in work produced. Intellectual property work concerns the use, establishment and protection of rights. Registration, compensation claims and litigation are separate tasks unless expressly agreed otherwise.

Disputes and dealings with authorities

A company may need assistance with debt recovery, insurance claims, commercial, administrative, tax or customs matters. In a commercial dispute we first review the contract, the parties’ performance and the documents. The procedure for international arbitration and enforcement must be established separately.

A retainer does not automatically include court representation, criminal defence, a property transaction, debt recovery, an insurance dispute or bankruptcy. Corporate, administrative, commercial, tax, customs and intellectual property disputes, specialist checks and lawyer-led investigations are also agreed separately. These require separate agreements and fees.

Tax matters and specialist expertise

Business tax advice may concern a transaction, contract or a regulator’s position. It must be distinguished from accounting, a financial audit and financial modelling. Where another professional is needed, their involvement is agreed with the client rather than treated as an unlimited part of ongoing support.

Information needed to define the retainer

Describe the business, organisational structure, geographical scope and typical legal tasks. Explain how often contracts arise, any current disputes or inspections and upcoming decisions. Provide sample documents if needed. An assessment does not necessarily require the entire corporate archive or information unrelated to the proposed work.

Designate an authorised contact to submit requests and approve decisions. If tasks come from several departments, priorities and approval arrangements need to be established. The transfer of commercially sensitive material and the involvement of external providers are agreed separately.

Arranging an ongoing working relationship

We agree the recurring work, responsible professional, fees and how tasks are recorded. Each request needs an objective, documents and preferred date. If a new instruction falls outside the retainer, its scope and costs are clarified before work begins. This gives both parties a shared understanding of the services included.

Ongoing legal support can complement an in-house team rather than necessarily replace it. Responsibilities depend on the business’s needs. The working relationship is assessed through completion of agreed tasks, clear advice and timely information exchange, rather than a promise that no risks will arise.

For recurring contracts, it helps to agree a base version and identify changes requiring another review. Record which recommendations management has accepted and which documents are still awaited. This distinguishes completed legal work from a matter that remains open because information is missing.