FOR SOLICITORS
THE DISPUTE STARTED WITH A PROCESS
Missing records, unclear responsibility and contracts nobody followed. Most of what reaches you began as an operational failure months earlier.
THE CLIENT YOU CANNOT FULLY HELP
The dispute started with a process
A business owner comes to you needing advice, and the first hour goes on establishing what actually happened rather than what it means.
A client referred to me by their solicitor was struggling to locate contracts, agreements and important records when legal advice was needed quickly. Documents were in multiple locations and platforms, with no version control, no reviews and missing historical records.
You can advise on the position. You cannot invent the evidence.
WHERE IT STARTS
Where it starts, before it reaches you
Employment
No training evidence, so a grievance becomes a claim. In their words, on what insurers do: “If there's an incident then the insurance companies can come along and go, oh, you've got no evidence that you gave the training. And so they may not be insured.”
Contracts
Signed, filed somewhere, never followed up. Nobody knows which version is binding.
Subcontractors
Instructed informally, paid but cost never recharged to their client, now long gone. No record of what was agreed, or of checks on the subcontractors insurance, risk assessments, supply management etc.
Health and safety
Procedures that exist as documents and not as practice. Risk assessments never tested or reviewed. Training only given when employment starts and never updated or refreshed. Machinery not serviced and faults not fixed.
Data
A subject access request or a complaint that nobody has a process for.
TWO MOMENTS
Two moments where I am most useful
Before
A client who is growing fast, taking on staff, subcontracting, or heading towards a sale. This is where the cost of fixing it is smallest and the value is largest.
After
A client who has just had the fright. The dispute is settled, the claim is closed, and for about six weeks they will actually act on advice about systems. That window closes.
WHAT I DO
A focused review of what’s happening behind the legal issue
I start with a free Your Efficiency Study — a YES! to understand what is happening in your client’s business and identify the operational issues that may be creating unnecessary risk, cost or concern.
I look beyond the immediate problem to explore areas such as unclear responsibilities, weak processes and controls, poor record keeping, compliance gaps or practices that could leave the business exposed to future problems.
Your client receives a high-level YES report identifying their key priorities and any urgent areas that need exploring, followed by a call to discuss the findings and what they should consider next.
Often, relatively small operational changes can strengthen control, reduce risk and prevent an issue escalating or becoming a more serious legal problem. Where the issue is more significant, identifying it early gives your client the opportunity to act before the cost, disruption or exposure becomes greater.
WHAT THIS IS NOT
I do not give legal advice
Your role is to advise your client on the law. Mine is to help them make sure their business actually operates as it should.
I review the processes, controls, responsibilities and records behind the problem, identifying gaps and helping put practical improvements in place.
You provide the legal expertise. I help make sure your client’s operational processes, controls and records support it. So when they need your advice, there is evidence of what actually happened, not simply somebody’s recollection of it.
DISCUSS A CLIENT
Have a client whose legal issue may point to a wider operational problem?
If the issue you’re dealing with suggests there may be something wider happening within the business, introduce your client for a free Your Efficiency Study — a YES! Or, if you’d prefer, speak to me confidentially first about what you’re seeing and whether a YES could help identify the operational issues that need attention. If your client chooses further support following their YES, I offer a referral fee for your introduction.