How the firm works
Legal work is easier to judge when the method is visible. This page sets out how matters are taken on, how they are run and how they are charged.
Method
Assessment before action
Most legal problems arrive with a proposed solution already attached to them: send a letter, sign the agreement, start proceedings. The firm's first task is to test that assumption against the documents.
That means reading the contracts, the correspondence and the records before advising, and then saying plainly what they support. Where a position is weak, the advice says so. A client who understands the weakness early can plan around it; one who learns it late usually cannot.
The same discipline applies to transactional work. A transaction that is documented precisely at the outset produces fewer disputes later, and the cost of that precision is almost always lower than the cost of resolving what was left ambiguous.
Commitments
What a client can expect
- A written scope for every engagement
- Before work begins you receive an engagement letter describing what the firm will do, what it will not do, who is responsible for each step and how charges are calculated.
- Advice you can act on
- Legal analysis is only useful once it has been translated into a decision. Written advice sets out the options, the consequences of each and a recommendation.
- Communication on a schedule
- Each matter has an agreed reporting rhythm, so progress does not depend on chasing. Material developments are reported when they happen.
- Confidentiality by default
- Client information is handled on a need-to-know basis within the firm and is retained in accordance with professional obligations.
Fees
How charges are agreed
The basis of charging is settled in writing before an engagement begins. Depending on the matter, that may be an hourly rate, a fixed fee for a defined piece of work, or a staged fee tied to milestones. Where a matter is open-ended, the engagement letter sets a review point rather than an open commitment.
Disbursements such as filing fees and third-party costs are identified separately. Where an estimate is likely to be exceeded, the firm raises it before the additional work is carried out.
Start with a conversation
Outline the matter and the firm will confirm whether it can act and what the next step would involve.